Aprilia draws a rather positive balance sheet for 2024, before a “demanding” year 2025

Maverick Viñales' success at the Grand Prix of the Americas made him the first rider to win with three different manufacturers in his career (Suzuki, Yamaha and therefore Aprilia) in the era MotoGP, but the second half of the season was more difficult for the Noale troops. This is an observation also made by Paolo Bonora, the Aprilia MotoGP team manager, on the official website of the discipline.

"We were quite satisfied with the first part of the season, we managed to get on many podiums and we are the only brand that has won a Grand Prix except Ducati. We had many goals and we achieved them. In the second part of the season we lost something, but when you reach a certain level it is difficult to make big steps forward. We understood why we were missing something compared to our rivals."

While the weak point of the RS-GP has been clearly identified, Bonora also believes that it is necessary to be able to react better during the race weekend, to improve performance throughout the three days: “In the weekend we need to improve the data analysis, to be able to respond more quickly to the feedback from the riders. We know that the hard braking phases are something we need to improve on. Not on a specific point, but it is an overall area where we need to improve our package.”

Aprilia excited by Martin's arrival

In 2025, the Italian team will have to deal with two new riders in its factory team, with Marco Bezzecchi arriving from the VR46 Ducati team. But it is above all the arrival of a certain Jorge Martín, reigning world champion, who is drawing all eyes to Aprilia. The prospect of having the number 1 on the RS-GP (if Martín chooses this number well) is the basis of great hopes, but the team manager of the project believes that it is necessary to keep a cool head.

"It will be a very demanding year for us, because we will have two young riders, very talented, without a doubt. The whole factory is excited about these arrivals, but we must remain very pragmatic to understand their requests, and keep a very open mind to understand that they come from the best bike in the championship, and that we must improve to offer them something close to it."

Finally, Paolo Bonora wanted to thank Aleix Espargaró and Maverick Viñales for their last years of work, which have allowed Aprilia to move up the hierarchy, to the point of winning Grands Prix in the last three years: “We are proud that Aleix has been part of our history. He joined us in 2017, and with him we have finished on many podiums and achieved incredible victories. With his help, we have improved, step by step, year after year, the behavior of the bike. We keep Aleix in our hearts, just like Maverick. We had the goal of winning at least one race with him and we achieved it, which delighted us. His modern style on the bike allowed us to see a different approach, which allowed us to take another step forward. We want to thank them both for their contribution.”

ALSO READ > Liberty Media and Dorna respond to European Commission investigation