Aprilia Looks to Suzuka

From Aprilia Racing:
Riders, teams and materials have all arrived in Suzuka for the Championship debut. In a few hours' time, they will be taking part in the official opening ceremony of the 2002 season. A typically spring-like day is awaiting them, with a stunningly blue sky and strong gusts of wind.

The second RS Cube, which had stayed in Italy for the official presentation to the media and for two days' testing with Régis Laconi at Mugello, has now safely reached Suzuka, where the team is busy making the finishing touches for the first qualifying session tomorrow...

"Here in Suzuka, the two RS3 are not exactly identical", said Mr Jan Witteveen, who arrived in the early afternoon. "One bike will have the latest configuration, as tested at Mugello (giving us some excellent references), while the second one has another, more advanced configuration based on these results. We'll be trying it out on track tomorrow."

Régis Laconi flew into Suzuka yesterday morning and, after catching a few hours' sleep to get over the jet-lag, early this afternoon he went out onto the circuit to get first-hand experience of the changes made to the Dunlop curve. "I've got over the fatigue of the journey and I'm all ready for tomorrow", said Régis.

"I'm just back from the Mugello tests where we did some good work and made further progress. We're all set: I know the Suzuka circuit already but just need to make an inspection to see how much the modification has actually changed the track. The adventure starts tomorrow."

Flying via London, also Marco "Macio" Melandri is now in Suzuka. After the final tests on the 250cc class, he spent a number of days doing PR work on television ads, playing the lead role as a testimonial. "The last few days before leaving for Japan were not exactly idle", commented Marco Melandri.

"After all, it was the best time to do it: once the Championship starts, there's not going to be much time for PR work any more. I went out to have a brief look at the newly designed Dunlop curve, which has been brought back to give a better escape route. No problem: it shouldn't change the rhythm of the track and we'll be using the same gear. I can't wait for Sunday, although I'm a bit worried about the weather - they say we can expect rain."