Akrapovič Racing Service

It all started when Igor Akrapovic refashioned the exhaust of his serial sports motorbike and crowned his design with the successes of the races he took part in. 

Due to extensive demand for exhaust systems by racing teams in the German Superbike Championships, the then-small company, employing just five people, quickly changed from a tuning workshop initially focused on modifying drivelines, to a specialised company for designing exhausts for sports motorbikes. 

After entering the World Superbike Championships (WSBK) towards the end of the 1990s, a focused group of individuals formed with the aim of developing exhausts for racing teams. 

“It was a spontaneous division,” remembers Slavko Aljoz Trstenjak, the head of Akrapovc’s Racing Service department. “At first everybody used to do everything, but then the ever increasing and more complex demands on all levels forced us to specialise. But the most important thing is that we also complemented each other. This is what has allowed us to win 57 world champion titles in our 20-year existence.

One of the biggest and ground-breaking moments for the racing department and the entire company came in the late 90s, when all Japanese factory racing teams and Aprilia used Akrapovic’s exhausts in the Superbike world championships. This is also when the company won its first world champions title of the 2000 season, with Colin Edwards on a Honda SP-01.

These successes also put us into the spotlight of the larger motorbike community. The victories resulted in the trust of those motorbike riders who always look for the best that money can buy – and this is what we're still famous for today. It is this specific relationship towards modern and advanced technology that we have, together with our use of titanium (or some of its special alloys) that differentiates our products and our brand. If you want the best, you will get it if you opt for Akrapovic. 

We joined off-road racing relatively late, after the four-stroke boom in motocross. In 1994, we designed our first prototype exhaust for a racing Husquarna motorbike. Much later we moved on to work on other, especially Japanese, motocross motorbikes.

A special chapter in this development is reserved for our cooperation with KTM, the largest European off-road motorbike specialist. We designed exhausts with them and the results bear the fruits of our excellent cooperation and hard work.”

Slavko likes to mention the company’s entrance into the world’s biggest market, the US, as an interesting milestone. “We went there because of the country’s potential. After winning numerous titles in road racing, where we cooperated with all the teams bar Suzuki, we expanded our cooperation with the Yamaha Road Racing Team and decided to get involved in motocross as well. 

This caused the first countermeasures by our competitors and serious reactions in order to prevent us from gaining market share – and that only made our work harder.

We won the champions title in our first season in the AMA/FIM Supercross with Chad Reed and this year as well with James Stewart,” adds Slavko, an off-road rider himself.

He also agrees that the biggest compliment that your competitors can give you is to try and copy you. 

However, it is hard for them to catch up, especially with the mode of work in Akrapovic's R&D department. 

It is there that Slavko and his team productively use cutting-edge testing equipment, a lab to analyse and develop new materials, utilise the skills of prototype welders and their own know-how and experience, acquired through the years of working with the best in the world. 

Adds Slavko: “Success of course cannot come without trust and this has to be won from various teams – after all, we can keep racing motorbikes from different teams at the factory at the same time. We dedicate the same amount of professionalism to any team, regardless of their weight and the importance of the championship. However, we do usually agree beforehand regarding the time and development that we will invest into their bike."

Designing an exhaust system is mainly determined by four interlaced and heavily interconnected requirements:

The starting point is the available space for creating a racing exhaust system. This is likely the most important piece of data that governs all subsequent developments. Then there is the loudness level, within which we must create the best exhaust possible. 

Even the best racers can do nothing, if they cannot transfer power to the tarmac, making linear distribution of power of paramount importance. And, finally, the system must be durable and lightweight, which entails the best possible compromise between total mass, capabilities, materials and design solutions. 

After the first prototypes are made, test results determine follow-up development. Usually, between 400 and 600 measurements are made on the test desk, utilising a special chamber for measuring power, torque and loudness, before the prototype is finally okayed and then followed by creating a master sample.

The racing department has two peaks. The first begins at the start of August and lasts to December, the time for talks regarding cooperation with teams in the follow-up season. After a deal has been struck, the development of an exhaust, internally labelled “stage 1”, immediately begins. The second peak is not as intense, but no less important, and starts after the first races. Then is when updates are made, as the teams continuously improve their racing bikes, requiring adjustments to exhausts. The interim periods are used for testing new materials and possible alternative future solutions. 

Slavko agrees that the best part of his job is to be able to continuously gauge and witness the results of his work and confirm his decisions. 

This would, of course, not be possible without a well-oiled team that comprises four members. Moreover, his department includes people who hail from the world of motor sport or have an affinity and experience with it, which further contributes to the company’s successes. 

“I always choose my co-workers by myself and get the most out of them. Success cannot depend on an individual, but should be the result of love for motorbikes,” says Slavko, a 44-year old lover of everything on two wheels. “Without the trust of Igor Akrapovic, who oversees all that is happening in the company, this would not be possible”. 

Slavko’s first experience with motorbikes is also quite interesting. Unlike the majority of people who sat down on their mom or dad's 50 ccm motorcycle in their childhood, he was taken home on one from the maternity ward. In his mother’s safe embrace, of course. How could somebody like that not be infatuated with motorbikes for life? 

The same goes for racers and their teams; success cannot come without addiction to petrol and hard work. Success is the result of complete dedication, know-how, determination and an exceptional desire for success.