Millville, NJ – September, 2009 – Factory Aprilia Millennium Technologies Team rider Chaz Davies scored his second podium of the year in the first race at the New Jersey Motorsports Park facility this past weekend. The team came back even stronger for the final race of the season on Sunday and Chaz took the lead on lap two and lead the first half of the race before he lost traction and crashed out of the lead.
The team was able to test at the New Jersey Motorsports Park facility previously and in basic qualifying Chaz finished in the seventh position with a time of 1:24.008, once again making Superpole. In Superpole, Davies and the team continued to make improvements and ended up in the fourth position on the starting grid. Gobert made up huge ground in final qualifying, but crashed early and was not able to put in a really fast lap and had to settle for seventeenth on the grid. The team had made lots of progress with the motorcycle over the course of the weekend and was fastest in final qualifying on Saturday morning with a time of 1:23.666.
The start of the first race went well with both riders making up ground. Davies moved into the third spot and immediately fell into a race long, four bike battle with Rapp, Herrin, and Aquino. Herrin and Aquino worked together to build a gap on Davies and Rapp and had a much easier time with lapped traffic. With a handful of laps to go Chaz moved up to second place and was able to hold off Rapp for his second podium finish of the year..
Gobert struggled with a rear tire that spun on the rim causing a massive vibration, but was able to bring the number 97 LeoVince sponsored Aprilia home in the fourteenth position.
Daytona SportBike Race Two at New Jersey Motorsports Park was the last chance for the Pit-Bull sponsored Aprilia team to get a win. The team had worked hard all year to develop the Aprilia RSV1000R into a competitive bike and Davies was coming off a strong second place finish on Saturday so it was time to put it all on the line.
Gobert had the most to gain at the start. He knew the bike was fast and if he could latch on to lead group, he had the pace to finish in the top five. Gobert got a great run on the inside passing several riders going into turn one. Unfortunately, Garret Carter lost control of his motorcycle and hit Gobert. Gobert saved the crash for a split second, only to be hit by another rider causing him to go down violently. Gobert was transported to the local hospital for evaluation, but was released that night with a sore shoulder and bruising.
Davies moved up to the second spot on the start and was not affected by the chaos happening behind him. On lap two Chaz took the lead going into to turn one on the brakes and never looked back. Behind Chaz was a group of seven riders separated by less than a quarter of a second. The pace at the front was faster than it was all weekend with everyone at the absolute limit. On lap eleven Chaz lost traction on the front tire going into turn nine and crashed out of the lead. Davies was unhurt, but the motorcycle was unable to continue.
Chaz Davies – “It was a great season and the only thing I could wish for is more time. I think that if we could have started the season with the bike we have now we could have been in contention for a Championship. I truly can’t thank my team and my sponsors enough for everything they did this year. Rocky Stargel, Jimmy Le, Chip Spalding, Kevin Hunt and everybody at Millennium Technologies, KWS Motorsports and Aprilia. I also want to thank my personal sponsors, Monster Energy, Shoei, and Alpinestars. Thank You! “
Aaron Gobert – “I am disappointed that the weekend and the season ended the way it did. We only had a short time to work together as a team and we made progress every time we got on track. The team is great and I want to thank everybody involved, especially my crew - Brian Nallin, Marty Ashmore, and Michael Godin and the sponsors, Aprilia, KWS, and Millennium Technologies. I also have to thank the companies that take care of me, Alpinestars, Bell, and Monster Energy.
Kevin Hunt (Team Owner) – “We started this project nine months ago with a new team, new sponsors, new riders, new rules, and a bike that nobody has ever raced at a professional level. We had our work cut out for us, but everybody stepped up to make it happen. Special thanks to everybody at Aprilia and Millennium Technologies. This has been more than just a sponsor/team relationship. These two companies have been an integral part of this project from the beginning. Thanks to everybody at both companies for all your hard work and support, especially Chris Hackl, Rick Panettieri, Gary Pietruszewski, and Mark Render.”
Chip Spalding (Team Manager) – “This has the been the best season KWS Motorsports has had to date and I am very much looking forward to bigger and better things next year. I want to thank all the sponsors and the team for all the sleepless nights, all the time away from family, all the travel, and all the blood, sweat, and tears. Rocky Stargel, Brian Nallin, Chris Hackl, Marty Ashmore, Jimmy Le, Michael Godin, Chaz Davies, Aaron Gobert, Kevin Hunt, and everybody else who sacrificed so much to make this season a success, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Rick Panettieri (Aprilia Brand Manager) – “We knew at the beginning of the season that with a new team and riders getting on the podium was going to be difficult, we are really pleased that the team was able to qualify for superpole at the last eight events, finish in the top five in seven races and get a pair of podium finishes. We want to thank the team for all their hard work and dedication this past season.”
The Factory Aprilia Millennium Technologies Team is proudly sponsored by:
Aprilia USA, Millennium Technologies, KWS Motorsports, Pit Bull, LeoVince Exhaust, Motion Pro, Bazzaz Performance, Sebimoto Bodywork, Yoyodyne, Slednecks, EK Chains, Motul, Performance Friction Brakes, Worldwide Bearing, K&N Filters, Zero Gravity Windscreens, Suzuka Tire Warmers, Stomp Grip, Hel Brake Lines, Spider Grips, ETI FuelCel and ASV Inventions.
For Information: http://www.kwsmotorsports.com