First Person/Opinion:
by Michael Goggis
A year ago, at Trackhouse Racing’s MotoGP launch in Hollywood, team officials were explaining that Miguel Oliveira would race a 2024 special bike and Raul Fernandez would start the season on a 2023 machine. The explanation? It took a long time to build a factory-spec bike, and Trackhouse was racing to prepare for its debut in MotoGP. There was no time to supply Trackhouse with two more bikes built to the latest specification. Fernandes had to wait until mid-season to get the 2024 machine, and at the time of the launch, team officials weren’t sure exactly when they would get Fernandes the new bike.
Fast forward to January 2025. Aprilia MotoGP team manager Paolo Bonora said the company not only introduced the 2025-spec RS-GP at the post-season Barcelona test in November, but said it is building 10 of the 2025 bikes for the tests at Sepang. .
Ten of these. All 2025-spec.
Two for each of the factory drivers, future world champion Jorge Martin and Marco Bezecchi. Two each for Trackhouse drivers Raul Fernandez and I Ogura. And two for test rider Lorenzo Savadori. No one is walking around with a year-old data collection device. Aprilia will have all five riders on new things, pushing them to the limit, gathering data and feedback on the bike that will be their front-line tool for next season.
It’s a big change. But it’s the latest indication that Apria is stepping up its game for 2025.
The signing of Martin is clearly the first sign that things are changing for Aprilia. And the signing of former KTM MotoGP technical director Fabiano Sterlacchini was another highlight, as was the recruitment of race winner Marco Bezecic from the VR46 satellite Ducati team.
But a skeptic could see something other than an increased commitment to MotoGP in all those recruits. Martin jumped twice for the factory Ducati team, the satellite Pramac team he rode in left Ducati for Yamaha, the first signs of KTM’s financial problems began to appear, and Yamaha and Honda fell behind him. Packing. Where else was Martin going to go if he wanted a factory ride?
Sterlacchini’s options were limited as he left KTM and Honda opened his MotoGP promotion by hiding Romano Albesiano from Aprilia. Then again, where else would Stelacchini go other than the Aprilia?
And Ducati has been cutting the number of 2025-spec Desmosedicis it will produce. Factory riders Francesco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez join as one other rider but will be in a satellite team. And like everyone else at GP23, Bezeci is fighting a one-year bike in 2024. The prospect of doing it again in a satellite team in 2025 doesn’t look exciting for a rider who looks set to be a title contender in 2023.
So you can chalk all those up to chance hires at Aprilia by signing people who don’t have a better choice.
But bringing the new stuff to Barcelona’s post-season challenge was a big sign of raising the bar. The commitment to get every rider on the new special machine from the start of the season is a great sign that Apria is stepping up its efforts.
And, based on the images presented at the 2025 factory Aprilia launch, the engineers are taking their cues from two of the fastest bikes in the field, Ducati and KTM.
Note on the main image above the long aero fenders in the middle of the fairing; Stream behind the rear wheel; And the released steering lip on the front bumper. All taken straight from the KTM RC16 playbook.
Aprilia finally included a steering-end fairing lower channel as pioneered by Ducati. It also receives the tail section fins pioneered by Ducati – the Apria was the only bike on the grid last season without aerodynamic elements at the top of the tail. Last year’s Aprilia lost the “bat wing” tail section. Instead of plowing new ground, the company is taking inspiration from the all-conquering bike.
The front fork covers (the lower legs of the front fender) are huge, similar to what you see on a Moto2 bike. The head shot shows that there are new air elements in the “spats” in the front wheel.
Remember that since April 2023, only the Apria has beaten a Ducati in a Grand Prix race. RS-GP is good. And if you look at the new faces in Aprilia’s garages, the new lineup of new bikes and a host of new machines, you’re looking at a factory trying to shoot for the top of the championship table. .
