What happened between Bradley Smith and Aprilia? Officially, the Englishman is still within the walls of Noale, but while he was completing the season on the RS-GP in place of Andrea Iannone then awaiting a verdict, he was suddenly replaced by the test pilot Lorenzo Savadori. Then Iannone was heavily condemned, opening the position of the second bike alongside Aleix Espargaró. With Crutchlow leaving the scene, having a British passport became an advantage. And yet, Bradley Smith is never mentioned to regain his starting place. Worse, we would prefer an older Chaz Davies from WSBK…
It is therefore to be believed that Bradley Smith was definitively put in the closet at Aprilia. Like a disgrace that occurred after a few sentences recounting the disappointment on a project criticized in certain aspects... But the 29-year-old Englishman does not endorse this conjunction. On speedweek at the microphone of Simon Patterson, he gives his version of the facts: “ It's more confusing than you think », he begins. “ They thought at Aprilia that they had created a base. But that wasn't the case. Or at least, I don't know what basis it is. ».
It develops : " I have never had two identical motorcycless. I always had something different. Either new chassis or engine configurations. What everyone sees on the outside is what's going on inside. Everything goes hand in hand ". An interesting frankness, but it is not certain that it will be appreciated in Noale, especially with this conclusion: “ at the moment they have not covered their construction sites, so they row a little... ».
With that he comes upon the case Savadori : " I wasn't fired. I was just told that for the good of the company it was better to put Savadori on the bike so he could gain experience and improve his level as a rider. It wasn't good for me, but as the CEO of Aprilia, I could see why it made sense: they wanted to see if he could do the job as their sole test rider because he had a contract for 2021 ».
A contract that Bradley Smith doesn't : " When they made the decision, Aprilia probably believed that they didn't really need me for 2021. Now, with the new situation, I feel that every week and every day I am needed. How this should be is not yet clear. We need to talk. I can give them a lot of contribution with my experience and knowledge of 13 years. My preference would be to be a regular driver. It would be nice if someone could take over my job as a tester while I'm racing ».
Petrucci as a model
A prospect which is for the moment surreal since of all the names cited by rumor for an arrival on the second Aprilia, Bradley Smith is never considered, even though it is in the walls! But to give himself courage, the Englishman gives himself a reference: “ I use Petrucci as an example: when he arrived at Ducati, he wasn't necessarily seen as the ideal man at the beginning. But it evolved year after year. There is no overnight success in this sport. It also took Pol longer at KTM. I also know in which direction we need to go in 2021. So it would be nice to be part of the project too ", asserted Smith.
He ends his demonstration thus: “ there is still a lot to do at Aprilia. The bike is still not a top 10 bike. As Rivola said, every man counts. We already have people in the box. But it also takes time to understand things. It's not a bike you can be fast on straight away. It also took time for Andrea in 2019 ».
The case of Smith will it be reassessed in Noale. Listen to the latest intervention from the CEO of Aprilia Racing Massimo rivola, the chances seem slim: “ we are considering a number of faster drivers. I'm thinking of Moto2 and also the Superbike world championship ". Which means Bezzecchi, Di Giannantonio ou Chaz Davies...
