APRILIA DROOLS DAY
Two almost identical moments, divided in time by 13 years, mixing adrenaline and excitement; Italian rider Mattia Pasini parking a 250 Aprilia RSA and screaming under his helmet, both episodes happening in the exact same spot, the pit lane of the Misano circuit, Italy. On 6 September 2009 the very same rider had just missed out on taking victory at the San Marino Grand Prix by 0.04 seconds and carried mixed feelings – having put on display a great performance, he was satisfied but it was bittersweet.
On 7 May 2022, he was again on the seat of the quarter-litre bike from the Noale factory, but in a completely different context; not a GP, but an event that gathered big names of the sport celebrating the first of 54 world titles Aprilia won in the last three decades.
“This bike is f***ing amazing, I missed the way the front reacts nervously in acceleration, in third gear it’s still an effort to control it,” said Pasini, who achieved 10 GP wins with Aprilia across the 125 and 250 classes in his career.
“This is a proper GP bike, no bullshit.” Today’s Moto2 bike,
