Aprilia’s measured but adamant rise to the front of the MotoGP field, with two victories in three races plus a Sprint race win, all inside the space of 30 days, has reaffirmed the brand’s sporting credentials. It’s also served as a parting testimony to the late Roberto Colaninno, Chairman/CEO of Piaggio who passed away on 19 August, just days after his 80th birthday and a fortnight after Aleix Espargaro’s Silverstone victory that saw Aprilia turn the tables on its Ducati rivals. Stock market wheeler-dealer Colaninno deserves credit for taking his eye off the balance sheet long enough to give Aprilia’s race team sufficient budget to elbow aside big spenders Ducati and KTM. That Silverstone victory must have given him special satisfaction.
But Aprilia’s sporting heritage had already been re-stated this year in its dealer showrooms. Ever since its 2021 debut in the marketplace, Aprilia’s RS660 parallel-twin has been the standout seller in the hotly contested middleweight sportsbike sector fought over by more than a dozen different manufacturers from East and West. Indeed, the more than 20,000 such motorcycles which company owner Piaggio has so far found owners for in 72 countries around the world since January 2021 have made it the current best-selling sportsbike globally.
APRILIA’S RS660 IS THE STANDOUT SELLER IN THE MIDDLEWEIGHT SPORTSBIKE SECTOR
The RS660 drew a new line in the sand for street-legal sportsbikes. Costing $11,400 less than the company’s 1100cc RSV4, in real-world terms it’s proved much
