https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/civ-american-toth-wins-aprilia-rs-660-cup-race-two-at-mugello/ Some of “our” locals having some fun ! Bueno !
That's badass. @Gino230, I assume they have bikes over there for you guys? Do you get to make them yours or is it a lottery-each-round situation?
Wow, what an experience! This came about when we met the principals of BK Corse in Daytona. They are affiliated with Aprilia, and came over with Tomasso Marcon. BK Corse runs the Aprilia Trofeo Cup (RS 660 spec race) that runs as a support class for the Italian CIV national series. The principal, Giocamo, is 48 and when he met Carl Price and I, the idea was hatched that we would have an "old guys" race at some point. I bugged them relentlessly, but being Italians, I only got the paperwork and confirmation that we were actually going to race about 10 days before, so it was a big rush to get my medical clearance and FIM license (they were probably waiting for a 'real' racer to show interest in the Mugello round). The program works as a true spec series. They provide all the bikes, tires, fuel, etc. You show up with your leathers and gear, and you need a place to sleep. There's full hospitality at the track so you can eat there all weekend. There's a lottery system where a VIN number is assigned to you at the beginning of the weekend. I don't think I touched anything on the bike except the start button all weekend. They spring it to your liking and will make any changes you want. It's like being a MotoGP rider. Started out on take-offs, New tires for Q1 and another set for Race 1. Same tires for race 2 on Sunday. Pirelli SC1 DOT tires, which supposedly can't be found here. I don't know, as I haven't ridden on a Pirelli tire in 15 years. The series itself is similar to MotoAmerica, but there seem to be a lot more semis. It's streamed live just like MA, and the schedule is very similar. My first time out on the bike was impressive. I've never swung a leg over the Ape, and after everything I've heard, I didn't know what to expect. Bikes are set up with Race ECU, basic crash protection, exhaust, Adrianni Carts in the forks, and Ohlins shock. Full AIM data (including suspension potentiometers) everything else is stock. My bike still had the clear plastic covers on the swingarm, it was so new. I will say that whatever setup they have seems to be damn good. Powerband is different from the Yamaha, but according to other Aprilia riders, these bikes are better than their similarly set up US counterparts. All I know is, it felt damn good to me. The track. Holy shit, the track! I mean, it's freakin' Mugello, and I'm Italian, so of course it was a dream for me. But on the technical side- the track is big and FAST, and being Europe, it's in immaculate condition. It reminds me of Barber in the sense that there's almost no bumps and seemingly unlimited grip. One thing you can never tell from the videos is elevation and banking. It has both. Most corners are slightly banked and very few are flat. I watched lots of youtube videos, but it doesn't really prepare you for the size of the corners and of course the elevation. Pole for the RS660's is 2:00, my first session was like 2:22 so I knew I had my work cut out for me. Down in the 16's by the third session, I was slowly figuring things out. After the day ends, the mechanics attack the bikes, cleaning wheels, brake calipers, changing oil, checking various things. (They also clean between sessions.) There's data guys there that will help you any time you ask. Friday was one more practice and then Q1, I think I did 2:15's so I qualified 2nd to last but hey! I at least out qualified Giocamo meaning I was 2nd out of the old guys. Saturday Q2 I did 2:14 but didn't change the order. So on to race 1. After almost breaking down in tears on the grid (racing in the country of my grandfathers!) I got a good launch and made up 3 or 4 positions going into San Donato, where I went way wide and gave half of them back. Carl was a tick faster than me and slowly pulled away. I kept waiting for Giocamo to have a try, I could feel him back there in the draft going down the big front straight. On lap 8 of 10 we had a red flag, which turned out to be Giocamo crashing in the Biondetti esses- these are similar to Barber's chicane but faster- mostly flat but we're approaching them redlined in 4th so it's quick. Unfortunately, he broke a collarbone, ankle, and got his bell rung, so he was out for the rest of the weekend. He's expected to make a full recovery, but it was a bummer. Sunday there's no warm up- I made a small change with my data guy, the only change I made all weekend, which was to add a few turns of rear preload to help hold the line on the gas. Turn 6/7 is kind of like the corkscrew at Laguna but WAY bigger, and the exit (T7 or Savelli) is kind of like Rainey. On these bikes we are full throttle down the hill in 4th so getting the bike to hold the line is critical. You then turn the bike onto your knee flat out in 4th (arrabbiata 1) before chopping it to make the radius. Race 2 I got a good launch again and held my position into Turn 1 and beyond. Carl had been faster than me by about 1.5 sec all weekend, so I knew he was coming and my plan was to hang on to him and hopefully he could drag us into the 10's. When he did come by, I was keeping up no problem until the exit of the T2/3 Chicane where he gapped me by nearly a second. This is the weakness of my system- I am good at working on the lap times one corner at a time, but sometimes I'm working on the wrong corners and I'm too proud to go out and follow someone- I always want to figure it out myself. Well this showed my mistake- if I had followed him a little during one our other sessions, I may have been able to focus on that exit and maybe fix it. Entering Turn 6 (Casanova) the same thing happened, so at least if I ever go back to Mugello, I know where my 1.5 seconds can be found. Carl slowly inched away and eventually I was all by myself. On lap 9 I lost the front on the downhill entry into Scarperia, but it came back before I really had a chance to react. I got the blue flag at the end of that lap, and going into the final corner I left the inside open and that killed my drive onto the front straight- which turned out to be perfect for Max, as he used me to draft to the line and win the race, coming by me and putting me down a lap right at start / finish. So I could have avoided being lapped by a whisker if I had just held my line and rode like normal. Oh well. I won't even bother to tell you guys about all the food and wine we drank. I swear I don't want to hear one complaint about those Aprilias anymore. It feels like it will lean over forever. Some of those banked corners I was dragging my knee, toes, everything and could still use full throttle on the exit. The lean angle sensor said 58 degrees at some point, although I guess it takes banking into account as well? I had a couple of electrical problems over the weekend, red lights flashing on the dash and such, but the bike kept running so I followed orders and ignored them. (Tough to ignore flashing red lights in my profession). Nobody had overheating problems and we're running stock radiators with water, and it was 92 degrees all 4 days. It was beyond awesome for me to get to do this, I just got home today and I still can't believe I was there.
That's amazing.! Awesome you were able to get that set up. Now that you have done it, do you think you will go back again? Also, I think you run a Yamaha, does this make you want to switch? Did the Pirellis, feel like they had more grip than the Dunlops you run here?
I won't lie, I thought about all of the above. Going back- I would love to, but It's expensive. Travel is not cheap nowadays either and of course, I've used most of my vacation time for MotoAmerica rounds. If I could be assured my bike would feel like the one I rode, I would think pretty hard about getting one. There were some corners where I wished I had the grunt of the Yamaha, which suits my style better than all out corner speed and keeping it in the revs. Even though on paper, these bikes are the same as a build from someone like HSBK, with the same parts list, there's something else going on. They seem to have no problem with corner exit like I've been told, and we were pulling big gearing, 18/43. I think Kaleb told me that he tried a 17 at Road America and couldn't pull it so they switched to a 16. I think it's the Race ECU personally. There's a few versions of the Kit ECU floating around, I'm guessing due to their affiliation and proximity to the factory, they have the latest and greatest ones. (Even still, the auto blip doesn't work). The fuel could be a factor, it's ELF, some kind of pump style gas similar to MGP, I really don't think it's anything special. It doesn't turn the pipe that sandy color like real race gas, and it smells like pump. They claim the bikes are right off the production line with no special attention given to them at the factory. The tires are a bit of an unknown. My theory on tires being: If you're not within 5 sec of the lap record, I challenge you to tell the difference between a good set of either brand. Yes, I know the Pirelli has a softer carcass and moves a bit more, so perhaps it makes the setup a little easier? I don't think the tire carcass is as soft as everyone seems to think- I would really need to ride them back to back on the same bike. I've never had a problem with the grip of the Dunlop tires- but then again, I'm usually about 6 sec off the lap record on a good weekend. so according to my above theory, it shouldn't matter. I just invested in a second motor for the Yamaha, and a spare set of bodywork, so I'm not switching anytime soon. At least that is my story at the moment!
