The team manager of Aprilia Racing Team Gresini spoke with GP One about the difficulties encountered by the team this year, but also the expected progress and the arrival of Andrea Iannone next year.
All that is missing is the press release to officially announce the agreement uniting Aprilia and Gresini Racing until 2021. An agreement that delights Fausto Gresini: “I am happy to continue with Aprilia for the next three years because it is the continuation of a relationship which, from a certain point of view, is a little restrictive for each of the parties, but which is above all productive for everyone. world. It is not easy to unify two work teams like those of Aprilia and Gresini Racing as we have done in recent years. I think we did both well and poorly. This year it is not going as we would like. The level of MotoGP has risen again and we still have a lot of work to do. »
Indeed, Aprilia is encountering great difficulties this year, its riders being only eighteenth and twentieth in the Championship. Despite the very good ninth place obtained by Aleix Espargaró at Le Mans and his top 10 in Texas, the team accumulates technical problems and even internal incidents. Obviously, Gresini cannot deny it: “At the moment these are unfortunately our results and they are necessarily more disappointing than we expected. This means we need to do an even deeper analysis. We get involved a lot, it's very easy to criticize and do nothing. I would like to remind you that just a few years ago, Ducati was struggling in a situation quite similar to ours and today it appears to be the bike to beat. I wish the same thing could happen at Aprilia. We hope to quickly figure out how to make everything work. »
However, he remains optimistic: “I hope that Aprilia Racing will progress significantly to be in front as soon as possible. I believe in it and I hope that it will happen. Lately we have been criticized quite a bit, but we are not at all amused by doing poorly or going slowly, and no one can think that we are not working hard. We have pretty clear ideas on how to move forward, but it certainly takes time. Even making a small change can take months. »
The team will nevertheless be able to count on Andrea Iannone next year. His arrival is highly anticipated, but many remain skeptical of the chemistry between him and the team given his temperament. Fausto Gresini would like to see this as a quality, and even an opportunity for Aprilia: “Andrea has a lot of energy and that will definitely help us. He is a top driver at all levels, with a somewhat difficult character. In paddock jargon, he is considered a bit “strong”, he is demanding and perhaps we also need that, someone who pushes us to go even faster. He accepted a difficult challenge, and so did we. I hope we can give him a better bike than what he has today. It’s obviously an opportunity for us to have Andrea on the team. We will have two very fast riders and we know that by giving him a bike to match certain results can be achieved. This must be another incentive for everyone involved in this project. »
Aleix Espargaró, future teammate of Iannone.
