After a difficult Race 1 at Imola, Milwaukee Aprilia delivered an improved performance to score points with both riders in Race 2. The red flag was brought out on the first lap following a blown engine from Badovini's Kawasaki, which resulted in dangerous track conditions and forced a race restart.

Rider Eugene Laverty started from P10 on the grid, making a strong getaway and holding station confidently in P8. Closing down the Yamahas of Van der Mark and Lowes, he took his opportunity on lap 12 to force a pass on Van der Mark for P7 where he ultimately finished.

Capping off a trying weekend at Imola, Lorenzo Savadori started P12. His getaway was slow, but he settled into a consistent rhythm and gradually forced his way through into the points positions. Defending well from the De Rosa and Bradl, he managed to bring his bike home with another points finish in P13.

The team now head to the United Kingdom for Round 6 of the 2017 WorldSBK Championship and their home round at Donington Park, where they hope to deliver stronger results for the fans and make further steps forward.

Round 6 of the 2017 series takes place from 26-28 May at Donington Park.

Mick Shanley, Team Manager  

 “We took a step forward with Eugene today, in that he was able to maintain his pace so well. Imola has never been great circuit for the Aprilia, but it was encouraging today to see that he could hold position in the points.

For Lorenzo it’s been a difficult weekend overall. He struggled to get a feeling for his bike on Friday, and he lost a lot of running time which hurt him. It’s positive that he managed to get points in both races, but we need to find him some more confidence to push the bike harder.

It’s clear that we need to find some strong pace. We’re a long way from where we need to be right now, behind the guys at the front. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of our home race at Donington Park; it would be nice for us to do well there, but we have to pinpoint where we can close the gap to the front


Eugene Laverty #50 - Grid - P10   :   Race - P7, 9 points
 
“Today was one of our best results of the year, but more importantly it was the first race where I was able to maintain pace and actually move forward at the end. We learnt so much, especially in regard to the weight distribution which we’ve struggled with.

It confirmed our thoughts over the last few rounds of the direction we need to take, and hopefully some of the ideas we have to try and Donington Park will move us forward.

I’m optimistic and excited to race at the home round in the UK, and I’d like to make that step further there in front of our fans."



Lorenzo Savadori #32: Grid - P12   :   Race - P13, 3 points

“This weekend has been very difficult for me. Today my start was OK, but it was difficult for me to fight with the guys around me. The main problem today was stopping the bike and turning, which was a problem yesterday too. I am happy to get more points for the team in both races, but we know that we can be fighting for the higher positions.

We didn’t start this weekend in a very good direction, but we have a lot of data to analyse for the next race at Donington Park. I know for sure that the guys at SMR and Aprilia Racing are working really hard, and believe we can make progress for Round 6.”