These are the troops Aprilia particularly motivated who are looking forward to a competitive 2017 season. With now six manufacturers on the starting grid, finding your place in the sun will come down to elbowing. A prospect which does not scare Aprilia which will begin its third season among the elite after two years spent among private machines and still quite far from the other official teams. Thus, the boss of the competition Roman Albesian maintains its objective of the top 6 for 2017. Which would mean a surprising leap forward for the RS-GP.
But precisely, this is the surprise that the replacement of Gigi Dall'Igna to Noale: “ the new bike is well born so we could well surprise more than one " announcement Albesian on La Gazzetta dello Sport. " I know that finishing in the top 6 will not be easy because MotoGP has undergone impressive development in recent seasons. But even if it will be hard, I think it will not be impossible if I refer to the comments of Aleix Espargaró ».
Un Aleix Espargaró who is Aprilia's new recruit of choice and who was full of praise for the RS-GP from the first laps accomplished at the start of the tests this off-season: “ Aleix thinks it's possible, he's good on one lap and our team is capable of making him a bike capable of being consistent in a race. So yes, I believe in it ».
However, some adjustments will have to be made: we developed the engine in line with Aleix's requirements. The latter asked for more torque, which was a surprise for us because Bautista and Bradl were asking for more pure power instead. But it's his driving style that is like that and we worked in this new direction ».
The results will be seen from the 30th of this month at Sepang. A meeting during which the second pilot Sam Lowes will also be expected around the corner: “ Sam is a real talent, but we found he was under pressure. He doesn't fall because he doesn't understand motorcycling, but because he has to learn to live with the pressure. He won't be asked to win the title, so he has to deal with this kind of disadvantaget”. It almost sounds like a warning.
