Aprilia RS 457, Aprilia Racers Day India, trackday

The appropriate-hand parabola on the tight and technical Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore is my favourite nook, however on this specific occasion, I dread going round it. Earlier within the day, I had very cockily organized to sit down pillion on an RS 457, piloted by Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia’s MotoGP take a look at rider). I advised him to gun it for 3 laps and the sheer thrilling insanity that encompassed these laps shouldn’t be a reminiscence I am going to quickly overlook.

However how did I find yourself sitting behind Savadori? Nicely, Aprilia India has lastly determined to leverage its sporting historical past and transfer past its mainstream picture of simply being a scooter maker by internet hosting its first-ever Racers Days in India. That is an Aprilia proprietor’s occasion, which has been round for a few years abroad, and has been hosted at hallowed circuits corresponding to Mugello (Italy) and COTA (Circuit Of The Americas), amongst others. Whereas Racers Days is open to everybody who owns any Aprilia two-wheeler (from the common-or-garden SR 125 to the mothership RSV4), the RS 457 is the one machine that may be dropped at the occasion, as of now.

Aprilia selected 11-time nationwide champion Rajini Krishnan’s RACR academy to impart monitor driving expertise to the attendees at this occasion. Rajini and his fellow instructors ran a good ship, and we managed to cram in a complete of 9 classes over the 2 days. This included studying all the things from the fundamentals of monitor etiquette to physique positioning, throttle and brake management, and far more.

This was my third time at a racetrack and it was the one the place I’ve progressed probably the most. What gave my studying curve a giant enhance had been two issues. The primary was that RACR’s instructors and typically even Savadori himself can be on monitor and impart their ideas lap after lap. Secondly, Rajini took us on a monitor stroll earlier than day two started, serving to us discover the proper line by every nook and giving us his invaluable insights.

In fact, I might be remiss if I did not reward the RS 457 for the way nicely it masked my beginner driving over these two days. I may very well be within the flawed gear and the torquey twin-cylinder motor would help. I might choose the flawed line and the communicative, quick-steering nature would assist out. Irrespective of the error, the 457 was in a position to cowl it up.

Whereas Racer’s Days was primarily a two-day driving college, there have been a few different occasions to maintain Aprilia house owners . On the sidelines of all of the monitor motion, Aprilia arrange a devoted space the place attendees might take pleasure in an unfettered MotoGP screening. On the second day, John Abraham joined us for the principle race screening and he even went out for just a few laps on the monitor!

All in all, I might say this occasion has been a convincing success as a result of it has left me with lasting reminiscences and helped me develop as a rider. The pillion laps with Savadori was an adrenaline rush like nothing else thus far and the teaching from the RACR instructors was invaluable. The cherry on high is that the all-encompassing Final Aprilia Racer Package deal is priced at simply Rs 19,200. For that, Aprilia house owners can get the total Degree 1 and a pair of coaching from RACR, benefit from the pillion laps with Sava, and get entry to the MotoGP screening, which, all issues thought-about, is a steal.

In fact, in the event you discover that too steep, there are extra reasonably priced methods to attend Racers Days. In actual fact, you do not even must be an Aprilia proprietor to attend this occasion; you may simply soak within the expertise with an off-track cross.

All of that is constructive to see from Aprilia, and with the RS 457 (and its future derivatives), the corporate is heading in the right direction to determine itself in India as a maker of fascinating, sporty bikes. Grazie Mille & Forza Aprilia!