A season of substance, strengthening, and growth.  That is the snapshot of 2007 for Team Aprilia Off Road.  The substance comes from the Enduro, where five international podiums were obtained by the Aprilia RXV 4.5 that was entrusted to Stefan Merriman; four 3rd place finishes and one 2nd place (the first twin 450cc motorcycle to ever finish that well in an international competition).  In light of these results, and other solid finishes that testify to the performance and trustworthiness of the RXV 4.5, Merriman closed out the World E2 class in 5th place.  The Australian also obtained two complete-day victories in the “Assoluti d’Italia” of the Enduro in his debut season with Aprilia.  Nicolas Paganon, who was entrusted with the other official RXV 4.5, instead paid a high price for an ankle injury that ending up affecting his entire season. He nonetheless finished in 11th place in the International E2.

The strengthening arrives from the Supermotard where, after winning the World Rider (in 2004 and 2006) and 450 Constructor (2006) titles, this year it was time for the World S2 Constructor title (reserved to the 550ccs) with the SXV 5.5.  The motorcycle also picked up 3rd place in the Rider classification with Christian Iddon, the victor of two national victories in the British supermoto championships.  In the four years of hard work in the discipline, Aprilia has won multiple international titles from separate riders (Jerome Giraudo 2004 – Thierry Van Den Bosch 2006) in separate classes (450 in 2006 and the 550 in 2007).

The Noale Production House was also a protagonist in the 450, better known as the S1, where Thierry Van Den Bosch (despite winning ten of the sixteen disputed heats) placed 2nd in the World S1 Rider championship atop the Aprilia SXV 4.5 that also finished 2nd in the S1 Constructor classification.

Consistent was the official reentry into the Motocross with the MXV 4.5 project, that, after the encouraging first outings of the season in the “Internazionali d’Italia” and a tough start to the international season (a result of injuries to two official riders, in particular Cedric Melotte who was forced to race the entire season with torn knee ligaments), certainly finished the season on an upswing.  Testimony to this is the fantastic and historical affirmation obtained by Chicco Chiodi in the final round of the “Internazionali d’Italia” at Gazzane di Preseglie (BS).  The year of Aprilia’s official reentry thus finished with a brilliant affirmation at a national level and confirmation of the obvious progress made by the MXV 4.5 with Choidi and Melotte from the second part of the international season onwards.

Further satisfaction came from the success of Paolo Ceci in the Italian Raid Trout Terrain Championship in the 450 class with the Aprilia RXV 4.5 Rally, a member of the Gabrielli Giofil 3000 satellite team, and Gualtiero Brissoni’s victory of the Italian Enduro Championship, Major Super Veteran Class, atop an RXV 4.5 of team RS Moto.