Aprilia V-Twin Racer Wins First Round of AMA Supermoto Unlimited Class

Round one of the AMA National Championship occurred in St. Louis over the weekend. There was a new competitor in the series, the Factory Aprilia Rip It Energy Fuel Racing Team.

Ben Carlson wins AMA Supermoto Unlimited class at St. LouisBen Carlson wins AMA Supermoto Unlimited class at St. Louis
Factory Aprilia racer Ben Carlson made his debut on the Aprilia SXV 550 and won the AMA Supermoto Unlimited class. This was the first American victory for the V-twin racer.

Factory Aprilia Rip It Energy Fuel Racing Team uses K&N products Factory Aprilia Rip It Energy Fuel Racing Team uses K&N products
Carlson qualified on the pole with team owner Darryl Atkins one row behind on the grid. After 12 laps, Carlson held off the competition using the SXV 550’s horsepower. “The long front straight and sweeping first corner suited the Aprilla,” said Atkins. “But it was not a cake walk. The level of competition has steadily increased over the years in the large displacement class. Carlson, however, proved his talent on the front straight by stretching his lead. By mid race he started to gap the field and won by over ten seconds.”

“I am so fired up that we took a win in our first round,” said West Bend, Wisconsin native Carlson. “The team gave me a great bike and we made very few changes to the set-up over the weekend. Darryl’s development work last year is paying off now, and it’s a huge bonus that he is a teammate.”

Atkins finished in fifth place. “We had ideal machines for this track,” he said. “The chassis really worked for us and we finally had a course where the bikes could really run.”

Team Factory Aprilla uses K&N products on its bikes. “We use K&N Air and Oil Filters,” said Atkins. “We tested with K&N prior to the event and our bikes ran better. It feels like we gained 2 plus horsepower on the track.”

The next round of the AMA Supermoto Championship will be at Englishtown, New Jersey on June 3rd.

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