Aprilia riders Aleix Espargaró, Maverick Viñales and Miguel Oliveira have expressed serious concerns about the excessive heat emitted by their RS-GP bikes during the MotoGP Sprint race in San Marino. The problem, which had already surfaced last year at the Thailand Grand Prix, appears to have worsened despite the improvements promised for 2024.
During the Sprint race, I will espargaro pointed out that the air temperature, at 29 degrees, was not particularly high, but that the heat felt on the motorcycle had become iunbearable in the last laps: " we suffered a lot from the heat. The new fairing seems even worse than the old one in terms of temperature. I am a little worried about the next races »
Concerns are not limited to driver discomfort. I will espargaro stressed that this excessive heat also affected the mechanical components of the motorcycle: " if the heat reaches me, it also reaches the wheels, the brakes, the oil temperature, the fork, all the hardware on the bike »
« After 5 or 6 laps on the Aprilia you start to feel like you can't breathe. »
Casa Particular in Viñales shared his concern, explaining that the heat becomes particularly problematic on long straights: “ After 5 or 6 laps on the Aprilia you start to stop breathing. » He expressed fears about upcoming races in hot countries like the Thailand, where the straight lines are long and the heat could pose safety issues for pilots.
Miguel Oliveira also confirmed on crash.net this problem, emphasizing that the high grip of the track Misano exacerbated the situation, making the race even more physical: “ the heat we receive from the motorcycle is intense. It got a lot more physical with that high grip and it was really hot. »
As the racing season approaches in Asia, the pilots Aprilia are concerned about their safety and performance in the face of this heat problem.
