Courtesy of Aprilia

A BIG JOB FOR THE APRILIA ALITALIA RACING TEAM ON THE FIRST DAY OF PRACTICE AT MILLER MOTORSPORTS PARK. MAX BIAGGI AND LEON CAMIER RODE MORE LAPS THAN ANY OF THE OTHER RIDERS LOOKING FOR THE BEST SOLUTIONS
First day of practice at Miller Motorsports Park, the fantastic track just outside of Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. Following a consolidated philosophy, the Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team concentrated above all on looking for the best setting for the race. Max Biaggi and Leon Camier took more laps than any of the other competitors (25), confirming the great deal of work done on their RSV4's, with consistent improvement in times and pace.

Stopwatch in hand, Saturday ended with tenth place for Max with a time of 1'49.191, while the 1'49.443 which Leon Camier made took the young Englishman to thirteenth place.

"In the race we will need to know how to choose and this is why today we worked so hard to have all of the elements to make the definitive choice tomorrow – stated Max Biaggi – Let's say that today we sorted out which solutions we like best and what doesn't work so well.
Of course for now these are assumptions that must be verified, but it is clearer now how we can work on the bike and improve our lap times".

Leon Camier also had positive comments about his début at Miller:  "Not bad for the first day of practice on this track. I must say that I like it. It's a well designed track with excellent asphalt. We went back to the set up from Assen and I think it was the best choice. It's a very good starting place. The feeling was immediately positive even though there is still work to be done on some details. I'm also trying to improve my movements on the bike with some updates on the ergonomics and my riding style, and I think that they are important steps on a track which is ridden like Miller is".

EXCITING SUPERPOLE AT MILLER MOTORSPORTS PARK: APRILIA ALITALIA RACING TEAM CELEBRATES THE "ROMAN EMPEROR", MAX BIAGGI'S SECOND PLACE AND EIGHTH FOR LEON CAMIER
An atmosphere of a very warm crowd followed the Superpole on the Miller Motorsports Park circuit and there was no lack of excitement. Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team can celebrate thanks to Max Biaggi's second place, beaten only by an extremely generous Carlos Checa. Even young Leon Camier, with an eighth place final time, has an optimistic outlook for the two races tomorrow.

The account of the last qualifying session, which the Aprilia Racing colours bearers entered rather easily, tells of the spectacular crashes that Rea and Smrz had, fortunately with no physical problems for the two riders. The resulting red flag interrupted the session with only 4 minutes 55 to go. At the restart, the stopwatch confirmed the final grid with Checa in front of Biaggi, Crutchlow, Smrz and Haslam.

Max Biaggi emphasised the great work done this weekend: "We worked a lot and we did our best job. It was important to start in the first row. Obviously I'm satisfied.
We can say that in the end, working on different solutions and on the two bikes, we found a good point of balance. We put together all the data from the practices and with the team we made what seemed to be the best choices. Now we are fast enough to stay in the pack with the best and, as always, it is rather tight and crowded. Then, for the races, it will depend as always on many factors, not the least of which is the conditions we find".

A good Superpole for Leon Camier also: "I'm finally beginning to take good advantage of my RSV4 in Superpole as well. Unfortunately a few mistakes in the first session forced me to use the first race tyre because I didn't want to risk being relegated out of the top 16. The second qualifier went smoother and I got into the top eight easily with fifth place. It's a sham that in the last pole the only tyres I had left to use were soft ones. I could have gained a few places but I didn't have the grip to push to the limit. It's not the end of the world in any case. I like the track and I've got a good racing pace. I've got good feelings for the two races tomorrow".

MAX BIAGGI WINS RACE 1 IN THE USA WORLD SUPERBIKE ROUND. AN EXCELLENT FOURTH PLACE FOR LEON CAMIER COMPLETES THE GREAT RACE RUN BY THE APRILIA ALITALIA RACING TEAM RSV4's
Victory! Max Biaggi rides his Aprilia RSV4 to the highest step of the podium in race 1 of the American WSBK round.
Right from the start on the Miller Motorsport (Utah) circuit, the race took life from the flight of Biaggi and Checa (Ducati). The first two in the starting grid confirmed their superior pace in the race and took off, losing the rest of the group. At the beginning Max Biaggi conducted the show and then, moving into the front, Checa looked like he was going to control the race, but in the 18th of 21 laps, the Spaniard was forced to give it up because of a break down which left the coast clear for Biaggi's Aprilia No. 3.
And so Max achieves his fifth victory this season and gains 5 points on Haslam (in second place today more than four seconds behind) closing in just 10 lengths from the top of the championships (242 vs 232).

Leon Camier was a key player in the race and ended with an excellent fourth place after defending the third step of the podium for a long time. The young Britain, who on this occasion again had the handicap of beginning on a track that he didn't know, continues to grow at a great pace.

Biaggi, happy about his victory and widely acclaimed by the American fans with whom he is so popular, commented: "We had a bit of luck, it's true, but I can't help but be happy about our results. Happy for me, for the guys on the Team and for Aprilia which, with a new bike, is allowing me to do truly well. Even the crowd deserves it. There are a lot of bike fans and a lot of my fans here in America.
We have a good pace - we knew that from practice - and we maintained it in the race. At a certain point Checa was riding faster and for this reason we'll need to work out some modifications for race2 in order to improve even more and be competitive down to the last lap. 5 points recovered in the championship are important. Now we need to stay focused and bring the best possible home, always".

ABSOLUTE VICTORY FOR APRILIA ALITALIA RACING TEAM ON AMERICAN SOIL
Max Biaggi is the new leader in the World Superbike rankings. He took the lead with his win in a race 2 (doubling the success of race 1) which was conducted to perfection and which, for the Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team was triumphant thanks to Leon Camier's second place and the top spot in manufacturer standings.
At the start on the track at Miller Motorsports Park - Utah, the riders followed the same script as race 1: Carlos Checa (Ducati) courageously escaping and Biaggi chasing after him. Once again, the two gave the impression that they would be racing their own private race ahead of the pack. But a mechanical failure, this time in the seventh lap, again stole the scene from Checa. With the group already far behind and 2/3 of the race still to be run, Max set his course always keeping the pursuers at a distance thanks to a consistent fast pace and to excellent management of the advantage.

Over his shoulder Leon Camier battled first with Corser (BMW) and then with Crutchlow (Yamaha) to claw his way into second place, his second podium and best yet placing in World SBK. With this victory Biaggi passed Haslam (victim of a fall while battling somewhere around sixth place) at the top of the world standings. Max now has 257 points against the Suzuki rider's 242. And it doesn't stop there: the double win takes Aprilia to the top of manufacturer standings: 263 points for Aprilia against Suzuki's 252.

After celebratory embraces with the entire team, Max Biaggi commented: "Two fantastic races. Nothing more would need to be said. We set up the weekend well, working a lot to take best advantage of the potential of the RSV4 on this beautiful circuit. Again in race 2 Checa immediately set a frantic pace, but I had more of a feeling than in race 1, so I think that I would have played it out down to the end anyway. I managed the advantage well. I must be thankful because this double win is to the credit of the entire Team and the guys who work at Noale, who give me the best possible support. I think the American fans had a good time as well. Today is an important day for us, but my mind is already on the next round. To make it to the lead spot in the standings is extremely important, but there is still a long season ahead of us, so... we'll keep our feet on the ground".

Leon Camier, also honoured for his second place: "It couldn't have gone any better than this. I rode a second race which was pushed to the maximum. The modifications to my RSV4 worked. Max had a better pace, so my goal is to keep working and growing so that I can stay up front. A double victory is always something magic, particularly this one which is the first for Aprilia. I hope I can give more of this kind of excitement to both the fans and the entire Team".

Gigi Dall'Igna, technical and sport director of Aprilia Racing: "The first double victory in the new Aprilia SBK adventure takes on even more significance because it comes just a year and a half after the début of our RSV4. I cannot help but thank all of the people involved in this project. Taking two bikes ahead of everybody, ahead of very strong adversaries and manufacturers with so much experience in this championship makes us very hopeful for the rest of the season even though the World championship is still long and difficult".

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