Метка: Aprilia Racing Team

Maverick Vinales set for KTM MotoGP switch

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The Spaniard will bring the curtain down to his three-year stint with Aprilia, which has so far yielded one grand prix victory in Austin this year and a total of seven podium finishes.

He will join the structure currently managed in tandem by Tech3 and KTM’s parent company Pierer Mobility group, the team which currently competes under the GasGas banner.

As announced previously, Brad Binder and Pedro Acosta will race in the factory team, although KTM intends to put four identical bikes on track this year between its two teams.
With Vinales now poised to join KTM, it means Aprilia will lose both its current factory riders, with Aleix Espargaro having already announced his decision to retire from MotoGP at the end of the year. Motorsport.com understands he will move to Honda in a test rider role next year.

Initially, Vinales’ intention was to explore the possibility of extending his contract with Aprilia, which handed him a reprieve in 2021 following his acrimonious split from Yamaha. However, the Noale-based brand preferred to wait for Espargaro to decide his future, before sitting down with Vinales to negotiate a contract.

Things took a turn on Monday after the Italian Grand Prix when Aprilia announced it had signed Jorge Martin from Pramac, at great expense, after Ducati chose Marquez as Francesco Bagnaia’s team-mate for 2025-26.
Maverick Vinales, Aprilia Racing

Maverick Vinales, Aprilia Racing

Photo by: MotoGP

It remains to be seen who will not occupy the second factory RS-GP at Aprilia, although current VR46 riders Marco Bezzecchi and Fabio di Giannantonio are seen as the most likely candidates. 

Born in 1995, Vinales debuted in the World Championship in 125cc in 2011 and won the Moto3 title two years later, achieving up to 12 victories in his three years in the minor class. Entry-level category.

After a single season in Moto2 in 2014 which yielded four victories and a best finish of third in the standings, he made the leap to top category as an official Suzuki factory rider in 2015.

He went on to record his maiden MotoGP win for Suzuki in 2016 before moving over to Yamaha.

In his debut with the Iwata marque, replacing Jorge Lorenzo and as Valentino Rossi’s team-mate, Viñales won his first two races, in Qatar and Argentina, and the fifth, in France. 

Between 2018 and 2021 he added five more race wins to his tally, although it wasn’t enough to fight for the title.

In mid-2022 he decided to leave Yamaha, before being dropped following an unpleasant incident in Austria, which then led to his switch to Aprilia.

In 2025, and in his eleventh season in the premier class, Vinales will compete for a fourth different manufacturer.

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How 24 hours changed the trajectory of Jorge Martin’s MotoGP career

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On 30 May, ahead of the Italian Grand Prix, it looked certain that the eventuality everyone was anticipating for 2025 was coming to pass.

Gazzetta dello Sport reported that championship leader Martin would be promoted to the factory Ducati team and the Italian marque was now waiting to get Marc Marquez’s answer on whether he would race for Pramac on a factory GP25.

When Marquez faced the media and told them that Pramac was “not an option”, it turned the situation on its head. The eight-time world champion’s demands were a factory bike at Gresini or the factory team, or he walks away altogether.

Given the talent of Marquez, how quickly he has adapted to the Ducati in 2024, as well as his marketing might, the Bologna-based marque’s bosses had a dilemma on its hands.

The resolution was to make a U-turn on its initial decision, informing Martin on Sunday afternoon at Mugello that Marquez will be getting the factory seat instead. And so he entered the rider market and Aprilia’s race office.

“As I always said to you if someone asked me, since Aleix [Espargaro] decided to retire we started speaking to everybody,” Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola said on Monday after the Mugello test where Martin’s signing was announced.

Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing, Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing.

Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing, Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing.

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“The strategy was quite clear not to do it in the first move, because we didn’t want to do any gift to anyone. But when we felt there was an opportunity, and actually it was last night, we were quite quick in making action rather than talks.

“We found a deal very, very quickly. I have to thank Aleix for that as well and here we are.”

He added: “I think timing was a factor, because really we were very fast. Last night I called my boss and I said ‘we have a chance’, and he said ‘get him, go for it’ and I did.

“So, we have all the team, the legal guys working during the night to get it done, and I don’t know if it’s based on emotion, but I liked to think the choice of Jorge is done because Aprilia did a persistent growth over the years.

“We are the only one so far who has won races, as an alternative to his current bike. So, it’s another item of the puzzle to fix.”

Rain hit the post-race test at Mugello, which led to Martin electing not to turn any laps. While others wobbled around in the conditions, he was sat warm and dry in Rivola’s office putting pen to paper. While this was going on, Motorsport.com broke the news that Martin was walking away from Ducati and Marquez was getting the factory nod.

This is a major moment in Aprilia’s story. When it returned to MotoGP in 2015 after a fruitless stint earlier in the four-stroke era that concluded in 2004, it was firmly a backmarker. It wasn’t until 2021 that Aleix Espargaro – who joined the project in 2017 – got the RS-GP its first podium.

Aprilia found itself scrambling for riders coming into 2020, after Andrea Iannone was hit with a doping ban. The signing of Maverick Vinales midway through 2021 represented a turn in fortunes, but the Spaniard’s MotoGP career hung by a thread after an acrimonious split with Yamaha – who won the championship that year with Fabio Quartararo.

Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia Racing Team

Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia Racing Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Aprilia, winning races in 2022, 2023 and 2024, can now confidently cast its net wide for top talent in MotoGP. And they don’t come much better than Martin. He leads the standings by 18 points, having won two GPs and is racing at a 24-point per round pace in 2024.

“I remember when we had in 2020 the issue to find a rider, and it was very difficult to find a rider,” Rivola noted.

“And now I had a long list of managers knocking on my door. And that’s for sure the satisfaction of the company, that work in a proper way.”

Rivola also noted there were conversations with Marc Marquez about 2024. But now Martin is locked down on a multi-year deal – with help from Espargaro offering influence to his young friend – attention now turns to the second seat.

Enea Bastianini, who will be looking for a ride with Marquez taking his seat, had been a favourite in the Aprilia conversation before Martin signed a deal. He is thought to have offers from Aprilia, KTM and Yamaha if it partners with Pramac.

For Rivola, Bastianini cannot be ruled out. But his priority is to keep Vinales, who is yet to commit his future to anyone.

“The priority is to understand what Maverick wants to do with us and then if Maverick wants to stay, I am the first person [to want this] and then there is no place for Enea,” Rivola added.

“But for sure Enea is one of the riders that I’m trying to bring here for a long time. Let’s see, it’s difficult to predict now. I think every one of you in my shoes will have done the same.”



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Martin signs for Aprilia as Marquez nears factory Ducati MotoGP promotion

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On Monday 3 June, Motorsport.com broke the news that Ducati had made a U-turn on its decision to promote championship leader Jorge Martin from Pramac to its factory squad.

With Marquez stating at the Italian Grand Prix that racing on a factory bike at Pramac was “not an option” for him, Ducati’s plans to keep both riders were scuppered.

With the form Marquez has already shown on the 2023-spec Ducati at Gresini already in 2024, with his high marketing value, the Italian manufacturer could not justify letting him walk to a rival marque.

Martin, having been informed that Ducati had changed its mind, elected to take matters into his own hands and walk away from the marque – paving the way for Marquez to move to the factory team.

On Monday evening, Aprilia took to its social media account to announce that Martin will race for the Italian brand next year.

“A path of unstoppable growth, Jorge is a building block to reach the goal we are all looking for with great hunger at Aprilia Racing,» said Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola. «Thanks to Dr. Michele Colaninno for this opportunity, we spoke last night and without wasting any time we made the decision.”

Martin will replace Aleix Espargaro at the Noale-based manufacturer in 2025, after the three-time grand prix winner announced his retirement from MotoGP at the end of this year.

Motorsport.com revealed over the Italian GP weekend that Espargaro is set to become Honda’s test rider in 2025.

With Martin joining Aprilia, it raises questions over the future of Pramac as a Ducati satellite team.

With Marquez shunning the idea of riding for Pramac and it losing its star rider in Martin, the prospect of it switching to Yamaha machinery has gotten stronger.

If that is to happen, Motorsport.com understands VR46 could get the two factory Ducatis currently raced by Pramac next year.

Maverick Vinales is yet to finalise his plans for 2025 and denied reports from Rivola that his place in the team is confirmed beyond this year.

Enea Bastianini, who will be moved aside for Marquez at Ducati, had been a favourite candidate to join Aprilia – though has options with the Italian brand, KTM and Yamaha with Pramac.

 
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Vinales denies 2025 Aprilia deal done amid “open doors” on MotoGP grid

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The 10-time grand prix winner has been with Aprilia since the latter half of the 2021 campaign, following his acrimonious split with Yamaha that year, and has become a firm favourite with management.

Aprilia’s faith in Vinales paid off earlier this year in America when he scored his first grand prix win with the Italian manufacturer.

It has been thought for a while that Vinales’ Aprilia future is likely fairly secure, with this only boosted by Aleix Espargaro’s announcement last week that he will retire at the end of 2024.

During the Catalan GP weekend, three-time MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo interviewed Rivola, who told him Vinales’ 2025 renewal was “confirmed”.

But Vinales, who struggled to 12th at the Catalan GP, denied this when speaking to Motorsport.com. “No, no, I’m not confirmed. I don’t have a contract for next year,” he said.

“Obviously there is a lot of interest in continuing [with Aprilia] because we are doing a very good job, but I look at today [Barcelona], Le Mans or Jerez and you have to wait. You have to wait.

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“There are open doors and you have to wait a little bit and decide what’s best for me in terms of performance.

“I want to win, honestly, and I think I have the ability to be able to fight to win, and I have to take a good look at what’s the best option.

“What is the most complete, what is the package that will give me the best option, the maximum to exploit my best level.”

Over the Catalan GP weekend, Rivola hinted to motogp.com that Aprilia’s interest in replacing Espargaro was with an Italian rider.

Enea Bastianini, who is set to lose his factory Ducati seat for 2025, has been linked in recent weeks to Aprilia, while Rivola also mentioned Marco Bezzecchi’s name to Lorenzo.

“After Saturday’s race, I asked him [Espargaro] if he was sure, if he really wants to retire. But he told me that the decision has been made,» said Rivola.

“We have to wait for Ducati to make its decision. Then there may be interesting Italian riders left, like Enea Bastainini or Marco Bezzecchi.”

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Aprilia hints at Espargaro MotoGP replacement preference

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On Thursday ahead of the Catalan Grand Prix, three-time MotoGP race winner Espargaro announced he will be retiring from racing at the end of the season.

This has opened up a prime factory spot on the grid for 2025, which has already been linked to several high-profile names.

In recent weeks, Enea Bastianini’s manager Carlo Pernat has spoken about approaches he has made to Aprilia about signing the five-time MotoGP race winner, who is likely to lose his factory Ducati seat.

Ducati is set to make its final decision on who will get the second factory team seat for 2025 come next week’s Italian GP, with the ride looking to go to either Jorge Martin or Marc Marquez.

While keeping his cards close to his chest, Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola told motogp.com’s live feed at the Catalan GP that the rider market offers some “good opportunities” but hinted towards a preference.

“Next for me is till the very end of the season,” he began when asked what happens next for Aprilia in the wake of Espargaro’s news.

“The very end of the season is the most important part.

“We need to keep him [Espargaro] very focused. I’m sure he will. He will be the captain till the very last day.

“That will be the future for him and then after that we will see. We will not panic about that.

“Now we can start speaking with many managers of riders and I think the market will be quite interesting and offer good opportunities.

“Let’s see if we will get finally an Italian on an Italian bike, or not.

“But I think there will be good opportunities. Obviously taking Aleix’s place will not be easy for anybody, so whoever is coming will have to come very hungry.”

 

Aprilia, of course, has fielded Italian riders before, with Marco Melandri briefly riding for the squad in its return season in 2015.

In 2019, Andrea Iannone raced for the squad, before his place was taken by Lorenzo Savadori in 2020 after the former was hit with a doping ban.

What next for Espargaro?

Espargaro is now likely to take on a test rider role going into 2025, though has already said at Barcelona that this is unlikely to be with Aprilia.

His manager Albert Valera told motogp.com on the subject:  “Well, it’s still early to say where we are going to go.

“As he said, he would like to do the test rider role.

“He’s very looking forward to new challenges, which means probably enjoying the experience of working with a new manufacturer even though it’s going to be as a test rider and not as an official rider.

“But that’s the role he is looking for and he thought he could face a new challenge but at the same time slow down a little bit.

“So, he understood that could be the test rider role in a new manufacturer.

“We are in some conversations, early still, to understand where he’s going to go or not.

“But he’s in a very high level and I think it’s a very good opportunity for a manufacturer to have a test rider like Aleix.”

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Aprilia must “be smart” to avoid Barcelona MotoGP expectations after 2023

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The sixth round of the 2024 campaign takes place this weekend at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and is expected to be a strong hunting ground for Aprilia.

This is because of Aleix Espargaro’s run to victories in the sprint and the grand prix last year at the venue, while Maverick Vinales was second in the latter to complete Aprilia’s first 1-2 in MotoGP.

Vinales says a repeat would be “a dream” this weekend, but has moved to stop expectation being mounted on Aprilia’s shoulders for past precedent.

“I don’t know,” he said in France when asked, after finishing fifth, if Barcelona was the track for Aprilia to return to the top step of the podium.

“It will be a dream for sure, but we don’t know. It’s difficult to say in this championship because everything can change.

“The tyres are a little bit different, so new technology. We don’t know how it works in Montmelo, so we need to be smart enough to not put too much expectation on ourselves, to be honest.

“If we have a good Friday we will put on expectation and we will go for everything. But first of all, we need to see how things go there. May in Montmelo, [there can be] a lot of rain. So, we’ll see.”

Photo by: Marc Fleury

What happened at the 2023 Catalan GP?

The Catalan GP capped off a whirlwind few weeks for the factory Aprilia squad, which began in August with a win for Aleix Espargaro at the British GP.

With the characteristics of Silverstone and Barcelona being similar, while the low-grip nature of the latter lending itself to the strong traction of the RS-GP – as well as Espargaro’s more old-school riding style, Aprilia was a force at the Catalan GP.

It was 1-2 with Espargaro and Vinales in both of Friday’s practice sessions, while RNF Aprilia’s Miguel Oliveira topped Saturday morning’s FP2.

Oliveira then topped Q1 on his 2022-spec RS-GP, while Francesco Bagnaia on the factory Ducati finally halted Aprilia’s stranglehold on the top of the times in Q2 with pole.

But Espargaro, starting second, overhauled him in the sprint to win by 1.989s, with Vinales third. And in the grand prix, Espargaro beat Vinales by 0.377s to score his second Sunday win of the season.

Aprilia’s winning form has faded again in 2024

The 2024 RS-GP came into the season as a bike that Vinales wasn’t happy with but Espargaro raved about over its step forward.

But Vinales was able to be on podium pace in Portugal after Aprilia was able to improve the balance for him to utilise his riding style properly. A gearbox issue thwarted his hopes, but a first victory since 2021 followed at Austin.

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

However, since then, Aprilia’s form has dipped away. Poor qualifying results for Espargaro and Vinales at Jerez made life difficult, while the latter experienced “a wear issue” with a part on the bike he raced that meant he struggled to ninth.

At Le Mans, Vinales could do no more than fifth as team-mate Espargaro faded out of the podium battle in the early stages to end up ninth (though two run-ins with riders also hindered his progress).

As MotoGP heads to a weekend in which Aprilia is expected to do well, Vinales was asked in France what the marque needs to do to break through the ceiling it’s seemingly stuck at.

“It’s a good question,” he said. “I wish to do the step in the next races. Obviously, we go to Montmelo and the expectations will be very high, but we need to be conservative [and consider] that maybe the Ducati has improved a lot.

“It will also be strong in this track. But for the rest of the tracks, we need to check how to make this next step. Obviously there will be tracks that will be better and not.

“I thought that when I came [to Le Mans] the weekend should be good, but the guys were telling me maybe this was not the best for the bike and in the end they were right.”

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Raul Fernandez set to get 2024 Aprilia MotoGP bike at Jerez

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Fernandez was the only rider within the Aprilia contingent to start the season with last year’s bike, with team-mate Miguel Oliveira getting the latest-spec machinery in 2024 following the takeover of RNF Racing by American outfit Trackhouse.

Originally, it had been communicated to Fernandez that he would move to the upgraded RS-GP at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, but his debut outing now has been pushed back until the post-race test at the Circuito de Jerez on Monday.

Aprilia has yet to confirm whether Fernandez will get to race with the new version of the RS-GP at the following round at Le Mans in France on 12 May.

«We are happy to be back in Europe with the iconic Jerez race which, this time, will be Raul’s home race,» Trackhouse team principal Davide Brivio.

«I’m excited to see how much more we can achieve in the coming races after the recent progress we made in Austin with both drivers. I don’t think we showed our full potential in Austin and for that we need to be good in all areas over the weekend and optimize our performance. Let’s see where we end up on Sunday. 

«Then we will have the test on Monday and if everything runs smoothly during the weekend, Raul will have the first opportunity to briefly test the 2024 bike.»

Raul Fernandez, Trackhouse Racing Team

Raul Fernandez, Trackhouse Racing Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

The upgrade only covers the chassis side of the bike, with the regulations forcing the 24-year-old to stay with the same engine he started the season with.

This means he will continue to have the 2023 motor fitted to his new ‘24 bike, meaning he won’t have complete parity with team-mate Oliveira and factory Aprilia duo Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales during the season.

In the past, Aprilia’s satellite team RNF Racing always had to do with year-old equipment, but Trackhouse made a point of getting the latest-spec machinery from Aprilia following its entry into the MotoGP.

Although Trackhouse’s ambitions caught Aprilia by surprise, the company’s CEO Massimo Rivola got on well with the new management and agreed with the request to expand the supply of 2024 bikes.

Due to production difficulties and the limited timeframe, Aprilia could only have one additional 2024 bike ready for pre-season testing, which went to Oliveira. However, it always maintained that it would be able to supply another 2024 version of the RS-GP for Fernandez by the middle of the year.

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Espargaro considering Aprilia test rider role, but MotoGP future still open

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The 34-year-old has been racing full-time in MotoGP since 2012 and has been with Aprilia since 2017, developing the RS-GP into a race-winning package in that time.

His current contract with the Italian marque expires at the end of the year and he is giving himself until the Italian Grand Prix in May to see where his form is at before deciding on a direction to take.

If he remains a racer, he says he will continue only with Aprilia, but also hasn’t ruled out the idea of becoming a test rider.

“This is a very good question. I don’t know. Hopefully, Aprilia will offer a new job for me, but this is not the important thing,” he began. “The important thing is to understand if I want to stay or not. I haven’t really decided yet.

“I want to wait a little bit more. I want to wait at least until Mugello to see how I perform, and then I will decide. I’m having fun this year, but I want to fight on top five every race. If not, it [the contract] will be the last one.

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“I’m trying to understand what the best future for me is. I don’t think my future will be racing in another place other than Aprilia. If I’m racing full-time, I mean.

«So, if I’m racing, I will stay in Aprilia. But maybe I decide to stop and do some wildcards as a test rider, or maybe I decide to fully stop.

“I need to decide, but really I haven’t decided yet. I want to perform. This is my obsession right now. I want to finish on the podium every weekend. Then I will decide.”

Espargaro says the idea of becoming a test rider has become more attractive in recent years due to Ducati “changing the game” with Michele Pirro.

Asked if the appeal of being a test rider has grown for him, he said: “A lot. It’s a new job, a new role, that didn’t exist five years ago. Now we understand how important it is.

“Ducati and Pirro changed the game six years ago. And now you see with Dani [Pedrosa], Pol [Espargaro], in KTM.

“Yamaha and Honda need to step up their test team. Their testing is not at the level of the Italians or KTM test teams. So, everything can change and it’s also a good opportunity for me.

“This is why I’m thinking about it. It’s something that I love, I’ve had a lot of fun over the last six, seven years developing the Aprilia. I think we did a really good job. So, I learned a lot of things and it’s also exciting for the future.”

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Vinales clutch issue had Aprilia “worried” ahead of Americas MotoGP fightback

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Vinales scored his first grand prix win since 2021 last Sunday at the Circuit of the Americas, having taken victory in the sprint and also qualified on pole.

Previously leading from start to finish in the sprint, Vinales didn’t get the best of launches in the grand prix and was bumped down to 11th after contact at Turn 1.

But he fought his way back through the field to take the lead on lap 13 of 20 and got to the chequered flag 1.7 seconds clear of the field.

Vinales revealed after the race that he had a clutch issue from the morning warm-up that “worried” his Aprilia team which ultimately forced him into a fightback.

“Actually, this morning I had an issue with the clutch and the team was quite worried,” Vinales said on Sunday afternoon.

“So, they didn’t really want to touch anything. I had the same thing in the race, but I was not bad. I was second, third, so that was ok.

“But I saw Pecco [Bagnaia] enter and push me very wide. But because also Jorge [Martin] was on the inside, so that was a racing incident and after that I said ‘no, come on, no!’

“So, I kept concentrated, and I kept believing that I was able to do it.

“The way I see I was recovering the gap so quick to the front guys, I said ‘one at a time man’.

“I did it and it was crazy. I was enjoying every single lap. Some riders overtook me again, but I braked late enough to make them go wide.”

Vinales’ first grand prix win as an Aprilia rider makes him the first competitor in the modern MotoGP era to have scored a victory with three different manufacturers.

And in the history of MotoGP, only four other riders over the last 75 years had achieved that feat before him – the last being Loris Capirossi when he won for Ducati in 2003.

Vinales said achieving this bit of history with Aprilia is “a dream” given the marque had only just scored its first podium prior to him joining late in 2021.

“To be honest, you are never looking at that but when you see it, it makes you feel very special because not many riders can do things like that,” he said of his new record.

“However, to arrive to the top with Aprilia… I don’t know, I think it’s a dream.

“It’s not the same as when you go to a team that’s already winning, you know the bike is fantastic.

“We arrived to Aprilia, Aleix [Espargaro] achieved two victories and then leaves a good bike and I’m taking this next step [with it].

“It’s so fantastic. I need to thank Aleix for the work he is doing and to Aprilia.”

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