Метка: Aprilia Racing Team

Espargaro «burned his hands» as Aprilia heat issues strike again

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Aprilia rider Aleix Espargaro says he «burned his hands» during a hot MotoGP race in Malaysia where he struggled to 13th place.

The Aprilia RS-GP is infamous for its overheating problems, with both Espargaro and team-mate Maverick Vinales having repeatedly expressed concerns about its adverse effects during some of the flyaway races in Asia.

According to Espargaro, the Noale brand has made no progress in this direction this year, which meant that he found it hard to even make it to the finish in last weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix.

Withstanding the heat exuded from the bike for 19 laps in a crash-shortened race, the Spaniard came away with just three championship points as he benefited from incidents further up the pack.

Speaking afterwards, the 35-year-old revealed that the issues not only compromised his own performance at Sepang, but also meant that the bike was running down on power.

“It was very tough,” he described. “I knew that in these types of races [where] it is very very hot, it is extremely difficult for us. And even more if you start that far on the grid, it has been a real nightmare. 

“The engine was really slow, I couldn’t overtake anybody. The engine was very, very slow due to the heat. 

“I was [only] able to overtake Raul. Then I suffered a lot the last three laps where I almost couldn’t make it to the end, I couldn’t handle the handlebar. The heat was amazing.

“I burned my hands and had to open my visor. The heat is the Achilles heel of this bike.»

Espargaro wasn’t the only Aprilia rider to complain about heat issues on a hot and sunny day in Malaysia.

Raul Fernandez, Trackhouse Racing

Raul Fernandez, Trackhouse Racing

Photo by: Asif Zubairi

Riding a 2024 RS-GP with last year’s engine, Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez also felt the effects of the bike in Malaysia as he desperately tried to get some air blown onto him on Sepang’s long straights.

“Super difficult to manage with the temperature on the bike. The last four laps I was done. I tried to end the race [out of] respect to the team, respect for all my mechanics.

“The last four laps I couldn’t live on the bike. All the straight I had my head out of the bike to take some air. It is very difficult especially when you have slipstream you don’t take air.

“I don’t feel the hand, I don’t feel the foot. I couldn’t take the air. It is safe but it is really difficult.”

Vinales wasn’t impacted as severely by an overheating bike as Espargaro and Fernandez, finishing a relatively strong seventh between the Yamahas of Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins.

But the 29-year-old spent most of the race in clean air, with Quartararo circulating several seconds ahead of him in sixth.

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Fixing braking performance key to Aprilia returning to the front

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Maverick Vinales believes improving the braking performance will be «key» in catapulting Aprilia near the front of the MotoGP grid.

Americas GP winner Vinales made that comment after the start/stop nature of the Red Bull Ring exposed a major weakness of the RS-GP, with both him and team-mate Aleix Espargaro struggling to slow down the bike as effectively as their rivals.

The Spaniard explained that he couldn’t transfer the weight of the bike to the front tyre under braking, an area where the class-leading Ducati GP24 has been particularly strong.

«Especially in these kinds of tracks where brakes are everything, we are struggling a little bit, especially to stop the bike,» he said.

«We know we need to improve the braking area, especially [on the] back straight we need to improve this power to stop the bike.

«It depends upon how you load the front tyre, so probably still we are not loading [it] in the correct way.

«You can see the Ducatis, they are all the time really loose on the rear, so they can make stopping really easy going to the brakes.

Enea Bastianini, Ducati Team

Enea Bastianini, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

«Looks like our bike, when you brake, the downforce is pushing you all the time to the ground [and] not doing the [weight] transfer. We are trying to understand if that is the problem but it takes time.

«This morning [in warm-up], I was trying to transfer everything to the front and less on the rear and it was impossible.

«Now we need to understand how we need to load the front tyre because the key to be back in the front [in MotoGP] is that.»

Espargaro’s race in Austria was compromised to the point that he felt he had «no brakes» at all, finishing ninth and two spots behind Vinales.

The 35-year-old was classified almost 29s down on race winner Francesco Bagnaia, losing more than a second per lap on average to the factory Ducati rider.

«I [felt like I] had no brakes from the beginning,» he said. «Apart from the pressure and the temperature of the front tyre, the temperature of the carbon [disc] was completely over the limit.

«We set a new record and I had no brakes for all race. I just tried to stop the bike with the rear, but it was a shame. I was very slow.»

Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia Racing Team

Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia Racing Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

There is an urgency in the Aprilia camp to recover from its recent dip in performances, with company CEO Massimo Rivola admitting that the manufacturer must be doing something wrong in MotoGP.

The Noale factory brought out a major upgrade to the RS-GP for the start of the season, focusing primarily on aerodynamics, allowing Vinales to win the third round of the season in Austin. However, both Vinales and Espargaro have found the going tough in recent races, with KTM now just 14 points behind it in the standings.

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Asked if Aprilia’s increasing reliance on aero was having an unintended consequence on braking, Espargaro said: «Yes, in our system, everything is very, very close. Normally we are the ones with higher front tyre pressure and front [tyre] temperature.

«This is the reason why in Silverstone I was able to use the hard front and I was the only one because I put [in] a lot of temperature. So in colder races, this is an advantage.

«But when we have this track temperature, it’s a big, big problem. No brakes at all. The carbon was completely over the limit with the biggest disks. So the design, there we have to change.»



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Silverstone MotoGP disaster “woke up people” at Aprilia

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Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales says a disastrous run for him and team-mate Aleix Espargaro in MotoGP’s British Grand Prix “woke up people” at the Italian marque.

The Silverstone weekend highlighted Aprilia’s struggles in race trim as Vinales dropped from eighth to 13th at the finish with heavy tyre degradation and Espargaro likewise slumped to sixth behind a quintet of Ducatis after starting from pole.

The result was particularly a disappointment for Aprilia as the 5.9km circuit usually plays into the strengths of the RS-GP, with Espargaro famously winning last year’s race despite stern opposition from Ducati.

The Noale factory has had a little under two weeks to analyse what went wrong in Britain this year and try to understand why it is struggling to replicate its early season form.

Vinales claims that Aprilia remains a potent challenger in qualifying and sprint on softer tyres, as vindicated by Espargaro’s pole at Silverstone, but its pace in grands prix is now becoming a serious cause for worry.

“Obviously Silverstone started some alarms because it is a track where usually we should be on the podium,” said the Spaniard.

“So being that [far] at the back and with a lot of problems takes you a bit under consideration if you are approaching the weekend in a correct way or treating the tyres in the correct way.

“It seems the bike is very different to last year, and somehow in the beginning of this season, I don’t know if because of the tarmac or however, it was much easier to take out the maximum performance in the race.

“Now it seems complicated because in quali we are very fast, in sprint race we defend ourselves, but on Sunday it’s hard to be competitive.

“So we need to understand why, because in the first few races we have been very competitive on the Sunday of the weekend.”

Maverick Vinales, Aprilia Racing Team

Maverick Vinales, Aprilia Racing Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Aprilia remains the only manufacturer to beat Ducati in 2024 after the opening 10 rounds of the season, courtesy of Vinales’ success in the US Grand Prix back in April.

Since then the Borgo Panigale marque has pulled away from the opposition, particularly with the latest-specification GP24, leaving even podiums as an unlikely outcome for rivals.

Vinales hopes this weekend’s Austrian GP will start to provide some answers about its loss in form and help the factory return to the front later in the year.

“From my point of view, especially from my side, I become less competitive because I was able to win races [previously], even though they were [against] the Ducati ’24,” said Vinales, who also won the sprint race prior to his double triumph in Austin.

“For sure, Silverstone woke up a little bit the people because it was a race where we should be in a really good position and it was one of the worst weekends of the season so far, so we need to understand.

“I think Austria is a good track to start to understand. Everyone is working, is positive and we will try to be back where we started the season.”

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Michelin has introduced a new tyre specification in MotoGP this year, which has been key to riders breaking lap records at a wide variety of circuits, with Aprilia also able to benefit from the new rubber.

But while the GP24 is able to extract more and more pace out of the new rear tyre with every round, the RS-GP has struggled in this regard — contributing to its decline in performance.

Espargaro said that even though Aprilia has made a massive step forward compared to last year, he is baffled that he wasn’t able to convert pole positions into strong results at both Barcelona and Silverstone.

“This is why we are a little bit in shock, because we don’t understand why [we drop so far behind Ducatis],” he said.

Maverick Vinales, Aprilia Racing Team

Maverick Vinales, Aprilia Racing Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“We are fast, the bike is competitive, but we don’t understand why we can’t match at races like Barcelona and Silverstone where I felt I was strongest [but] I arrived with 10 seconds in the race. It’s difficult really to understand.

“I was very very strong, very fast in terms of speed but the maximum we could reach was sixth. And I was a lot faster in the race than the rest of the Aprilias, the KTMs, the Yamahas, the Hondas, but we were very far [from the front].

He added: “I don’t think there is just one thing [that is making the difference], but they stop the bike better than us and they are able to do the pick up without destroying the tyre.

“We have to ride a little bit more with the throttle, which is good in terms of pure speed on pole position with the soft tyre, but with tyre consumption it’s not the best. We are seeing on race day it’s difficult to match.”

Additional reporting by German Garcia Casanova and Gerald Dirnbeck



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Aprilia CEO admits «we are doing something wrong» in MotoGP after poor form

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola admits the manufacturer is “doing something wrong” in MotoGP after watching it slip away from Ducati in the pecking order in recent races.

Aprilia has gone from regularly challenging MotoGP’s dominant marque to being only an occasional top-five scorer in a span of just four months, with last weekend’s British Grand Prix perfectly capturing its remarkable downfall from the highs of a sprint win at Portimao and a sprint and grand prix double victory in Austin in April.

At Silverstone, factory rider Aleix Espargaro tumbled from pole to a distant sixth at the chequered flag, while team-mate Maverick Vinales had an even more bruising race en route to 13th place in the lower reaches of the points.

It prompted Americas GP winner Vinales to say it is Aprilia which has made a step backwards in MotoGP, rather than Ducati making a big jump forward with its GP24 bike.

Now, Rivola has joined Vinales to criticise the Noale-based brand for its recent results in MotoGP, having only celebrated an impressive grand prix victory at Silverstone 12 months ago as part of its ascent up the field.

«If we go and see, at Silverstone we were 40 seconds faster than last year, which is an eternity, but we took 10 seconds from first [place],” he told Sky Sport Italy.

Massimo Rivola, Aprilia Racing CEO

Massimo Rivola, Aprilia Racing CEO

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“Then it is true that we are 2.5s from Pecco [Bagnaia of Ducati], but this is a track where Aprilia has always gone fast. We’ve only shown that in terms of overall performance.

“We’re doing something wrong. Or rather, Ducati is doing something particularly well, especially since we got back to racing on European tracks. I know they used a test at Barcelona, which is a track with little grip, to make a leap forward. They did well.”

One of the biggest strengths of the Ducati this year has been its ability to extract the maximum performance from Michelin’s new 2024 tyres, while also keeping degradation to a minimum for the final stretch of the race.

Conversely, Aprilia has been struggling with heavy tyre wear on the RS-GP in 2024, with Espargaro having to fit a hard compound on the rear of his bike at Silverstone and Vinales complaining that his tyre was ‘gone after just six laps’.

Speaking in response, Rivola said that Aprilia needs to devote a greater part of the race weekend towards understanding Michelin tyres, with Espargaro and Vinales particularly struggling in the longer Sunday races.

«Since we have been back in Europe, an Aprilia on the front row is often there. It defends itself quite well in the sprint, but in the long race, from the middle onwards we are not competitive enough,” he lamented.

Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia Racing Team

Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia Racing Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

«There is a performance management issue related to tyre wear. We definitely need to focus on that, maybe even in the planning of the weekend, even at the risk of going through Q1 sometimes.

«We probably need more information as early as Friday. As we put the bike on the track we are immediately quick, but we tend to stall mainly on the tyre issue. I think there is more of a set-up theme, mechanical and electronic.

«And the format of how we manage the weekend. Maybe trying to take the tyre further in wear, look for those things that make a difference.»

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Aprilia’s situation getting «worse and worse» in MotoGP

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Maverick Vinales says Aprilia’s situation in MotoGP is getting «worse and worse» with every round after a disastrous run for him in the British Grand Prix.

Struggling with heavy degradation on medium tyres on his RS-GP, Americas GP winner Vinales slid from eighth on the grid to a measly 13th place, his worst result of the 2024 season.

His team-mate Aleix Espargaro dropped from pole position to finish sixth in Britain, almost 10 seconds down on race winner Enea Bastianini on the factory Ducati.

Aprilia’s poor showing last weekend was made to look worse by the fact Espargaro had won the race exactly 12 months ago, while the RS-GP had also looked rapid in the early part of the year with both its factory riders at the wheel.

The decline in Aprilia’s form in recent races is a matter of concern for Vinales, who urged the Noale-based marque to find a solution to reverse its fortunes in MotoGP.

«It’s difficult to accept the result. Honestly, it’s not what we are looking for,» he said. «We need to understand that there is something missing because the degradation of the rear tyres is not even normal, so we must understand why in the last four races we haven’t been at the level we need to be in.

«The tyre after six laps was completely gone. I passed from 1m59s to 2m01s. So we need to understand what is causing this tyre consumption because I never pass the speed limit in all the race trying to control [the pace].

Maverick Vinales, Aprilia Racing Team

Maverick Vinales, Aprilia Racing Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

«It’s true that in the sprint sometimes I was able to fight, but as soon as we put the medium tyre on [in the race], we were really just trying to cruise and [we were] not really really strong.

«So it’s important for the factory to try to stop a little bit and think how we can reverse this situation because it’s getting worse and worse. We need to see how to get up again.»

Sunday’s race at Silverstone saw Ducati sweep the top five positions as it extended its advantage over its rivals in MotoGP. Espargaro and Tech3’s Pedro Acosta were the only non-Ducati riders to finish inside the top 10 in the British GP, highlighting just how far ahead the Borgo Panigale marque is at present.

However, Vinales believes the result is more an indicator of Aprilia moving backwards in the pecking order rather than Ducati making a big leap with its Desmosedici bikes, as he highlighted RS-GP’s trait of eating its tyres too quickly

«It seems that somehow we lost quite the way to be competitive,» said the Spaniard, who remains the only rider to beat Ducati to a grand prix victory in 2024.

«I don’t think Ducati improved, we lower[ed] the potential and we need to get back again.

«I’m trying to understand what we are missing but to be honest it’s hard because I’m riding the bike on the limit, but the lap time and the way we are treating the tyres is wrong.»

Vinales also pointed to a drop in his own pace on the Aprilia, stressing how he was slower in this year’s British GP qualifying compared to 2022, when he qualified on the front row.

However, while his own team-mate Espargaro broke the Silverstone lap record in qualifying, it must be noted that MotoGP moved back to the Formula 1 layout in 2023, with the lap now starting at the Hamilton Straight adjacent to the Silverstone Wing.

«It’s hard to say but I don’t think they [Ducati] did a big step, to be honest, it’s just we slowed down,» he said.

«I’m not riding the fastest I can ride. We got down in our level because in ’22 I did 57.7 [actually 1m57.865] in the quali and this year I did a 58.1 and then crashed, so this is not normal.

«For sure we are slowing down and we need to regain that potential that we had in the initial part of the year. We need to see how, I don’t know why, but we need to see how.»

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Vinales can’t «comprehend» Aprilia’s disappearing MotoGP practice pace

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Maverick Vinales has conceded he can’t «comprehend» how Aprilia goes from running at the front in Friday practice to being 10 seconds off the pace over the course of a MotoGP race weekend.

Since Vinales’s emphatic victory in the Americas Grand Prix in April, Aprilia is yet to add another podium finish to its tally and is fighting to remain second in the manufacturers’ standings with KTM.

In last weekend’s German Grand Prix, the RS-GP looked rapid on Friday as Vinales broke the Sachsenring lap record in FP2, but come race day it was a completely different story for the Noale-based brand as the Spaniard could only salvage a 12th-place finish after running off the track in the early laps.

Trackhouse duo Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez also slipped down the order after qualifying on the front row behind polesitter Jorge Martin (Pramac), ending up sixth and 10th respectively after the 30-lap race.

Speaking afterwards, Vinales expressed his disappointment at Aprilia’s lack of race pace, as his mistake on lap 7 didn’t account for the entire 18s deficit he faced to race winner Francesco Bagnaia on the factory Ducati.

«It’s a few races that we are not on the level where we want to be and somehow, on Fridays, we are able to arrive on the limit and then it’s hard to go over it. It’s very hard. It’s very difficult. We need to understand why,» said Vinales, who was the only factory Aprilia rider in action after Aleix Espargaro’s withdrawal.

«On Friday it looks like you can fight in the race and then you are 10 seconds away in the race.

Maverick Vinales, Aprilia Racing Team

Maverick Vinales, Aprilia Racing Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

«I lose at least 12 seconds or more with all the problems, but still I would be six seconds [behind], not fighting with them. It’s interesting to understand.

«I see Miguel’s race also. It looks to me that Miguel had the chance to fight to win the race, also in the morning[warm-up, he was quick]. Then you see [he finished] 10 seconds [behind]. It’s hard to understand, to comprehend.»

Vinales noted that the RS-GP has been struggling to replicate its sheer pace while running in a pack of bikes, saying: «It’s just that the behaviour of the bike is very different when you are in a group and when you are alone.

«I don’t know if we need to approach the weekend in a different way, try to understand more the bike when I’m riding with the group.»

Vinales revealed that the behaviour of the RS-GP varies lap by lap and a software issue could explain why he is lacking the consistency he needs in order to feel confident on the bike.

«It’s the electronics that change a little bit, we don’t understand why,» he said.

«The tyres were very constant, they were working well. [On Saturday] I had a few more issues but no, no, when I was alone, I could do low 1[m]21[s laps] on the rhythm which I think was quite competitive.

«Then suddenly the rear breaks, suddenly I have a lot of wheelie, so we need to try to understand why the bike has this behaviour — one lap, yes, one lap, no. It makes it really unpredictable what you are gonna find out.

«So we need to understand why it’s working one lap one way, then another lap another way and, when I try to attack on brakes, it works a little bit different. so we really need to understand this.»

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How 2024’s ‘fake’ Bezzecchi got his factory MotoGP wishes with Aprilia

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Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola says the Italian marque has leaned on what Marco Bezzecchi did in MotoGP prior to 2024 as to what he can be capable of in 2025.

On Monday, following initial Motorsport.com reports last week, Aprilia announced that it had signed Valentino Rossi protege Bezzecchi to its factory team for 2025 to join Jorge Martin.

Aprilia has made no secrets of its desire to hire an Italian rider for its factory squad, and at one stage five-time grand prix winner Enea Bastianini appeared to be favourite for that before ultimately signing with KTM to race with Tech3 next year.

Bezzecchi’s name remained in the conversation, however, and when Maverick Vinales elected to sign for KTM to partner Bastianini, the planets aligned for the VR46 rider to get his factory wishes.

The 25-year-old won three grands prix in 2023 on his way to third in the standings aboard a 2022-spec Ducati at VR46 and turned down an offer to take a factory Desmosedici with Pramac for 2024.

Bezzecchi was banking on having strong machinery, albeit a year old, while still surrounded by his trusted crew and waiting for the rider market to open up for 2025. That has come to pass, rewarding his patience, though from the off it was evident he would not be getting his wishes at Ducati.

After seven rounds, Bezzecchi has scored just one podium in 2024 and amassed 45 points; at the same stage in 2023, he’s already won twice and had 126 points to his credit in third in the standings. Team-mate Fabio Di Giannantonio is on 74 points, albeit without a podium thus far.

Bezzecchi has struggled to get to grips with the GP23, as the way the bike works under braking goes against his style. The Italian is a hard braker but doing that on the GP23 leads to understeer problems in the turns. These were issues similar to Bastianini’s last year when he stepped up to the factory team.

Marco Bezzecchi, VR46 Racing Team

Marco Bezzecchi, VR46 Racing Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

But as far as Rivola is concerned, what has happened this year evidently isn’t a true reflection of Bezzecchi’s talents and it hasn’t counted against him in staking his claim for the factory RS-GP.

«Yeah, it’s true. It’s a good point,» Rivola said when asked if Bezzecchi’s form in 2024 was a bit of a concern. «When a rider one year performs in such a good way and the following year it’s not the same you start wondering if that means not enough talent or if there are some other issues that could come from different parts, not necessarily technically or whatever.

«At the end my feeling is the real Bez is the one of last year and not one of this year and for this season I still hope that we keep the fake to get better results for us [Aprilia].

«I trust in his speed and his talent quite a lot. It looks to me that he has quite a Latin character and we are used to that. Aleix for example is one of those. Jorge also looks to be one of those. It will be quite a motivating garage in Aprilia Racing but I’m looking forward to that.»

Rivola highlights Bezzecchi’s wet weather prowess as one impressive characteristic, with the Italian scoring his first grand prix win in those conditions in Argentina last year.

He also points to Bezzecchi’s crushing win in India last year as proof of talent, highlighting an adaptability that will no doubt serve the Italian well when he jumps to the RS-GP in Valencia’s post-race test in November.

«There are characteristics for sure that were quite impressive to me,» Rivola adds. «For sure riding on the wet is one, the other in particular, the first time and the only time we went on a track that was new to everybody [Indian GP] he won by a huge gap.

«So, there are signs of talents that are… something you really see, like this guy is something special. You could argue that this year he is not delivering good performance despite for example Marc Marquez has the same bike and he is always fighting for a top position.

Marco Bezzecchi, VR46 Racing Team

Marco Bezzecchi, VR46 Racing Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

«So, I think also that sometimes there are external factors, not just technical that can guide the performance and the tricky aspect and the nice aspect is also the one to find what is really the secret to align the planets.

«Sometimes you see riders; if you look at Maverick for example in Austin, and I expected him to become world champion. But unfortunately, the planets are not always aligned. So, we need to find a way to align those planets.»

Signing a multi-year deal, Bezzecchi is going to be afforded time to try and understand the Aprilia. The benchmark will be the highest he has had in MotoGP with 2023 runner-up and current championship leader Jorge Martin as a team-mate.

Based on this year alone, that may appear to be a one-sided fight. But analysing Bezzecchi’s results in 2024 are hard when the best GP23 rider is eight-time world champion Marc Marquez.

Di Giannantonio has had more consistency at VR46 than Bezzecchi but hasn’t scaled podium heights yet. The same is true of Gresini’s Alex Marquez on the other GP23, who sits between the VR46 pair in the standings.

Aprilia is right to take the wider view of Bezzecchi and pairing him with one of the top three best riders in the world right now may elevate him to a level Ducati may never have seen had he remained one of its satellite riders.

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Adapting to all new line-up in MotoGP 2025 the only «question mark» for us

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Aprilia says adapting to an all-new MotoGP rider line-up remains the only “question mark” for the marque as it prepares to welcome Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi from Ducati in 2025.

Aprilia’s MotoGP programme is set for a major reshuffle next year, with the two riders who have played a major role in transforming the RS-GP into a race-winning bike leaving for pastures new.

Aleix Espargaro, who has been one of the cornerstones of the Aprilia project is retiring from active competition and is set to take on a test rider role with Honda, while Maverick Vinales will move to the satellite Tech3 KTM squad after more than three years with the Italian manufacturer.

The two have been replaced with two top-quality riders in Martin and Bezzecchi, both joining from the Ducati fold, although it does mean Aprilia will have to start 2025 with a fresh slate.

Speaking following the news that Bezzecchi will leave VR46 to join Aprilia on a multi-year contract, the Noale-based marque’s CEO Massimo Rivola admitted that having two new riders in 2025 is not “ideal” for the factory.

However, he also believes, both Martin and Bezzecchi are the right candidates to lead the squad forward through its transition phase.

“That is the only question mark that we have because it’s not ideal to change two riders at the same time,” he said.

Marco Bezzecchi, VR46 Racing Team

Marco Bezzecchi, VR46 Racing Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“But with such two good talents, we are betting on the right horses. It’s not ideal but we also have a satellite team and I hope that the satellite [Trackhouse] team gives us a bit of continuity.

“Again, it’s not ideal but when you have a couple like Martin and Bezzecchi you must be happy.”

Espargaro and Vinales are moving to rival manufacturers in 2025 following their departures from Aprilia, although the former’s appointment at Honda is yet to be made official.

Asked who will help lead the bike development over the remainder of the season, as Aprilia would not want Espargaro and Vinales to take its tech secrets to other teams, Rivola stressed that it is important to not undermine the work put in by test rider Lorenzo Savadori, who has sacrificed results in wildcard outings in order to further hone the RS-GP.

“To be honest we need to give credit to Lorenzo Savadori who has been our test rider for many years so far,” he said.

“This bike looks like not really competitive when he does wildcard. I’d say he is a bit of a victim of us. You need to have the attitude and the love for your team, your factory, your manufacturer to do what you have to do. And so far we always got in the right direction.

“For sure the help of the riding style of Maverick gave us an additional boost to the development because Aleix was already with us for a lot of years and for sure having a satellite team was also another step forward.

“Soon there will be four RS-GP 24s [with Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez also getting the latest-spec chassis], so that would be another way to step up.

“But we think that the drawing office and the test team at Noale are doing quite a great job. Obviously still not enough and I know that it will never be enough. But we rely and trust a lot on their job.”

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Aprilia signs Bezzecchi to partner Martin for 2025 MotoGP season

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Aprilia has signed VR46 rider Marco Bezzecchi on a multi-year contract to partner Jorge Martin at its factory MotoGP team from 2025.

As reported by Motorsport.com, Bezzecchi will move to the Noale-based marque after three seasons with Ducati’s satellite VR46 squad, a stint that has so far yielded three grand prix victories and a best finish of third in the standings in 2023. 

The deal marks the culmination of his goal of becoming a factory rider, although he had initially hoped to rise through the ranks within Ducati itself instead of moving to a different marque. 

Bezzecchi was particularly keen on a graduation within Ducati after turning down the chance of racing the latest-spec Desmosedici at Pramac in 2024 in favour of continuity and familiar surroundings at VR46 — even though that meant competing on last year’s GP23 machinery.

Marco Bezzecchi, VR46 Racing Team

Marco Bezzecchi, VR46 Racing Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

However, Ducati’s decision to sign six-time champion Marc Marquez to team up with incumbent Francesco Bagnaia for 2025 put paid to any chances of a promotion within its roster next year.

Having endured a start to the 2024 season, scoring just one podium in the opening seven rounds and trailing team-mate Fabio di Giannantonio in the championship, he has now inked a deal to join the other Italian manufacturer in MotoGP.

His move to Aprilia is also seen as a marketing boost for the Noale-based marque, which finally has an Italian rider in its stable after fielding Spaniards Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales in the last few seasons.

“Welcome aboard to one of the best Italian talents, who has demonstrated his worth from his debut in the lower categories and especially last year in MotoGP, with outstanding performances and even breakaway victories,” said Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola. 

«We can’t wait to embrace Bez in Noale; the Italian bike and Italian rider duo are extremely exciting, but even more so is the rider pair which will be formed with Jorge. We are really happy with our line-up for 2025, Martín and Bezzecchi were our first choices for their age, talent, grit, and determination. With them we can write a new and important chapter in the history of Aprilia Racing.»

Bezzecchi’s recruitment means Aprilia will start the 2025 season with an all-new line-up. Espargaro, who has played a key role in Aprilia’s ascent from a distant backmarker to a regular race winner, announced his decision to retire from MotoGP at the end of 2024 and is now set to take on a test rider role at Aprilia.

Vinales, meanwhile, will move to the factory-supported Tech3 KTM squad in 2025 alongside Enea Bastianini.

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