JAPAN GRAND PRIX PREVIEW
Motegi (Japan), 6 October 2015 - The three Pacific area races will begin with the Japanese GP. In a three-week rush, in addition to the demanding Japanese circuit, the teams and riders will take on the Australian track at Phillip Island and the Malaysian Sepang circuit.
Continuing to develop the Aprilia RS-GP machines remains the main objective for the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini in this rapid set of three demanding races.
Alvaro Bautista will be arriving at Motegi after four races in a row finished in the point and he intends to continue that trend in Japan. In the last race at Aragon, despite being penalised by a less than advantageous starting position, he demonstrated good race pace, coming back strong and showing potential that would have let him battle for an even better finish. Stefan Bradl, in his sixth race astride the Aprilia RS-GP, is keen to make amends for the Spanish round where only a drop in tyre performance toward the end kept him from defending a points finish which he had held onto easily until that point.
ROMANO ALBESIANO (Aprilia Racing Manager)
“In Japan we'll find a track that is an extremely demanding challenge in terms of wear and brake stress. For us this will be a very interesting test in terms of engine management as well. In this season, which is a testing season for us, it will be quite a telling exam. In short, there are a series of factors which will demand great effort on our part. But in line with our season goals, we intend to bring home some important results in terms of experience and knowledge.”
FAUSTO GRESINI (Team Manager)
“Motegi is a track where we have no points of reference. It will be another useful test bench for the important development work we are doing on the RS-GP. Another chance for us to get some answers and hopefully to collect some more championship points, a goal that we have managed to achieve in all four of the last Grand Prix rounds. During the intense European season we were able to see improvements in various areas and that was reflected in the results, thanks in part to a united team and two riders who are motivating one another. In the Asian tour we want to take a few more important steps forward in anticipation of 2016.”