Aprilia

A day after wishing the 2018 season would finish as soon as possible , Aleix Espargaro celebrated 'one of the better days of his career' by matching the best ever MotoGP result for the Aprilia RS-GP.

To say that Saturday at Aragon was a day to forget for the Espargaro family would be a massive understatement. It began with factory KTM rider Pol re-breaking his healing left collarbone in morning practice, sending him back to hospital for surgery.

Aleix Espargaro hopes Aprilia have taken a step closer to understanding their present problems and future direction after being 'immediately fast' on his return to the 2017 RS-GP during a private post-race test at Misano.

Full WorldSBK qualifying results from Portimao

Full Superpole qualifying results for the tenth round of the 2018 World Superbike Championship at Portimao, Portugal. Full Superpole 2 results 1. Eugene Laverty IRE Milwaukee Aprilia RSV4 1m 40.705s

Bradley Smith may have lost his full-time MotoGP ride, but he will be lining up on the grid at the 2019 Qatar season-opener.

Aleix Espargaro has conceded getting up to speed with the new Aprilia engine configuration made it a tricky Friday at Misano while also completing a debut day with his new crew chief.

Scott Redding hopes to have a decision on his future within the next week while his options narrow following Aprilia’s appointment of Bradley Smith as its test rider for next season.

It has been officially confirmed that Bradley Smith will become an Aprilia MotoGP test rider next season.

Bradley Smith has revealed he is edging closer to confirming his role as Aprilia’s MotoGP test rider for 2019 while reiterating a aim of being a full-time presence in the paddock the following year.

As reported , Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro will have a new crew chief from this weekend's San Marino MotoGP with Pietro Caprara parachuted in to replace Marcus Eschenbacher.

Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro will have a new crew chief at this weekend's Misano MotoGP round. Pietro Caprara, technical director and crew chief at the Sky VR46 team before joining Aprilia, is to take over from Marcus Eschenbacher for the remainder of the season.

Former world champions Max Biaggi and Loris Capirossi returned to track action at Mugello with the Aprilia Racers Days event.

Aleix Espargaro would welcome the arrival of Bradley Smith as an Aprilia test and wild-card rider in 2019. The struggling Italian factory is among the teams looking to boost its development programme by signing a test rider with proven MotoGP speed and experience.

Aleix Espargaro arrived in England hopeful that a new chassis can fuel a turnaround after a series of frustrating MotoGP for both he and Aprilia.

Scott Redding says climbing the order and showing signs of competitiveness in Austria triggered the build-up to his outburst at Aprilia but accepts how he delivered his criticisms was wrong.

Scott Redding has issued a public apology to Aprilia ‘for my outrageous words’ slating the team following the Austrian MotoGP.

Aleix Espargaro says he’s ‘tried everything’ with his Aprilia without success as he admits he ‘doesn’t know how to go faster’ with the Italian manufacturer in Austria.

After finishing a lowly 20 th in Sunday’s MotoGP outing in Austria, Scott Redding has provided an astonishingly frank take on a dismal showing, describing Sunday’s race as “heartbreaking” and saying the weekend was “hell from the beginning.”

Scott Redding says the latest deadline on making a final decision on his future will be at his home race the British MotoGP but hints the call could come earlier as he weighs up his options.

Aleix Espargaro visited his injured younger brother Pol in hospital during the brief break between the Czech and Austrian MotoGPs.

On other occasions Aleix Espargaro would have been unable to contain his displeasure. A mechanical issue with a new Aprilia engine had ruined his MotoGP qualifying attempts at Brno and left him 24 th on the grid – his worst Saturday showing since 2011.

Aleix Espargaro doesn’t leave you second-guessing. Across a 35 minute interview he offers opinions on issues ranging from the length of the current racing calendar to the might of Piaggio, parent company of Aprilia. And there’s more than one take on his 2018 experience to date.

Crash.net sat down with Aleix Espargaro at Assen to discuss a variety of issues, including the 2018 season to date, becoming a father and whether he sees himself racing until he’s 40.