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Happenings In Motorcycling
Thousands of Aprilia motorcycle fans attending the second day of the Aprilia World Meeting confirming
that the first edition of the celebration was a great success. More than 3000 bikers gathered for the
parade, forming a long, continuous procession along the road between Noale and Scorze, Italy, and
many more participated during the day. Heading the parade was Ivano Beggio, together with his wife
Tina, on a Tuono R.
The parade was dominated by RSV Milles in addition to tons of scooters that ended at the factory in
Scorze.
Past and present Aprilia riders in attendance included: Ivan Alborghetti, Corrado Maddii, Marcellino
Lucchi, Loris Reggiani, Gino Borsoi, Lucio Cecchinello, Alex de Angelis, Mirco Giansanti, Marco
Simoncelli, Max Sabbatani, Casey Stoner, Randy De Puniet, Toni Elias, Fonsi Nieto and Manuel Poggiali. Last but not least, Colin Edwards and Noriyuki Haga entered the stage to the high revving symphony of their RS Cubes, the GP bikes on which they are challenging the MotoGP Championship.
By
ALAN CATHCART
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Rotax on the Market?
AU,strian engine manufacturer Rolax is understood to have been put up for sale by Its Canadian owneJ"S, the Bombardier conglomerate.
Several different potential eustonrers are being aired to take the fum over, led by an inhouse MBO, with the chance, too, that Bombardiers original Canadian owners might do so Rotax's number one customers are its parent company, which sources the engines for its
best-selling snowmobiles from the Austrian concem. American agrimachinery giant John
Deere has been mentioned as another candidate, while an outside contender is Austrian rival
KTM, which would thus at a single blow not only acquire one of its major competitors, but
also sJgnIficantly expand its own engineering capability.
Whoever takes the company over, the management of Aprilia will be extremely concerned
at the outcome, since the major part of the ltaIlan bike manufacturer's entire engine supply
still comes from the Austrian finn...
To cast your vote, log on to
http://www:l:gdenews.com.
Mat Mladin, Aaron Yates and Eric Bostrom are the only likely AMA regulars
to participate in the World Superbike races at Laguna Seca. How do you
think they will fare against the series regulars?
A. They will have a shot at winning
B. They will have a shot at the podium
C. They won't be racing with the leai'lers
6
JUNE
25, 2003'
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