17. October 2012
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On Tuesday, 16 October 2012, Marco Melandri paid a visit to the Akrapovič exhaust system factory. After viewing the development department, the production facilities, and the foundry, he also took some time for the factory’s employees.
Just over a week after the last race of the superbike world championship in Magny-Cours, France, where he ended the 2012 season in overall third place, Marco Melandri visited the Akrapovič factory. As he said in the interview, he couldn’t imagine what to expect at the exhaust system factory, and so he was really surprised by how organized the facility is and by the technology that’s necessary to produce high-quality parts for motorcycles and cars.
After an introductory meeting with factory founder Igor Akrapovič and the head of development for performance exhaust systems, Slavko Trstenjak, he took a tour of the production line, the foundry, and the department where performance exhaust systems are developed and tested. That’s also the part he liked best: “For sure, for me the racing department was the most exciting. To see the people who are making my pipes and all the racing pipes is really cool. And to see my posters on the walls where they work is something really special,” said Marco, who was happy to sign a few autographs for the employees.
In our interview he also said that he wasn’t entirely happy with the outcome of the championship because of disappointing results in the last races, but that he knows where he made errors and that he’ll keep working hard in the future to reach his goal: to become the world champion. Marco, the team at Akrapovič promises that they’ll make the best exhaust system in the world for your BMW S1000RR. You deserve it!
Photo: Bor Dobrin