This season, and in a MotoGP with heightened competition, it is certain that the Aprilia factory, which is more of a commando, has progressed more than noticeably. His new RS-GP is in the mix, despite the fact that there is only one fast rider, and now able-bodied since Savadori's injury, on it. An improvement which comes from a particular policy dear to the company on which technical director Romano Albesiano wants to insist.
Aprilia can boast of currently experiencing its finest season in the premier Grand Prix category. The brand played in the big leagues with a 500 cm3 two-cylinder two-stroke engine from 1994 to 2000, then the 990 cm3 Cube engine from Cosworth from 2002 to 2004. Since 2016, it is the RS GP who took up the torch with ups and downs. In 2021, we are in the high hypothesis: the figurehead Aleix Espargaró ranked six times in the top 8 in the first ten races and notably finished in sixth place at Portimao and Jerez. The Spaniard is currently ninth in the championship.
An encouraging journey that Roman Albesian described as follows: “ we reached a good level on almost all tracks, which we are proud of » says Aprilia’s technical director. “ We focused on the weak points and were able to eliminate 90 percent of them. Now we have a good basis for the future. Over the last two years we have made fundamental changes to the engine, with less power output. Changes that make you want to take a step forward sometimes involve taking two steps back. What we lost in engine power, we gained in handling. This is one of the reasons for our improvement. We now have two or three years left without major changes. We know that racing success comes from precision work and not revolutions ».
Aprilia lost good staff MotoGP for the benefit of the competition in recent years, but has recently also recruited people from Suzuki, Ducati, of course, but also from Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren and Mercedes. “ Some of these people were at Aprilia "Observed Albesian. " They grew up with us, then changed companies and came back. People who come from the automotive industry generally have a different mentality, and I have had this experience for the last 30 years ».
Aprilia: “we have intelligent people who understood the difficulties of developing a motorcycle”
He develops on speedweek : " but we have intelligent people who immediately understood the difficulties of developing a motorcycle. Many people think that a car is more complicated than a motorcycle, but in many areas the opposite is true. We are very happy that the merger of these cultures is super positive for the company, we have been able to significantly strengthen our staff ».
« To reach our current level, we had to take big steps ", said Albesian, explaining the many new developments on RS-GP. “ We were able to test some parts, like new wings, on the previous model, so we already had some information when we put the all-new bike into service at the start of the season. In recent years, aerodynamics have played an increasingly important role in terms of the overall balance of the motorcycle. This comes from the ailerons, they make the aerodynamic forces more powerful. The design group therefore needed to understand how mechanics and aerodynamics interact in terms of balance ". New horizons now generally considered that Ducati was discovered.
