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Successful debut for new pneumatic V4 Aprilia

Aprilia MotoGP riders Marco Melandri and Alvaro Bautista have successfully debuted the new pneumatic-valved V4 engine in testing at Jerez they will use in next year’s championsgip campaign.

It was the second test for Aprilia, with the first having been at Valencia and on this occasion the weather affected proceedings, especially on the final day, with continuous bursts of rain which ensured the track was constantly wet.

The engine is more powerful than its predecessor and debuted on Wednesday, as on the first day Aprilia had focused on electronics and setups. Bautista completed 131 laps over the course of the three days, with a best lap time of 1’40.6. Melandri put in 123 laps and his best time came in the form of 1’41.5.

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"We can be satisfied with how it went, even though the weather slowed our progress. I continued to use the bike in the same configuration as the Valencia test. We focused on the chassis, finding some solutions that I liked which allowed us to learn more about the bike,” said Bautista.

“I was able to use the new pneumatic valve engine from the second day; the power is great but there is still work to do. We did a few laps in the wet today (Thursday) but we still need to learn more about how this engine works in such conditions.

“Now the winter break begins, so we will detach a little from work to recover from a long season and then come back to train and be ready. In the meantime, I will definitely be at the Aprilia factory to see up close and personal all of the great work the technicians are doing on the bike."

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