Nakano for Aprilia WSBK

Shinya Nakano has signed to ride the Aprilia RSV4 Superbike in season 2009

Aprilia has announced Shinya Nakano will team up with Max Biaggi for next years World Superbike Championship. Following is a summary of Aprilia’s release:

Shinya Nakano has signed to ride the Aprilia RSV4, completing the Aprilia team along with Max Biaggi that will race in the 2009 Superbike World Championship. The Japanese rider, after  visiting the Racing Department at Noale, signed with Aprilia for next season with an option for 2010.

31 year old Nakano, has had  ten seasons in  World Championship racing:  two in 250 cc  category in which he was runne rup in 2000 – one in 500 cc and  seven in MotoGP. At last Sunday’s  Valencia GP, Nakano closed the 2008 season with 126 points, finishing in ninth with the Honda Team Gresini Racing.

Shinya Nakano:

"I am happy indeed, for me it is a joy to belong to the great family of Aprilia. Here I have found a big tradition and extraordinary competence in the races that Aprilia faces with high professionalism, the 33 world titles won up to today are the confirmation of it. The Superbike is a new challenge that fills me with new challenges, I want to risk all of my experience to grow for the new project of Aprilia RSV4. It will be a honor to be able to race beside Max Biaggi, he is a hero of mine and he was an inspiration to me in the first phases of my career, I am sure that together we will succeed in developing the best motorbike and to already get good results in the season 2009”.

Leo Francesco Mercanti – Responsible of the development for the products and racing activities of the Piaggio Group:

“With the arrival of Nakano we have settled another box for a important and ambitious project like that of the development of the superbike RSV4 and of his twin destined to the races. We provide a team of pilots of high-level we set high ambitious goals to reach. I believe that Nakano can find with Aprilia the correct encouragement to reach for the top. We have trust regarding his talent in this competition, and his experience in the development of a motorbikes he wants to show all the technological advantages and the sophistication that’s the attitude for the project RSV4”.

Giampiero Sacchi, Sport Director of the Piaggio Group :

"With the engagement of Nakano we complete the team for the World Superbike 2009. Aprilia faces difficult competition having as adversaries the greatest world constructors, it is a hard but fascinating challenge that needs interpreters of before greatness: Biaggi and Nakano are a couple of pilots at the same time fast, competitive and of great experience. This is the top for an innovative, technological project, being ambitious in sport like Aprilia RSV4".