APRILIA RS 660 RIDERS RODIO, DI MARIO CLAIM PODIUM FINISHES AT MOTOAMERICA TWINS CUP RACES AT ROAD ATLANTA
2023 TWINS CUP RUNNER-UP RODIO EXTENDS CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD OVER WEEKEND
BRASELTON, GA – 23 APRIL 2024 – The scene of Aprilia’s remarkable debut of its RS 660 model in MotoAmerica competition in 2021 also saw Aprilia riders find success in 2024. Though not as dramatic when the newly-homologated Aprilia swept the podium in its very first Twins Cup race, Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering’s Gus Rodio and Alessandro Di Mario rode Aprilia RS 660s to a total of three podium finishes at this year’s Road Atlanta round.
Rodio’s second-place finish on Saturday and third place in wet conditions on Sunday were enough to allow him to extend his lead in the championship standings, while Di Mario has kickstarted his Twins Cup career by scoring two podiums in his first four races in the class. Another Aprilia rider, TopPro Racing Team’s Avery Dreher, put in a gritty performance on Sunday to nearly beat out Rodio for third place after suffering a big crash while racing in another MotoAmerica class on Saturday.
Wet conditions in Friday morning’s practice session saw just 17 riders – eight on Aprilias – take to the track. Among those sitting out the session were Aprilia frontrunners Rodio and Di Mario, as well as 2018 Twins Cup champion Chris Parrish who made the switch to an Aprilia RS 660 for 2024. Dreher was the fastest of the Aprilia riders who took to the track.
Track conditions improved for the Friday afternoon Qualifying 1 session that saw two Aprilia riders finish in the top five. Rodio and Di Mario provisionally qualified third and fifth. Four additional Aprilia riders – Dreher and his TopPro Racing teammate Romeo Chiavini, Righteous Racing’s Ray Hofman and Powersport Supply/Manera Racing’s Giacomo Manera finished the session seventh through 10th.
The second and final Twins Cup qualifying session took place Saturday morning, and Rodio slipped one position in the qualifying order to secure fourth on the starting grid. Rodio’s teammate Di Mario qualified alongside him in fifth place, while Dreher ended up seventh, Chiavini ninth, and Hofman 10th.
After an aborted start due to a malfunction with the starting light system, Saturday afternoon’s Twins Cup Race 1 was shortened to eight laps and saw two Aprilia riders claim podium finishes. Rodio got a very good start and had moved into second place as the field took the first corner. Rodio and Di Mario, who was running in fifth place early in the first lap, were part of a four-rider group that broke away from the rest of the field to vie for the win. Rodio led the race on Lap 2 and dropped as low as third in the running order before clinching second place. Di Mario ran in fourth place much of the race before moving up to third place in the closing laps. He made a move to get past Rodio on the last lap and finished third by a mere 0.107 seconds. Four other Aprilia riders finished in the top 10 – Manera in seventh, Dreher in eighth, Chiavini in ninth and DRC’s Tyler Duffy in 10th.
Sunday’s Race 2 took place under wet conditions. Several of the usual Aprilia frontrunners got sluggish starts, but Dreher and Rodio recovered and worked their way several positions up the running order during the shortened 10-lap race. Dreher advanced to third place on Lap 4, but Rodio was running right behind him and gradually closed the gap between himself and Dreher. Rodio then made a pass late in
the final lap to edge out Dreher for the last step on the podium by 0.214 seconds. Chiavini’s fifth place gave Aprilia three top-five finishers, and Di Mario and Manera placed ninth and 10th, respectively.
Thanks to his two victories at the previous round at Daytona International Speedway and his closest championship rival struggling in Sunday’s wet conditions, Rodio leaves Road Atlanta having increased his lead in the points standings from 19 to 22. Di Mario and Dreher are also in the hunt for the 2024 Twins Cup title, as they sit fourth and fifth in the points standings.
Of the 32 riders registered to compete in the Twins Cup at Road Atlanta, nearly half (15) were slated to race Aprilia RS 660s.
The MotoAmerica Twins Cup will be back in action May 17-19 for the third round of its 2024 season at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala.
Gus Rodio / Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering
“I had a great Race 1. I was a little off the pace coming into the race, so I knew I had to make some changes with my riding to run at the front. I was super happy to have been fighting for the win the whole race. I knew the rain was going to be a challenge on Sunday, but I kept focused on staying smooth and consistent. Overall, it was a great weekend to work on keeping our points lead given the circumstances. I’m super excited to be heading to Barber Motorsports Park next.”
Alessandro Di Mario / Rodio Racing Powered by Robem Engineering
“Race 1 went pretty well. I want to thank my team and all my mechanics for the changes they made to my Aprilia RS 660 – it felt amazing during the race. It was really exciting to fight for the podium and be up there with all the fast riders in this class. I knew racing in the rain wasn’t going to be easy, but I concentrated on not making any mistakes and bringing home some points. Barber is one of my favorite tracks, so I’m really looking forward to going there next.”
