Aprilia on the attack in the Sportbike World Championship: Vannucci eyes a historic first-ever win after the Assen podium

Will Aprilia manage to clinch its first victory in the Sportbike World Championship? The new series returns after a month-long break and Matteo Vannucci is fired up.

David Salvador leads the standings aboard the Kawasaki ZX-6R 636. Hot on his heels is the Suzuki duo of Jeffrey Buis and Ferre Fleerackers. Xavi Artigas is also rapidly on the rise.

Matteo Vannucci, the Revo-M2 team’s standard bearer, is currently the best Italian in the overall standings and perhaps the only one who can aim for the title. At Portimao, after taking pole position, he made a few small mistakes and threw away valuable points, but he redeemed himself at Assen. In the Netherlands he narrowly missed the podium in Race 1 and then took a brilliant second place in Race 2, just 97 thousandths behind the winner, Belgian rider Ferre Fleerackers.

"We’re ready, prepared, and the track is potentially pro-Aprilia," says Matteo Vannucci to Corsedimoto. "On this kind of circuit we usually go quite well. However, the Kawasakis also feel at home in the twisty sections. I’m confident, positive. If a rider doesn’t think about winning, there’s no point in racing, so I’ve got victory in mind, as is only logical."

In the Sportbike World Championship, the BOP (Balancing Of Performances) plays a crucial role, and Aprilia has suffered a performance reduction that penalizes it.

"We have 72% throttle," explains the Tuscan rider. "By regulation they should redo a performance balance since it’s scheduled every two rounds. We hope they balance it in the best way possible because Kawasaki has terrifying acceleration, even compared to ours; Suzuki has both acceleration and top-end... The only two bikes that are almost perfectly balanced in my opinion are Aprilia and Triumph. We’ll see how things evolve. I can’t wait to get on track."

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