Aprilia finally arrives to Middle East

Motor-cycles are becoming more and more popular in the Middle East, especially in the Gulf region and in Egypt. After seeing lots of the latest Harley Davidson and Ducati models on Middle Eastern roads we will obviously see lots of Aprilia bikes soon.

Duseja General Trading, the newly appointed Middle East agent for the premium Italian motorbike Aprilia, has opened its doors in Dubai. Arushen Moodley, winner of the South African Superbike Championship in 2008, and famously known as the fastest Indian on wheels, will be the new rider for Aprilia in the Middle East. Arushen was on hand at the Aprilia launch and spoke about his successes and challenges ahead on the superbike circuit.

The Aprilia dealership is the brainchild of Vishal and Sachin Duseja, Directors of Duseja General Trading. “We are two brothers with a driving passion to turn every dream into a reality,� commented Vishal Duseja. “Aprilia was the catalyst that grew into a vision that had to be brought to life. Bringing Aprilia to the UAE was our way of accomplishing that.''

Sachin Duseja added, “There is already a lot of interest being shown from the region and also from India but for now the focus will be to grow the UAE business and make Aprilia the new buzz word for bike lovers.�

The team at Aprilia ME are forerunners in their field. Managing Director Jan Vanmeerbeek has more than 20 years motorsport experience. Jan has raced Rally, Touring and GT cars with numerous podium finishes. As a qualified car engineer, Jan will be hands-on at the showroom ensuring quality control in the purpose-built Aprilia workshop. Jan has managed winning teams in Europe in karting, rally, GT and formula series and has worked with leading manufacturers, demonstrating vehicles and training drivers. Jan also owns an extreme sports events company and is familiar with meeting the demands of sponsors and clients.

Dean Bosch will be onsite to take up any challenges brought into the Aprilia workshop, ensuring the smooth running of the operation. His experience of manufacturing and running NASCAR teams for Hitech Automotive (manufacturers of the Noble sports car) in the United States and South Africa make him an invaluable member of the team. Dean is responsible for training Arushen Moodley and helping to make him into the dynamic champion he is today. His analytical and fabrication skills have been behind the success of many championship-winning engines and chassis. Dean is bringing his knowledge and international expertise to the UAE and is an important member of the Duseja team.

The newly launched Aprilia showroom is located in Dubai Investment Park in the Green Community Area.

A lot of motorbike fans in the Middle East do not know that Aprilia is the world's fourth largest motorcycle manufacturer. Aprilia commenced production in 1968 in Noale, Venice, Italy with scooters, progressing to race-winning sportbikes in 2004 when Aprilia became part of the Piaggio Group (headed by chairman and managing director Roberto Colaninno). More recently Aprilia is best known for its flagship 1000 cc V-twin Superbike, the RSV Mille. Developing, motorcycles from motorcross to a premium line of superbikes. In the 1980’s many world champions learned their trade riding an Aprilia, including names like Biaggi, Capirossi, Gramigni, Locatelli, Sakata, Rossi, Poggiali and Lorenzo. On February 22, 2008, Aprilia unveiled the RSV4 �Race Machine’. With 4 cylinders, a displacement of 1000cc and over 200 bhp in the racing version, the new bike marks Aprilia’s return to the Superbike world championship in 2009. The RSV4 will be launched commercially before the end of 2008. Recently, Aprilia has collected two championship titles with Aprilia bikes and riders winning the 125 and 250 classes of the 2007 MotoGP world championship, and taking four titles out of four just as in 2006. Aprilia has now accumulated a total of 40 world championship titles, including 33 in MotoGP.

I am looking forward to the first Aprilia test-drive in the Middle East soon.