From MotoAmerica to CIV, Kaleb De Keyrel: "Vallelunga, what a track! Now I understand the criticism at Austin..."

The final Italian CIV round, which took place last weekend at Vallelunga, also saw the conclusion of the first edition of the Aprilia RS660 trophy. The permanent entries to the single series were joined by several wildcards, one of whom was Kaleb De Keyrel, 2021 Twins Cup champion in MotoAmerica aboard the very same RS660.

Kaleb’s Italian adventure didn’t get off to the best start though: “When I arrived in Rome, I went out to see the city with my girlfriend but unfortunately my car was broken in to and they took everything, including my racing suit. That wasn’t a great start, but once I got to the track, I came across Tommaso Marcon and thankfully he lent me one of his suits for the race”. 

“The Italian tracks are incredible”

Once on track, De Keyrel got his smile back, riding for the first time in Italy: “The tracks are incredible here, nothing like those in America. They told me that Vallelunga is one of the least popular, but the asphalt is perfect and it’s really fun to ride, while in the US the tracks are great but less cared for, uneven and bumpy”.

“When the MotoGP riders raced at Austin, they complained about the track conditions, but to be honest that’s the best track we race at”, continues Kaleb. “After this weekend in Italy, I understand why many of them had something to say about the asphalt in Texas”.

 “I hope this isn’t my last race in Italy”

Although the race didn’t go to plan, with a crash coming just a few turns after what was a solid start, De Keyrel is pleased with how the weekend went: “Fortunately I didn’t hurt myself in the crash, but I’m sorry to have ended such a fantastic weekend that way. I really hope this isn’t my last race in Italy”.

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