2021 Aprilia RS 660 Trofeo First Look Preview

Aprilia generated plenty of fanfare this fall and winter with the launch of the 2021 RS 660 and 2021 Tuono 660, and it is looking to keep the hype machine rolling with a new spec racing series based on the RS 660.

Editor’s note: We’ve covered the RS 660 in review forms during the 2021 Aprilia RS 660 First Ride Review and 2021 Aprilia RS 660 MC Commute Review articles/videos. We also speak about its technical underpinnings in the 2021 Aprilia RS 660 Preview First Look, 2020 Aprilia RS 660 First Look Preview, and 2021 Aprilia RS 660 Technical Review articles.

The Aprilia Racing RS 660 Trophy will kick off May 16 in Misano, as part of the Italian Speed Championship, and will run a unique grid format. Half grid spaces—21 slots—will be reserved for riders who pay to be part of the all-inclusive Aprilia Racing Area. The other half will go to those who want to purchase the bike outright and run the team themselves.

For riders in the ARA, Aprilia will supply the bikes, mechanics, spare parts, fuel, tires, accommodations in the hospitality tent, and technical expertise. All the rider needs to do is show up. The hitch is riders will be randomly assigned a new bike each race weekend by drawing.

The idea, Aprilia says, is to highlight talent by forcing riders to deal with the minute differences between each bike. The bikes must be run as Aprilia supplies them, but no two bikes will ever truly be the same. From weekend to weekend, riders in the ARA class will keep their own fairings to keep sponsors happy, but everything underneath changes.

Entry to ARA costs just under 35,000 euros, and riders need to supply a 2,000-euro deductible to cover crashes.

The Challenge class, for people who just want to buy an RS 660 Trofeo and rip around on a racetrack, will run the same bikes and follow the same specification rules, but without support or consumables from Aprilia.

The bikes themselves aren’t too far removed from the street version of the RS 660. They make a few more horsepower, thanks to bolt-ons like an SC Project exhaust and racing air filter, and they weigh a scant 336 pounds dry, almost 40 pounds lighter than the streetbike. The racers get modified Andreani forks backed up with an Öhlins rear shock with Pirelli Supercorsa SC1 V3 tires front and rear.

The format promises a close, tight series, and is a brilliant move from Aprilia. The RS 660 was built as a streetbike first, but the Trofeo series should show what a capable trackday mount the bike is to boot.