Krummenacher joins Degraaf Grand Prix Aprilia for 2009

Swiss teenager Randy Krummenacher is undertaking a new project for 2009, joining the Degraaf Grand Prix Aprilia team for his third full season in 125cc. Krummenacher has traded in KTM machinery for a factory Aprilia RSA, and debuted with his new team in last weekend´s CEV Buckler Spanish Championship round at Valencia.

Pole position in Saturday qualifying made it a positive start for the latest phase in the eighteen year-old´s career, although the weekend ended on a sour note with retirement due to a mechanical problem, with just five laps of the race remaining.

`For me this was like a test, with the new bike and team,´ said Krummenacher. `I like to ride in Valencia, so it´s cool to start here. I´m so happy with it, and can´t wait to start working.´

There will be some subtle adjustments to make along the way, as is normal for a move between manufacturers, but the man from Zurich does not see too many difficulties ahead.

`It´s such a different bike to the KTM. It´s my first time with an Aprilia, and I really like it, and for sure there will be some little changes in my style.´

2008 was something of an annus horribilis for Krummenacher, a season tempered when he was rushed to hospital during the Jerez round in March, requiring emergency surgery for a ruptured spleen incurred in mountain bike training. From then on he struggled to find the kind of form that took him to the podium for the first time in 2007.