Aprilia RS660 could make its Isle of Man TT debut next year

THE Aprilia RS660 has been gaining widespread acclaim since its launch, with journalists across the world falling in love with its easy-going charm yet and exploitable performance. It is a bike though that was born for the road, and what better test for it than the road race that rules them all – the Isle of Man TT.

Aprilia RS660 video review

The little RS660’s debut at the race was never truly in doubt, it falls neatly into the Supertwin rules, which allow machines from 650cc to 700cc to compete, and has been widely spoken about among Supertwin racers as being a machine of interest.

Today though we get the first news from Moto.it that a competitor is actively looking to take the new bike to the TT for the event.

It’ll probably come as no surprise to hear that the ride planning on spanking the RS660 around the Snaefell Mountain Course is none other than Stefano ‘Bonny’ Bonetti. The Italian road racing stalwart is regarded as the fastest modern-era Italian road racer around, and he naturally has a soft spot for Italian branded goods.

The RS660’s debut at the event would mark a big change in the Supertwin class if and when it happens, as the field of racers is currently dominated by Kawasaki Z650-powered machines. The RS660 is more advanced than those bikes, for sure, although the Kawasaki powerplant has years of TT development under its belt. And as we saw with the ill-fated Norton Superlight TT racer, more tech, and a big bang delivery isn’t always what you need.

Truth be told, we will simply have to wait and see how the bike does, and that is if and when the TT actually takes place again. It’s been cancelled for 2021, predictably, although organisers are going full bore for 2022.

Although, with the state of the world being as it is, I’m not even willing to place a bet that the day after Thursday is Friday!