After a promising start to the season, Aprilia experienced difficulties during the British Grand Prix, which did not escape the head of Noale's troops Massimo Rivola. Despite a historic pole position for Aleix Espargaró, the Italian team's results fell short of expectations. To be honest, Aprilia went from pole position to doubt at Silverstone.
Aprilia was hoping to achieve better results at Silverstone, where it had performed particularly well in recent years. Aleix Espargaró finished third in 2021, second in 2022, and in 2023 he won the Sunday race after finishing fifth in the Sprint. Maverick Vinales, meanwhile, took second place two years ago, then third and fifth in 2023. At the recent Grand Prix, I will espargaro secured a record pole position, then took third place on the podium on Saturday, but failed to be strong enough on Sunday, finishing in sixth place.
Things got worse for Casa Particular in Viñales, who finished eighth and thirteenth in the two heats respectively. Over long distances, RS-GP was lower than Ducati, both in the GP24 and GP23 versions. There is only one certainty when leaving Great Britain: there is a lot of work to be done in Noale to reduce the gap.
At the end of the British Grand Prix, Massimo Rivola, the CEO of Aprilia Racing, tried to explain what went wrong. “ Since our return to Europe, there has been a clear trend. An Aprilia is often on the front line, it defends itself quite well in Sprint, but in long races, we are not competitive enough from the halfway point. There is a performance management problem linked above all to the rubber consumption of the tires, we must concentrate on this ", he declared to Sky Sport MotoGP.
Massimo Rivola: “ we were 40 seconds faster than last year, so an eternity, but we took 10 from the first »
The durability of the tire over long distances is a crucial issue, and action must be taken to make RS-GP competitive even in the latter part of the races. Rivola identified areas requiring particular attention: “ I think there is a configuration problem, both mechanical and electronic. And also how we manage race weekends. We have need more information on Friday, even at the risk of sometimes having to start again from Q1 »
Massimo rivola emphasizes that the distance from Ducati is too big on a track which should have been very favorable to Aprilia : " we were 40 seconds faster than last year, so an eternity, but we took 10 from the first. It's true that we came 2,5 seconds behind Pecco in third, but the Aprilia has always been strong at Silverstone. Are we doing something wrong or is Ducati doing something particularly right, especially since we returned to Europe? They took advantage of the Barcelona tests, a track with little grip, to take a step forward. They were good, now it has to be our turn. »
The manager ofAprilia is somewhat disappointed by the current situation, but he can do nothing other than motivate his team and push them to make the necessary improvements to RS-GP. “ Aleix normally goes very fast at Silverstone, and Maverick is usually competitive at this track as well. The fact that we haven't put all the pieces together must encourage us to examine our conscience and to understand how to improve. The gap is too big, we must progress ", he added.
The performance ofAprilia à Silverstone clearly shows that the team must work hard to close the gap with Ducati. By focusing on tire durability, improving bike setup, and better race weekend management, Aprilia can hope to regain its competitiveness on European circuits. The challenge is daunting, but with the determination and hard work of the team, Aprilia can aspire to results closer to its ambitions.
