Among other new features which will weigh on a 2023 season definitely revealing many unknowns, there is this new format of the Grands Prix with the famous and new sprint races. With a form of greed mixed with authentic fear, the protagonists of MotoGP are preparing to take this big leap into the unknown which will not only concern the riders. The proof with Aprilia technical boss Romano Albesiano, who does not hide his concern.
Roman Albesian is an engineer. And there is nothing worse for this type of person than launching into a competition without the slightest prior data allowing them to anticipate the events even a little. This is precisely what will happen March 25 in Portimao, a track which will host not only the first Grand Prix of the 2023 season which will therefore be that of Portugal, but also the very first sprint race in the history of MotoGP. That Saturday, at 15:00 p.m., over half the distance of the competition still scheduled for Sunday, a new frontier will be crossed. Towards what destiny? That's the whole question.
The data man for Aprilia is reduced to just taking dates and conjectures. On speedweek, he gives his feeling thus: “ it's not clear, we're trying to understand » he admits before specifying: “ the stress level of people and pilots will be higher, It's certain. But as for parts or technical aspects, we don't know, although the overall mileage won't change that much ».
Romano Albesiano: “maybe the risk of falling will be higheris"
He adds : “maybe the risk of falling will be higher because there will be more starts and the pressure in the race is different, but from a purely technical point of view I don't see a big difference. I can also imagine that different management will be necessary in certain areas, for example with tires. We'll have to do something differently, but I don't think it will be super critical ».
Explosive riders should have an advantage over half the race distance, like Pramac Ducati's young star, George Martin. But to which pilots Aprilia would sprint races be suitable? Roman Albesian responds, starting with its two new drivers nestled in the equally new satellite team, RNF extension : " we don't really know how Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez will behave on our bike. Therefore we cannot yet assess this situation. As for Maverick Viñales and Aleix Espargaró, both are sometimes super fast in the first part of a race… But I wouldn't say in general that it's our great strength ". You'll have to look to understand, and that's the whole point of this new formula...
