Victories

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2007

The victories year

In 2007 Aprilia succeeded at a formidable task; defending the four international titles that were won the previous year. In the 4-liter, the winner was once again Jorge Lorenzo who, like Max Biaggi, won his championship with one race left to go in the season while the Hungarian Gabor Talmasci crowned himself winner of the international 8-liter title, confirming the superb talent of the rider from eastern Europe.

The 250 championship will always be remembered as one of the better moments in Aprilia history. The eleven victories, ten 2nd places, and nine 3rd places that helped lock in victory of the constructors' title (with three races left in the season) and the riders' title (with one race remaining) were not the only elements that made the season special. At Brno, the RSA 250 assigned to Alvaro Bautista and Thomas Luthi made its official debut. The motorcycle immediately raced well and the riders were happy to discover how well it performed in curves and its great agility in directional changes, the only weak point of the "old" RSW. After only two races, Bautista was the first to cross the finish line at the Estoril circuit, winning the Portuguese Grand Prix and the RSA's first victory, the motorcycle that represents Aprilia's future in the 4-liter.

2007 was also the year of Jorge Lorenzo's definitive ordination. The young Spanish rider excelled in the extremely difficult undertaking of defending his title of 250 world champion. He did just that, however, with one race left in the season when he won at Sepang. His record was impressive: nine victories (tying the Aprilia season record held by the famous Max Biaggi and Valentino Rossi), one 2nd place, two 3rd places, and eight pole positions. Jorge went straight into the annals of Aprilia history before leaving at the end of the season to make the big jump to the queen class. At Valencia he declared, "I'm sad to leave Aprilia because it was never easy competing against Honda (the international motorcycling giant) and together we were able to beat them twice, which is incredible. We shared some really great moments that will really help me in the future. For this, I wish Aprilia and all those who remain many more victories and international titles."

Yet the story of the 2007 4-liter does not end with the international triumph of Jorge Lorenzo. There were other huge protagonists like Alex De Angelis, who finished 3rd in the final classification and climbed onto the podium seven times. He will also be moving onto the MotoGP after four great seasons with Aprilia. Alvaro Bautista will rightly inherit the legacy of the departing champions. The young Spaniard, in his first year in the 250, immediately demonstrated to be on top of his game by winning two races, (Mugello and Estoril) and climbing onto the podium five times; results that earned him the title of 2007 Rookie of the Year. Also consistently competing with the top riders was Hector Barbera who closed out 2007 with one 2nd place finish and three 3rd places.

The Aprilia RSA 125 (that debuted with a win in the penultimate race of 2006) will be entrusted to three top riders. There are many expectations and many unknowns. Many are asking the question, "better the new, revolutionary RSA or the tried and true RSW?" ahead of the season. In reality, 2007 witnessed an incredible triumph: Aprilia mathematically conquered the constructors' title at Misano with a good five races left in the season and on the same day that Mattia Pasini earned the Aprilia 125's 100th victory. At the end of the season, the RSA and RSW won 14 out of 17 races (10 and 4 races respectively), a new record in international racing history that surpassed Honda's 1993 record of 13 1st place finishes.

Finally, the international riders' title was won by Gabor Talmasci atop an Aprilia RSW. It came down to the last race at Valencia where Talmasci, the first Hungarian to win the international motorcycling title, beat out teammate Hector Faubel by just five points. Celebrated in his country as a national hero, he was the protagonist of a perfect season in which he conquered three victories, six 2nd places, and one 3rd place. Such results demonstrated that, beyond his riding abilities, his cool composure allows him to compete flawlessly under tremendous pressure. Faubel, instead, demonstrated that his RSA is a fast and competitive motorcycle by winning six races and climbing atop the podium eight other times. The Spaniard was an important protagonist of the season but paid a high price for falls in Barcelona and Misano. Recognition also goes to Mattia Pasini who, after starting off as a favorite, was unfortunately plagued by a series of withdrawals that took him out of the running for the title after only a few races. Mattia, however, did not give up and was rewarded for his tenacity by winning four races, including Misano in front of his home crowd. With that victory, Pasini led Aprilia to conquer its 100th victory in the 125 and the international constructors' title with five races remaining in the championship season.

There was another Italian rider who came to light in 2007: the Roman Simone Corsi who, after a series of very difficult seasons, was finally able to consistently demonstrate his talent. He won the Turkish GP and the 3rd place podium at Mugello in front of his home crowd. Even Sergio Gadea made an important contribution to the Aprilia cause by winning at Le Mans and collecting an additional 2nd and 3rd place. 2007 also marked the return to the spotlight of Spaniard Joan Olivè who conquered two 2nd places while the extremely young Pol Espargaro made it onto his first-ever podium by finishing 3rd in Portugal.