Manufacturer

Aprilia

section:manufacturer

Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle and scooter manufacturer based in Noale, in the province of Venice, Italy. Named after the pre-war Lancia Aprilia, the company was founded after the Second World War by Cavaliere Alberto Beggio as a bicycle production factory. As of 15 August 2010, Aprilia became the most successful motorcycle racing brand in history, surpassing fellow Italian marque MV Agusta with a record 276th victory. The company has won 15 Road Racing World Championship titles and 16 European speed titles.

Aprilia was founded by Cavaliere Alberto Beggio at Noale. Alberto's son, Ivano Beggio, took over the company in 1968 and constructed a 50cc motorcycle. The first production Aprilia mopeds were named Colibrì, Daniela, and Packi. In 1970, Aprilia produced its first motocross bike, the Scarabeo, in 50 and 125cc versions, produced until the end of the 1970s.

Aprilia's international racing debut came in the Motocross World Championship in the 125cc class from 1976 to 1981, with a best result of fifth place in the 1979 season with rider Corrado Maddi.

In 1977, Ivan Alborghetti from Milan won both the Italian 125 and 250cc motocross championships on Aprilia motorcycles. In the 1978 125cc Motocross World Championship, Alborghetti finished third in the Swiss Grand Prix and sixth overall in the championship.

In 1985, Aprilia factory rider Philippe Berlatier contended for the trials world championship, finishing fifth, while Loris Reggiani rode an Aprilia GP 250 with Rotax engine to sixth in the road racing World Championship. On 30 August 1987, at the San Marino Grand Prix in Misano, Reggiani's AF1 won Aprilia's first World Speed Championship.

In the 1980s, Aprilia expanded its range to include enduro, trials, and road bikes between 50 and 600cc. In 1981, Aprilia introduced the TL320 trials machine. The St 125 road bike launched in 1983, followed in 1984 by an improved STX model and the ET 50 enduro. From 1985, Aprilia began outsourcing engines for some models to the Austrian company Rotax, launching the 125 STX and 350 STX that year. In 1986, Aprilia launched the AF1 sports model and the Tuareg, a large-tanked bike for rallies such as the Dakar Rally.

In 1992, Alessandro Gramigni won the World 125 Road Racing Championship title for Aprilia. That same year, Tommy Ahvala won the World Trials Championship on an Aprilia Climber. Aprilia accumulated 124 wins in the 125 and 250cc Grand Prix classes. Many world champions began their careers on Aprilia machinery, including Max Biaggi, Capirossi, Gramigni, Locatelli, Sakata, and Valentino Rossi.

In the 250cc class, Aprilia won the manufacturers' championship in 1995, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009. In the 125cc class, they took manufacturers' titles in 1996, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2011.

Aprilia entered the Superbike World Championship in 1999 using a homologation version of their RSV Mille V-twin road bike. Troy Corser achieved third in the riders' championship in 2000. Aprilia also finished third in manufacturers' points in 2001 with Corser, and third manufacturers' and fourth riders' in 2002 with Noriyuki Haga. Aprilia retired from the series at the end of 2002.

In February 2008, Aprilia debuted a V-4 superbike, the RSV4, for the 2009 championship. Aprilia won its first Superbike world championship in 2010 with Max Biaggi, claiming both the riders' and manufacturers' titles. Aprilia also won the manufacturers' championship in 2012, 2013, and 2014.

Aprilia contested the 125cc, 250cc, and 500cc Grand Prix classes of the FIM World Championships. The manufacturer entered and exited MotoGP as both a factory team and constructor, partnering with Gresini Racing from 2015 to 2021 and Trackhouse Racing since 2024.

Aprilia debuted in the FIM Supermoto World Championship in 2004. They won the S2 class manufacturers' title in 2006 and 2007, and the S1 class manufacturers' title in 2008 and 2011.

During 2000, Aprilia acquired Moto Guzzi and Laverda, both historic Italian marques. In 2004, Aprilia was acquired by Piaggio & C. SpA, forming the world's fourth largest motorcycle group with 1.5 billion Euro in sales, an annual production capacity of over 600,000 vehicles, and a presence in 50 countries. Roberto Colaninno (President of Piaggio & C.) became President of Aprilia, with Rocco Sabelli as managing director. Ivano Beggio served as Honorary President until his death on 13 March 2018.

This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.