Even if the results remain erratic, Aprilia is raising its head a little at the end of the MotoGP season. The overseas campaign brought some satisfaction with a version of the RS-GP which is having its last meetings. The man at the head of the Noale manufacturer's troops, Massimo Rivola, warns that once this exercise is completed, a new motorcycle will appear. In fact, it will take a little longer and will have to be fine-tuned. But we will have to go through this to then find true and constant reasons to rejoice...
Aprilia will launch into the 2020 MotoGP season with a completely redesigned machine. The current concept has in fact reached its limits which a completely new development will make it possible to overcome. A subject that the competition director Massimo rivola developed during his visit to the Milan Motor Show: “ although the new bike will still have a V4 engine, the latter will have a different cylinder angle, and therefore it will be a new development “, declared the Italian.
Until now, the Aprilia V4 engine has been different from that of the competition, because although it is compact thanks to a reduced cylinder angle, it also provides less power. It is believed that Aprilia will position itself like the competition, with a 4-degree cylinder angle V90 engine, which has some advantages. The engine is said to be very similar to the Honda RC213V. Ducati's desmodromic valve control will remain a unique feature of the Desmosedici, however.
But the engine is not the only area where Noale works. “ The electronics evolve from one race to the next, so it's something new, aerodynamics are also studied. Yes, it will be a completely new machine. We have been using the current machine base for many years and we have the experience given by the information taken with it " Explain Rivola. " The strength of our current concept is that it works quite well in corners, as we saw at Phillip Island. » A demonstration made by Andrea Iannone who stealthily led the Australian Grand Prix race.
« The current machine is better than the previous one but we are lagging behind in some areas and we need to address the areas where we have the biggest deficits ", said Rivola in an interview with Motorsport-Total.com. After post-season testing in Spain, Aprilia will not yet test the new RS-GP. The Italians nevertheless hope to be ready for the first major confrontation of winter 2020: “ the test at Sepang is the goal, but we will have two and not four new bikes »
« I have to admit that it is an ambitious goal because we are going to renew everything, we will not use any components from the current bike, it is a big challenge. The objective is to carry out the first shakedown with two 2019 versions and two new releases in February “, declared the one who comes from Formula 1.
« Then we can make comparisons, but I told my pilots: “ don't think the new bike will be better immediately, the current machine has been in development for years. We are now starting with a completely new project,” explains Rivola. “We will have to understand the behavior of the new bike. »
