The atmosphere has been tense at Aprilia since the Red Bull Ring. A return to MotoGP which went badly with disappointing results while the press release before the battle assured us of an RS-GP reworked everywhere for a leap forward in performance. Result ? Anonymous qualifying, mistakes in the race and a lot of anger from the boss of the Piaggio group himself, Roberto Colaninno.
At Aprilia, the time for encouragement for the MotoGP project has passed. At least that's what we feel when discovering the press release from Noale's Grand Prix team, built around the Gresini framework. Aprilia is a brand of the Piaggio group which also includes Derbi, Gilera, Vespa, Piaggio and Moto Guzzi. A European power which has committed between 20 and 30 million euros to this program. And who would like to start seeing the beginnings of a return on investment.
Apparently, the Austrian escapade was highly anticipated by the leaders. However, the Red Bull Ring was promised to be an ordeal for the RS-GP which had not shone during the preliminary tests in July. Baptist, Lowes et Di Meglio may have run without transponders, some observers assured that the KTM RC16 was already as efficient as the Italian machine.
Enough to make you nervous in view of the 2017 season, or even as we approach the expected direct confrontation in Valencia, the last race of the season? We do not know. But at the end of the Austrian Grand Prix, a volley of green wood fell on the team and its two drivers who were also leaving. The latter were not even entitled to their paragraph of reactions. Only the bosses of Piaggio and the competition spoke. In the tone of general mobilization and the state of emergency:
« Aprilia had everything it needed to demonstrate the progress that has been made with the RS-GP in Austria » thundered Roberto Colanino. " The new bike has progressed since the first race this year. We cannot accept that due to human errors Aprilia does not achieve the results that the brand deserves with this motorcycle. Whether it was because of the technical management or because of the way the race was managed. The MotoGP calendar gives us the opportunity to get our act together next weekend in Brno. I trust Romano Albesiano completely and I believe in the new bike. But we must roll up our sleeves and continue each day tirelessly, in order to be always better prepared for the next race and thus continue our progress ».
The RS-GP therefore has nothing to do with it. It is those who take care of it and manage it who are the cause of the lack of results. As for the confidence emphasized in Romano Albesiano, it sounds more like a warning than unfailing support. “ No one is more disappointed with the outcome of this race than I am. » commented the boss of the competition. “ This track was not to our advantage, but we had prepared the best RS-GP of the year. Our bike saw tangible improvements as our race pace and lap times demonstrated. Alvaro could have easily entered the top ten, if not for his problem at the start ».
« We cannot accept that our pilots are distracted at the start. From professionals like Alvaro and Stefan, I expect maximum concentration and determination, until the end of the season. I call on the whole team to mobilize, we must work without interruption to be perfectly prepared for Brno. We can forget Spielberg's result there. We must achieve results that match our potential ».
Qualified only nineteenth and twenty-first, 1s5 from pole position,
Baptist et Bradl were caught in the wave of false starts which also affected
Crutchlow, Hernandez et
Barbera. It should be noted that this last trio did not receive any complaints from their team. After suffering their penalties, which was a double sanction for
Bradl who did not understand their sanction, the Aprilia duo finished their ordeal sixteenth and nineteenth. Meanwhile, Ducati achieved the double under the direction of the one who officiated before in place of Roman Albesian, some Gigi Dall'Igna. Enough to annoy the big boss of Piaggio, indeed.
The end of the season may be long at Aprilia…
