APRILIA RACING TAKES ON THE FIRST ITALIAN ROUND OF THE WORLD SUPERBIKE SEASON, FORTIFIED BY THEIR DOUBLE LEADERSHIP. SYLVAIN GUINTOLI AND EUGENE LAVERTY ARE FIRST AND SECOND IN THE RIDER STANDINGS. APRILIA LEADS THE MANUFACTURER CHAMPIONSHIP. After an exciting start, to say the least, the World Superbike Championship embarks on Italy for a round full of thrills and history. In fact, the factory derivative bikes will be tackling the Monza circuit which has always been a stage for challenges that come down to the last turn and record setting speeds. This is a special track for Aprilia, reigning World SBK champion, which has always held their Italian heritage high and won exciting victories thanks to the extraordinary performance of the super fast RSV4. The 2013 season finds the brand from Noale at the top after three rounds, leading both the Rider and Manufacturer championships. Sylvain Guintoli’s championship lead is completed by Eugene Laverty’s second place, arriving fresh from a win in Race 2 at Assen and back with a vengeance at the top of the SBK Championship. For the Aprilia riders Monza is charged with significance and motivation, reinforced by Eugene and Sylvain’s paster performances on this asphalt: the lad from Northern Ireland took the Supersport victory here in 2010 and in 2011 on his SBK début, while Frenchman Guintoli won the 2012 Superpole under very difficult conditions. “I am very excited about riding my RSV4 in Monza,” confirms Sylvain Guintoli. “We came here as ranking leaders, just as the championship is getting heated up. I like this track and it suits the Aprilia perfectly. Hopefully we can beat the all time Superbike top speed record and come back with two strong results”. Eugene Laverty is of the same opinion, charged up from his victory at Assen: “It was important to bounce back with a race victory in Assen. Honestly I didn’t expect to win, which gives me a lot of confidence going into one of our strongest circuits on the calendar. Top speed is very important at Monza and the RSV4 has plenty of that. Let’s hope the weather stays dry and that we can enjoy two great races on Sunday”. And on the occasion of the first Italian World SBK round Aprilia invites all motorcycle fans to try out the brand new Caponord 1200 from 9 May to Sunday 12 May and to see the extremely sporty 2013 range. At the Aprilia space in the Monza SBK Village, just a short stroll from the Paddock, the entire Aprilia range will be available for your hands-on pleasure: from the unbeatable RSV4 to the Dorsoduro 1200, from the Shiver 750 to the SRV 850, the most powerful and fastest scooter in the world. You can make an appointment to test the Aprilia Caponord, the new street enduro, directly at the Aprilia Space.