A great start for team Althea and Davide Giugliano with the Aprilia RSV4 at Jerez Team Althea Racing Aprilia has carried out a two-day test session at the Jerez circuit in preparation for the imminent opening round of the World Superbike championship. Genesio Bevilacqua’s technicians and rider Davide Giugliano got their first opportunity to work with the RSV4 Aprilia and things could not have gotten off to a better start, with Davide recording the fastest time on day one while today, having been at the top of the timesheets from the start, he closed in second place. These results pleased the entire team and are validated by the fact that almost all of the top Superbike teams were present at the tests, and that Althea had not taken to the tracks since the last race of the 2012 season, in October at Magny-Cours. Unfortunately the weather did not help matters, as the track was wet all day yesterday with the sun only drying the track later this morning, giving Davide the chance to build confidence with his new bike in dry conditions. A satisfied team Althea now prepares for the trip to Australia where practice sessions on February 14th and 15th and official testing on 18th and 19th will precede the opening round of the 2013 Superbike championship. Davide Giugliano : “I’m pleased with how testing has gone here in Jerez. I hadn’t been on a bike in months and couldn’t wait to get on track with my RSV4. I immediately found good feeling, both yesterday in the wet and today in the dry. I’m happy that I was able to record some fast lap times but more importantly I have quickly understood the character of this bike. We still have a lot of work to do of course and it will take time to ride the RSV4 to its full potential but I don’t think we could have made a better start, and for that I thank the entire team for all of their hard work.” Genesio Bevilacqua : “We are very pleased as we leave Jerez, the results here have exceeded our expectations. I particularly appreciated the enthusiasm that Davide and the team have shown here. We were all anxious about returning to the track after a long break and being faced with a bike that impressed us so much last year in terms of its performance. Davide immediately found the right feeling with the RSV4, so much so that he registered the fastest time yesterday and the second fastest today. The entire team worked well and we’re also happy with the work we are doing with Aprilia’s engineers. I think that we have refound that spirit and desire to stand out that allowed us to achieve great results in the past.” [Day two] best lap times : Melandri 1’40″758 Giugliano 1’40″861 Laverty 1’41″044 Camier 1’41″184 Rea 1’41″641 Guintoli 1’41″683 Davies 1’41″726 Haslam 1’42″411 Cluzel 1’42″635 More, from a press release issued by Pata Honda: Pata Honda World Supersport team in Spanish action The Pata Honda World Supersport team made its first outing since the official launch in Verona last weekend, completing a two-day test at Jerez in Spain yesterday. The new pairing of Michael van der Mark and Lorenzi Zanetti, both World Supersport debutants, put their Honda CBR600RRs through their paces on the same circuit at which they tested last November. For Dutchman van der Mark it was a satisfying test in different conditions. The 20-year-old European Junior Superstock champion completed a full race simulation with an improved and consistent race pace. Zanetti, from Italy, continued the transition to his 2013 machine after competing in last year’s World Superbike championship. He improved his Jerez lap time by half a second and looks forward to more testing in Australia next month, where the first round of the World Supersport championship will take place. Michael van der Mark Yes, it was another good test for me. I am really enjoying the bike and getting used to the differences between it and the stock CBR600RR that I rode last season. The track conditions were not great and the circuit was not fully dry until around lunchtime on the second day. But I was able to put in a full race simulation and improved the consistency of my lap times for a better result. Now I am getting really excited about the trip to Australia the Phillip Island circuit looks amazing and I cannot wait to ride there. Lorenzo Zanetti These two days were a good opportunity for me to spend more time on the bike and to develop the new working relationship with the team. I am happy to say that both are working well I am getting a better feeling with the bike and I was able to improve my lap time from the last test here. There is still a lot of work to do, so I am looking forward to some more testing time at Phillip Island before the first race. Pieter Breddels technical co-ordinator Michael did another good race run here at Jerez. It was better than the last time we were here, although he couldn’t get the ultimate lap time, but conditions were quite different. Lorenzo has improved his consistency and his lap time by finding a more comfortable setting with the bike. It’s been a positive test for both riders and we go to Phillip Island with confidence.