For the first time in its MotoGP history, the Aprilia factory will enter no less than three of its motorcycles in a Grand Prix. To the regular pilots Aleix Espargaró et Andrea Iannone, will in fact be added the test driver Bradley Smith. The display of a desire to take a step forward with an RS-GP which gave courage given the off-season performances. However, new recruit Iannone warns: Losail will not be a cakewalk…
Joe the Maniac will this year have this in common with Jorge Lorenzo, that he will ride for a third manufacturer in his career. The Italian in fact went from Ducati to Suzuki before ending up at Aprilia. That being said, we do not predict the same happiness for him. And besides, he is the first not to claim it: “ during the last tests on this Losail track, we worked well, focusing on our priorities in preparation for the race ", said Iannone. " At the end of the three days we reached a good starting point for this weekend ».
« I am optimistic, even if I keep my feet on the ground. This is all new to us, so it won't be a walk in the park, but I'm confident that if we are able to make the most of the potential available, we can start off on the right foot ».
An opinion shared by the team member Aleix Espargaro : " The preparation for the season was generally positive. The new motorcycle is a step forward in the right direction ", declared the Spaniard on crash.net. " J’ai trouvé de bonnes sensations et je pense qu’il y a encore une marge de progression. Surtout dans certains domaines, nous pouvons certainement nous améliorer”.
He finishes : " The data collected during simulations during testing helped us a lot to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the new project. Like every year, I can't wait to hit the track and get to work ».
It will be recalled that internally, Aprilia chose Massimo Rivola, former sporting director of Ferrari F1, as the team's new manager, which freed up the technical director, Roman Albesian, which can thus concentrate solely on the performance aspect of the GS-GP.
