DREHER AND DI MARIO EACH PUT THEIR APRILIA RS 660 ON TOP AT BARBER, SPLITTING
WINS IN MIXED CONDITION RACES
CHAMPIONSHIP LEADER, GUS RODIO, GIVES APRILIA THREE PODIUM FINISHERS AT MAY
17-19 EVENT, AS HE MAINTAINS LEAD IN CLASS STANDINGS
BIRMINGHAM, AL — 20 MAY 2024 — Two MotoAmerica Twins Cup rookies notched their first
victories in only their third round racing in the class – and both did it aboard Aprilia RS 660s this past
weekend at Barber Motorsports Park. TopPro Racing Team’s Avery Dreher took the win in a soggy
contest on Saturday, while Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering’s Alessandro Di
Mario was victorious in Sunday’s dry Race 2.
And an Aprilia rider remained atop the Twins Cup points standings at the conclusion of the May 17-19
round, as Di Mario’s teammate Gus Rodio bounced back from a challenging race on Saturday to
score a podium finish on Sunday and maintain a double-digit points lead with six races
remaining in the 2024 season.
The Barber circuit appeared to be a good fit for the strengths of the Aprilia RS 660 package from the
start of the weekend. Seven of the 10 fastest riders in Friday morning practice were riding an Aprilia,
with Di Mario being the fastest of them. Di Mario finished the session with a best lap time of 1:29.858,
which was more than half a second quicker than his teammate Rodio’s best lap time. Dreher finished
Friday practice fifth-fastest, TopPro Racing Team’s Romeo Chiavini sixth, BG Capital Fund/Eleven
Motorsports Ryan Max Johnson seventh, DRC’s Tyler Duffy ninth and 2018 Twins Cup Champion Chris
Parrish in 10th.
Di Mario’s pace got even hotter later Friday in Qualifying 1, when he improved his best lap time
by more than 1.5 seconds and set a new MotoAmerica Twins Cup lap record. Rodio didn’t set a
time during the session due to a physical ailment, but four other Aprilia RS 660 riders – Johnson,
Dreher, Parrish, and Chiavini – provisionally qualified fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth, respectively.
Di Mario suffered a minor crash in Saturday morning’s Qualifying 2 session, but his lap time from
Qualifying 1 was enough for him to secure pole position. Rodio didn’t miss a beat when he got back
aboard his Aprilia for Qualifying 2, qualifying right behind his teammate Di Mario in second. Aprilia
riders in the top 10 include Chiavini (sixth), Parrish (seventh), Johnson (eighth), and Dreher (10th).
Saturday afternoon’s Race 1 changed conditions near the beginning, with rain pouring down on the
track before racing got underway. The 14-lap race was shortened to seven laps and riders were given a
short wet practice session to familiarize themselves with the soaked track before competition began.
Rodio, who had an issue with his helmet’s face shield on the warm-up, was forced to start the race from
the pit lane.
When racing did commence, it was Di Mario who took the lead from pole for most of Lap 1, but Dreher
began what proved to be a determined performance and bested Di Mario to the line to lead Lap 1. Di
Mario and Dreher then began a nearly race-long battle for the lead, with both riders taking turns at the
front of the field. Unfortunately for Di Mario, he crashed out from the lead at the start of Lap 6, and
Dreher went on to take the victory by more than 2.7 seconds. Di Mario did remount his Aprilia RS 660
and finished in seventh place. Duffy finished in eighth place, and Rodio came back from starting last to
finish ninth.
Sunday’s Race 2 took place under hot and dry conditions. Di Mario got a very good start but his
teammate Rodio stole the show on the first lap. After falling back to at least fourth place during the
opening set of corners, Rodio managed to take the lead before the field reached Turn 8 on the first lap.
Rodio and Di Mario gradually broke away from the rest of the field, and Di Mario caught up to and
passed Rodio at Turn 12 on Lap 5 to assume the race lead. Though Rodio was passed by another
front-running rider on the last lap, Di Mario’s gap to the rest of the field to allow him to take his first
MotoAmerica Twins Cup victory by a margin of 0.768 seconds. Rodio held onto third place on the last
lap, giving Aprilia two podium finishers on the day. Other Aprilia riders who finished in the top 10 include
Parrish in eighth place, Chiavini in ninth and Dreher in 10th.
Though Rodio’s lead in the Twins Cup points standings shrunk from 22 to 15, his early season
successes have allowed him to maintain the championship lead despite enduring a setback on
Saturday. Di Mario leaves Barber third in the points standings, and Dreher is in fifth.
Half of the riders registered to compete in MotoAmerica Twins Cup at the Barber Motorsports Park
round (17 of 34 riders) were slated to be competing aboard Aprilia RS 660s.
The next round of the MotoAmerica Twins Cup takes place May 31-June 2 at the Road America circuit
in Elkhart Lake, Wis.
Avery Dreher / TopPro Racing Team
“I knew as soon as I saw the rain start to fall that I had a chance to win. I knew that if I got a good start I
could roll around some of the other riders on the first lap. Once I got up to first place, I just tried to keep
the bike up on two wheels and be as smooth as possible. I’m super happy with Saturday’s result.”
Alessandro Di Mario / Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering
“I came into the weekend really excited. I love this track. I was able to set [a new track record] in
qualifying, and my pace was really good. In yesterday’s race, I didn’t really think I was going to be that
fast in the wet. After Avery [Dreher] passed me, I tried to stick with him and was able to pass him again.
Then the sun came out, and I couldn’t see anything in the back section of the track. So when I got to
Turn 3, I thought there was a little dry line but there wasn’t. So I lost the rear, but was able to pick the
bike up and get seventh – which I’m happy about. Today, I just tried to manage it. I was managing the
gap a little. I probably could have gone a little faster, but there was really no need to. The front [tire] was
sliding a lot, so I didn’t want to take the risk.”
Gus Rodio / Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering
“Yesterday was kind of points control, as I had to start from pit lane and work my way back up. Today in
the race, my rear tire just fell off and I was just riding a flat track bike around. Did the best I could,
secured another podium and hopefully started another streak of these.”
