More points for Milwaukee Aprilia in difficult #WSBK Aragon Race 2

It was another double points finish for Milwaukee Aprilia riders Eugene Laverty and Julián Simón in a tough Race 2 at Aragon on Sunday

After both scored well on Saturday, they lined up in Race 2 aiming to build on their results. Eugene, starting 5th via the reversed grid rules, made a good getaway and ran as high as second as he diced with Alex Lowes and Michael Van Der Mark. He again used the Aprilia RSV4 RF horsepower to full effect, but as he struggled with his braking he was unable to maintain his pace consistently. After a tense battle with Jordi Torres and Xavi Fores, Eugene eventually settled into his final position of 9th.

Julián built on his first Superbike race experience from Saturday to deliver a strong performance in Race 2. After a slow start and high winds at the track initially held his progress back, he soon found his rhythm and began his march towards the points. Running just outside the points for half of the race, Julián got stuck into a thrilling battle with Randy Krummenacher and Markus Reiterberger for the final points positions. He executed some strong passes and managed a good pace on his way to finishing 15th.

The team now have an important day of testing at Aragon on Monday, where they will make full use of the weekend’s data to improve the RSV4 RF ahead of Round 4 at Assen. With teammate Lorenzo Savadori sidelined by injury, Eugene will be the only Milwaukee Aprilia in action and will take advantage of his experience this weekend to progress.

Round 4 of the 2017 WorldSBK season takes place at TT Circuit Assen in Assen, Netherlands from 28-30 April.

Keep up to speed with Milwaukee Aprilia on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as they contest the 2017 WorldSBK Championship.

Mick Shanley, Team Manager

Another difficult race for the team today. Eugene got away well at the front initially, but it’s clear to see at the moment we’re having an issue running with the guys at the top of the field. I want to say thank you to Julián, he’s been a brilliant stand-in rider at such short notice. He improved every time he got on the bike and had two solid race results, and I wish him every success in the future. It’s a really important day for us tomorrow with the test. We’ll be trying various strategies and things that we need to rectify the issues we’re having, and hopefully we’ll have a clear direction at the end of tomorrow.

Eugene Laverty #50
Grid: 5th Race: 9th, 7 points
It was a tough weekend overall, and I did what I could today to bring it home with some decent points. At the start I was up to 2nd and was up for a good fight, but the other guys just rode around me. The wind was really bad out there too and it affected all of us. I was getting pushed wide by it a few times and they were difficult conditions to ride in. At the moment we don’t have a bike we can fight with, there’s something that we are missing. We need to find lap time as soon as we can, and I’m struggling to get it stopped and turned.There’s an underlying issue, but with a test day tomorrow I think we can get to the bottom of it and hopefully get the bike where we need it.

Julián Simón #3
Grid: 17th Race: 15th, 1 point
Today was a difficult ride for me. There was a lot of wind in the first and second sectors, and it was hard for me to find the same rhythm as yesterday. Even though it was harder than Race 1 I was able to have a battle with Krummenacher and Reiterberger, and I was strong in the third sector where the wind was less. I am really happy with the whole experience this weekend. I improved every session and to get points in both races is fantastic. I just want to say a big thank you again to the whole Milwaukee Aprilia team for the support.