Aprilia Racing celebrates its champions at EICMA 2024

The presentation began with awards to the 2024 Aprilia Trophy protagonists: Thomas Benetti, winner of the Italian FMI Aprilia Sport Production Championship, and Filippo Bianchi, winner of the RS 660 Aprilia Trophy. They were joined by Tommaso Marcon, a key figure in the development of the Trophy bikes. Edoardo Colombi also came up on stage, who just missed the SportBike class title in the BSB in his rookie year, taking home an amazing eight wins and twelve podiums out of fifteen races. A moving video message also conveyed Alessandro Di Mario’s greetings, the young rookie and champion of the Twins Cup category in MotoAmerica with his Aprilia RS 660.

Along with Lorenzo Savadori, Aprilia Racing also presented the RS 457 Aprilia Trophy, dedicated to bikes outfitted with the racing kit which will make its début in 2025. The Trophy was conceived with the goal of drawing young riders to the track with a high-performance bike, in true Aprilia tradition of rideability and thrills.

The Team Aprilia Tuareg Racing riders were a must on the stage: Jacopo Cerutti, Francesco Montanari, and Claudio Spanu, accompanied by Team Manager Vittoriano Guareschi. The team celebrated an extraordinary season, with Spanu winning the Motorally FX class and Cerutti taking home the G-1000 class Motorally title, the Hellas Rally Raid in the M6 class, the Baja Aragón in the multicylinder class, and – last but not least – first place in the Africa Eco Race 2024.

Team Aprilia Tuareg Racing also took advantage of the opportunity to confirm their commitment to the 2025 Africa Eco Race, where Cerutti and Montanari will ride along with new entry Marco Menichini, making his début on the Tuareg 660 in the Junior category.

The presentation ended with a tribute to the MotoGP riders, with Aleix Espargaró and Lorenzo Savadori on the stage alongside Aprilia Racing CEO Massimo Rivola, as well as the Aprilia Ambassador, Max Biaggi. It was a moment to pay tribute to Espargaró who, at the end of the 2024 season, will be retiring from MotoGP. It was a special opportunity to thank Il Capitano for his eight years with Aprilia and to greet the many Italian fans in attendance.

MASSIMO RIVOLA
“It’s fantastic to be here with our Aprilia 250 Sport Production champion, Thomas Benetti and the RS 660 Trophy winner, Filippo Bianchi. We also introduced the Aprilia RS 457 Trophy, which will debut in 2025 and is a great opportunity for young talent. It was exciting to see Edoardo Colombi on stage, who made history in British Superbike and to receive a message from Alessandro Di Mario, winner of the Twins Cup in MotoAmerica. We also celebrated a successful season for the Aprilia Tuareg Racing Team, confirming our participation in the Africa Eco Race, where, as reigning champions, all the attention will be on Jacopo Cerutti. Among the outstanding models on display there are the Aprilia RSV4 X ex3ma, the MotoGP bike with the special Perla Nera livery, and the RS-GP 24, with our Capitano here to greet the fans. It will be special to see Aleix finish his Aprilia career at his home track in Montmeló, where he took pole position, and a sprint win this year.”