Aprilia plays down reliability fears

Noriyuki Haga’s Aprilia team has dismissed the mechanical disasters it suffered at the Phillip Island WSB tests as a normal part of pre-season shake-downs.

Haga blew up three of the latest versions of the RSV1000’s in just two days and was forced to miss much of the second day after both bikes exploded within 30 minutes of each other.

An Aprilia spokesman said: ” Failures like this are all natural at this time of year.

” We are not worried. We have already found solutions to the problems. It is more important for us to make sure Noriyuki is settled on the bike and happy with everything. ”

One of the breakdowns was caused by a water pump failure and Haga continued unaware of the problem until the motor overheated and seized solid. Another blew to bits when primary gears broke. The third failure has not been explained.

A 10bhp boost found this winter comes as a result of lightening engine internals.

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