Aprilia scores with Bezzecchi and Fernandez: The RS-GP seems to be putting Ducati under serious pressure – has Noale now reached the top of MotoGP?
After recent strong weekends for Marco Bezzecchi and Raul Fernandez, who celebrated his maiden victory in Australia, the question arises: Is Aprilia currently the benchmark in MotoGP? While Ducati is struggling without Marc Marquez, the RS-GP is more competitive than ever.
Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola sees his team’s recent form as the result of hard work in Noale. “I think the bike is competitive,” he says. “On fast tracks, it can now be considered the benchmark. We’re not yet the benchmark on stop-and-go tracks, but we’re nowhere near as far off as we used to be.”
Rivola expressly praises the work of Fabiano Sterlacchini’s technical team: ” The bike has improved significantly overall, and we owe that to Fabiano and the people in Noale. I’m very proud of what they’re doing.“
However, the Aprilia CEO is not yet willing to confirm that Aprilia is competitive on every track. ”I’m very curious to see how we do in Sepang. It’s a very complete track where we’ve never really been strong before. If we perform well there, it will show that our growth is real.“
At the same time, he warns against too much euphoria: ”I can’t say that we’re super fast now just because we’ve had two good weekends. After all, it was Fermin who won in Indonesia, not Raul like here.“ Nevertheless, he emphasizes that Bezzecchi was ”by far the fastest on the track” recently.
Savadori: “We are developing in the right direction”
Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori, who has recently been competing regularly as a substitute rider, is also satisfied with the form curve. “I’m really happy with Marco and Raul’s results,” he says, looking back on the weekend in Australia.
The current third-placed rider in the world championship cites the stability of the RS-GP as the biggest improvement: “That was my biggest problem at the start of the season. Now I can brake as hard as I did a few years ago. That gives me enormous confidence.”
“My own results are secondary because I’m here to develop the bike—and we’re doing that in the right direction,” he emphasizes his own role.
He particularly stresses the value of development work on race weekends: “When you have four bikes on the track at the same time, you have a lot more comparative data. The conditions are identical, and that helps enormously.“
”We have taken advantage of this situation and perhaps made greater progress than in private tests,“ explains Savadori. He particularly highlights the efforts of the Aprilia engineers: ”Everyone in Noale is working extremely hard to bring something new to every race and further improve the bike.”
Bezzecchi: “I feel really comfortable with the RS-GP”
Bezzecchi, who is currently spearheading Aprilia’s efforts, does not want to jump to conclusions, however. When asked whether Aprilia is already on a par with Ducati, he replies: “I don’t know. I don’t ride a Ducati, so I can’t make a comparison. But I feel really comfortable with my bike at the moment.“
The engineers are doing ”a wonderful job.“ ”Of course, there are tracks where the characteristics of the bike are a perfect fit, and others where the field is closer together. But overall, we are making great progress,” said Bezzecchi.
“Getting closer and closer”: Ducati feels the heat from Noale
The competition is also taking note of Aprilia’s performance. Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46-Ducati), who was Fernandez’s closest rival in second place in Australia, sees the brand as a growing threat.
“We knew Ducati had a lead, but now Aprilia is getting closer and closer – or maybe it’s already ahead. Yamaha has also improved a lot,” he analyzed. Ducati must continue to work hard “to maintain its small lead” and “work on the 26 Ducati to increase the gap again.”
Pol Espargaro, Tech3-KTM’s replacement rider at Phillip Island, on the other hand, is pleased with the change in the balance of power and attributes it primarily to the concessions.
“It’s nice to see Honda getting faster again, Yamaha getting closer, and some Ducati riders having to fight. This diversity is fantastic. It shows that all the teams’ hard work is finally paying off again,” says the KTM test rider. Whether Aprilia really has the best bike will only become clear on all-round tracks such as Sepang or Valencia. But one thing is certain: Ducati is feeling serious pressure for the first time in years – and this season, that pressure is clearly coming from Noale.
