THE APRILIA RSV4 SUPERBIKE GOES TO THE SIMONCELLI FOUNDATION
APRILIA DELIVERS THE RSV4 FROM MARCO’S ONLY APPEARANCE IN WSBK TO PAOLO SIMONCELLI
THIS IS THE RSV4 THAT HE USED TO ASTONISH FANS AT IMOLA IN 2009
In the Aprilia Racing department at Noale the Marco Simoncelli Foundation took delivery of the Aprilia RSV4 Superbike that the Champion from Coriano rode at Imola in 2009 for his only race in the World SBK Championship.
Accepting the number 58 V4, as already happened with the world champion Gilera 250 donated to the Foundation by the Piaggio Group, was Paolo Simoncelli, Marco’s father and Technical Advisor to the Foundation. The RSV4 Superbike entrusted to the Foundation by Aprilia will be an addition to the Coriano Museum dedicated to Marco.
When Marco Simoncelli turned up at Imola as a wildcard he was the MotoGP 250 class World Champion. The rider from Coriano had dominated the 2008 season with his Gilera 250 and was in the thick of the battle to win the title again when he made his début astride the Superbike from Veneto as a wildcard and after testing it only once. Marco astonished the fans with his stellar performance.
The 250 Champion immediately demonstrated that he could do battle with the best in the class, ending his apprenticeship on a powerful and difficult bike like the V4 from Veneto in the Sunday races. After crashing out while battling in the lead pack in Race1, Marco rode his number 58 RSV4 to the third step of the podium in Race2, an extraordinary finish that was fought down to the last lap with skilled rivals who were experts in World SBK.
It was an exceptional result that demonstrated Marco Simoncelli’s skill and courage astride a powerful 1,000 cc 4-stroke that he had never ridden in a race until then.
“The images of Imola 2009 remain without a doubt in the mind’s eye of all the fans – commented Romano Albesiano, Aprilia Racing Manager – to see a young rider, making his début on a bike which is basically foreign to him and in a SBK Championship that is definitely not one of the simplest arenas, battle immediately with the best in the class is confirmation of the great potential Marco had. After the Gilera 250 that he rode to win the 2008 World Championship, this RSV4 also deserves to go to the Marco Simoncelli Foundation as a symbol and remembrance of one of the best talents in the motorcycle sport world”.
