With a virtual debriefing of the two pilots Miguel Oliveira et Raul fernandez scheduled for Saturday evening, the team presentation MotoGP Trackhouse ultimately took place over two days in Los Angeles, and additional information arrived very gradually…
One of the important news concerns the allocation of Aprilia satellites because, a little unusual but already seen, the two riders will not start the 2024 season with the same equipment. So, Miguel Oliveira will discover the RS-GP 2024, Raul fernandez the 2023. As a reminder, the two drivers both had the 2022 model last year.
In fact, the Noale factory thus designates Miguel Oliveira as number 1 driver, which is ultimately only fair since, although unlucky and seriously injured last season, the Portuguese athlete nevertheless finished the championship ahead of his generally disappointing Spanish teammate, posting 76 points and 16th place against 51 units and 20th position.
Massimo rivola gave the reasons, above all material, for this difference in treatment: “In fact, the team should not have been on the grid until 2025, with long-term planning in the background. All of a sudden, things moved faster and we had to react. It wasn't very easy because of the suppliers. We just didn't have enough parts! This is why we asked during the last test not to fall. We are happy to have prepared a 2024 motorcycle for Miguel. But of course the goal is to have four identical current motorcycles in the garage in the future. This improves performance, as we have seen from the competition. At the moment, Yamaha is the only team with only two bikes in MotoGP, Honda and KTM/GASGAS have four and Ducati, as we know, has eight.
Maybe working with the old bike is easier at first. The old bike may even be faster at first. There are two possible times to move to Aprilia 2024. We will sit down with the team and talk about it. But who knows, maybe Raul will fall in love with the 2023 bike? In any case, we would like to change as soon as the opportunity presents itself. »
On the drivers side, we are putting on a good face in the face of this unequal treatment, because we completely understand the reason.
Raul fernandez : “Honestly, I don't know 100% when the new bike will arrive for me, but what I know is that the bike I tried on the days of Valencia, I felt really comfortable. I felt really comfortable there. What particularly surprised me was the front part of the bike. I know that this material works very, very well, so for me it will be interesting to have a few free races at the beginning of the year with this material and not think about trying a new material or a new part of the bike. Yes, it's about having fun on the bike, trying to do as much as possible and I think I will arrive at the first race with a lot of experience with this bike, and that's something important In my opinion. Honestly, I'm not thinking about when I'll get the (new) bike, but that's something that doesn't matter. No, I want to give the maximum and I want to enjoy like in the last part of the year, and try to do my maximum. But of course, I think the equipment I will have will work very well. »
On the other side of the box, we're obviously not bragging...
Miguel Oliveira : “For sure, I'm taking a two-year step forward with the bike, you know (laughs), so we're sure the sensations must be different. I will definitely have to take some time to get used to the bike, but it is what it is. I expect that the first two races we won't struggle but we won't reach the full potential of the bike yet, because we need time with it. But I think as soon as the bike is in a good configuration, we can hopefully constantly fight for good positions. For now, we just need to get started and see what possibilities are available to us. I am confident and I also believe a lot in what Aprilia has done on the new bike. »
The drivers also indicated that the technical teams would be exactly the same as in 2023.
The Trackhouse logos…
