Aprilia entered the Grand Prix road racing world championships in 1985 and since then it has seen varying successes.
On 15 August 2010, Aprilia became the most successful motorcycle racing brand in history, surpassing fellow Italian MV Agusta with a record 276th victory.[2]
Early times
500 cc class
Aprilia began campaigning in the 500cc class in 1994 with a 250 V twin motor enlarged to 380cc in hopes of using its lighter weight and nimble handling as an advantage against the heavier, V4 engine bikes used by the competition.[3]
The bike eventually displaced 430cc and had its best result with a third place by rider Doriano Romboni at the 1997 Dutch TT but, could never overcome power disadvantage during the starting line sprint and was withdrawn at the end of the 1997 season for further development.[3]
Aprilia has been successful in the smaller displacement categories, winning numerous races and championships in the 125 cc and 250 cc Grand Prix classes.
In 1992, they won their first road racing world championship with Gramigni winning the 125cc class.[3]
Aprilia set the record for the most points earned by a manufacturer in a single season from the 125cc class with 410 points in 2007.
It was also the highest points earned by a constructor in Grand Prix motorcycle racing's history until 2011 when 420 points were won by the same bikes winning 16 out of 17 races.
They were third in the riders' championship in 2000 with rider Troy Corser, and third in manufacturers' points and fourth in rider points both in 2001 with Corser and in 2002 with Noriyuki Haga. Aprilia retired from the series at the end of that season.[citation needed]
Aprilia also feature in the off-road racing world,[15] with their 450 cc V-2 motocrosser producing respectable results, including race wins, in both Motocross and Supermoto categories.
Aprilia made their international racing debut in the Motocross World Championship competing in the 125cc class from 1976 until 1981 with a best result being a fifth place in the 1979 season with rider Corrado Maddi.[16]
With Aprilia, Ivan Alborghetti won the Italian 125 and 250 cc motocross championships in 1977.[17]
Aprilia is notable for choosing atypical engine configurations[21] for their racing bikes.
For example, they progressed with development of a V-2 500 cc Grand Prix bike when other teams were moving to V-4 configurations for what some believed was better and more usable power outputs.
Aprilia continued this trend, taking advantage of lighter minimum weights with the introduction of their RS Cube MotoGP bike which features three cylinders in an inline triple layout, the bike had the fewest cylinders on the Grand Prix paddock.
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