Guintoli and Laverty stayed busy for two days of testing at Jerez

Aprilia Racing Team concluded the tests today at the Spanish circuit of Jerez de la Frontera, the last ones before leaving for Australia where, on 24 February at Phillip Island, the 2013 World Superbike Championship will get underway.

Eugene Laverty and newcomer Sylvain Guintoli had to deal with poor weather which had a significant impact on the test sessions yesterday. The sun that came out today on the other hand allowed the two riders to complete the scheduled work, getting in a fair amount of laps at some interesting times.

Both riders fell victim to sliding crashes with no serious consequences, but it wasn't enough to compromise progress or the physical condition of Sylvain and Eugene. At the end of the day the Aprilia Racing standard bearers were in the top six times, a result that demonstrates the competitiveness of the Italian team in view of the 2013 season.

In a few days the Aprilia Racing Team will leave for Phillip Island, Australia, where two test sessions are scheduled before the race which will mark the beginning of the 2013 WSBK Championship.

Northern Irishman Eugene Laverty, who put the third best time on the boards, looks forward confidently toward the impending season: "Despite the less than perfect conditions of the track, we were able to do some good work. Our progress compared to the tests in November on this same track confirm my feelings. The crash was due to a loss of grip when I tried pushing beyond the track grip limit, but it didn't compromise our testing sessions. Now I'm ready to fly to Australia where we'll finally be able to put these values to work for us on the track".

"These were two very interesting days - commented Frenchman Sylvain Guintoli, after only his second time out astride the official RSV4 - yesterday we had the opportunity to lap on the wet track, gathering important information and getting an idea of my feeling with the RSV4 even in these conditions. Today, with the track drying out, lap by lap I was able to find the good pace I had in the last tests. Maybe that led me to push a little too hard and I crashed. Fortunately I came away with just a few scratches! Before leaving for Australia we'll decide on the definitive technical choices, but I think our prospects are good".