Duseja General Trading LLC and rider Arushen Moodley have warned the rest of the paddock that they and their new Aprilia RSV4 bike are only going to get faster.
The South African pace ace, who has been involved in top-class biking since 1995, won the first round of the new UAE Sportbike Championship at the Dubai Autodrome last weekend. And what made the win remarkable was that the bike Moodley powered to victory on came straight out of the Aprilia showroom and on to the track.
“We arrived with the bike straight out of the showroom and were fastest in all the practice sessions,” Moodley said. “It was a great start for us and for Aprilia. I was very impressed with the bike - it’s a new bike and we literally took it off the showroom floor. “It (the bike) was great to handle. And for us to win first time out was special. “The best thing is that as it’s a new bike there is a lot for us to learn and improve the setup - we can go much faster.”
The Championship is run over eight rounds and there’s great cause for optimism in the Aprilia team as Moodley’s fellow rider Abdul Aziz Bin Laden came in second. And like Moodley he’s very excited about racing for Aprilia this season.
“To come second on a new bike was great and gives me much confidence for the rest of the season,” the Saudi Arabian said. “Aprilia have got the right people on the right bike - you need the combination it’s not just the bike nor is it just the rider. The bike was good but it can get even better - there’s a lot of potential but other teams had more power than us. We know we can go quicker.” And of his Aprilia team-mate he added: “He’s on a different level, he’s very good and could probably win on a donkey. There’s no team rivalry as he’s on a different level to me. My aim is to learn and move up to the next level.”
The new Championship and the presence of a rider of Moodley’s experience is designed revamp the sport and improve the standard across the board. “There has definitely been progress,” Moodley said. The standard has improved and everyone will be pushing harder this year and the quicker I go the quicker everyone else will go as well. The new Championship is the highest standard of motorbike racing in the region. It’s a level or two up on what we’ve seen before.”
All the results at this link
The next race takes place from November 12-14.
