Track-spec Aprilia RS 660 Trofeo goes on sale to the public

Aprilia’s RS 660 has begun a supersport renaissance. Its 99bhp twin-cylinder engine and pin-sharp handling, combined with real-world practicality make perfect sense on our speed camera-saturated British roads.

But what if you want to let your hair down on a circuit instead? Well, the standard road bike is perfectly capable of tackling the occasional trackday, but Aprilia will now sell you a €17,950 (roughly £15,400) Trofeo version, weighing a claimed 153kg dry and producing around 103.6bhp.

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Produced by Aprilia’s Racing Department, the Noale firm start with a standard RS 660, before removing the the ignition switch assembly and ABS. The braking system is also simplified with independent lines. That said, the ABS control unit remains and has been done in order to make use of the rest of the bike’s full suite of electronics.

Elsewhere, the ECU has been reprogrammed with all mapping now producing full power and dedicated exclusively to track use. Set up by Aprilia Racing, it has also been calibrated for an SC Project racing exhaust. The colour TFT dashboard no longer shows the same options as the road bike and the bulky left switchgear has been replaced by a more track-appropriate cluster.

The Aprilia’s already impressive handling will also be improved further with Öhlins suspension front and rear and dedicated racing pads fitted to the Brembo calipers. Tyre duties are taken on by Pirelli and the race bikes are shod with Supercorsa V3 SC1 rubber which has a much softer compound than the road bike. If you’re interested, bikes can be ordered from factoryworks.aprilia.com.

Aprilia RS 660 race series

For those that want to take onership further, there’s also a six-race, single-make championship where the bike can show what it’s got… in Italy. The Aprilia Racing RS 660 Trophy shadows the Italian domestic racing series (CIV) and started in May at Misano.

Half of the 42-bike grid forms the Challenge Class, for entrants who have bought their own special racing RS 660 Trofeo. This is an open class for those of all ages (starting from 15) who manage their own garages and mechanical needs.

The other half of the grid will be part of the Aprilia Racing Area, which costs €34,900 (around £30,700) plus VAT to join. These riders simply need to get themselves to the race meeting and draw lots for a bike, everything else will be taken care of as part of the manufacturer package.

“The RS660 is a bike with an outstanding dynamic balance,” said Aprilia Racing CEO, Massimo Rivola. “Here at Aprilia Racing we decided to use it and move it straight away into a track competition that falls perfectly in line with our commitment to drawing young riders into racing.

“Last year, the small Sport Production championship made its debut. Now we want to create a consistent path of growth which, starting from the RS250 SP, can move on to the RS660 Trophy, intended for ambitious young people who always have the MotoGP dream in mind.”

The race series may be limited to Italy for now, but with the Supersport class dwindling away and relying in many cases on outdated models, plus a TT Lightweight rule change that would have seen the RS660 able to compete this year (if the racing had gone ahead) this could well be something that other domestic championships look at as a support class.