Aprilia to take on World Supermoto this weekend with new v-twin

Aprilia officially starts in the FIM SuperMoto World Championship, Aprilia’s debut is this weekend at the FIM SuperMoto World Championship Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps. Next year Aprilia will participate in the entire FIM Motocross and SuperMoto World Championship with factory teams.

An Aprilia machine will be in the line-up for the Supermoto World Championship race at Belgium’s Spa Francorchamps circuit on the 15th and 16th of November. The revolutionary new bike will be powered by the 45° V-twin engine and ridden by Alex De Angelis.

Next weekend will go down in Aprilia history. Belgium’s Spa Francorchamps circuit will not only host the last but one race in this season’s Supermoto World Championships, but will also see the first ever appearance of the Aprilia SXV 4.5, the bike powered by the fantastic 450 twin cylinder engine presented at Milan, in a steel perimeter frame with alloy uprights.

The bike will be entered directly by the team responsible for its testing and development, who see the Spa Francorchamps meeting as an opportunity to gather information essential to success in 2004.

Not yet able to present an official rider, Aprilia has decided to place the aggressive young 125 cc Vice-Champion of the World, Alex De Angelis from San Marino, in the saddle of the SXV 4.5 at Spa Francorchamps. De Angelis is no newcomer to Supermotard riding.

“It’s a great honour for me to have been chosen to ride in this race. I’m determined to do my best to develop this machine. Supermotard riding is tremendous fun, even though with my background I’m more at home on the asphalt than off it. It’s certainly going to be a tremendous experience!”

The single shaft, 77° V twin, electronic injection engine has been designed and built in record time. The great progress it has shown in bench testing has convinced Aprilia to bring forward its racing debut in order to gain valuable experience directly on the track.

Aprilia may also enter the new bike in the last race of the season, to be held over the last weekend in November in Benidorm, Spain.

Actually entering a race valid for the world championship is a clear signal from Aprilia that this new supermotard is not just an assembly of new ideas but a stable, consolidated project, fully in line with present and future legislation.

Proof comes in the fact that the bike’s innovative design fully complies with the strictest future noise and fume emission standards.