Aprilia boss admits the RS-GP’s weak point

Aprilia had a massive overhaul ahead of the 2025 season, which affected the development of the RS-GP.

Heading into the MotoGP 2025 season, Aprilia was the only manufacturer that replaced both of their riders. Defending MotoGP champion Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi were drafted in, replacing the retired Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales.

To make it more challenging for the Noale squad, they only have one rider that stayed onboard with RS-GP between 2024 and 2025 season, Trackhouse Racing’s Raul Fernandez.

Both factory riders had a contrast in fortune this season. While Martin had his season plagued by strings of injuries – and then a contract dispute with the team – Bezzecchi found himself as the leader for Aprilia.

Bezzecchi has consistently finished as top RS-GP, and scored his maiden Aprilia win at Silverstone, then double podiums at Assen last weekend, finishing third in the Saturday Sprint and second behind Marc Marquez at Grand Prix.

While Fernandez, after a slow start of a season compared to Trackhouse rookie Ai Ogura, found his feet with consecutive top-10 finishes in the last three grands prix, the latest is finished eighth in Assen.

The overhaul goes beyond the rider line-up, as they replaced Romano Albesiano, who moved to Honda, with Fabiano Sterlacchini, the ex-Ducati technical genius who comes from KTM.

Aprilia pinpoint RS-GP weak point

Aprilia Racing Director Massimo Rivola, amid a period of great performance from his team, was asked to admit his bike’s weak point.

“Since the beginning of the season, especially compared to what [the riders] were used to, the bike is a bit more physical,” Rivola said in Assen, where Bezzecchi finished second.

“It is a bit more aggressive. That makes the bike a bit more difficult to get to 100%, and repeatable. So we are making a smoother bike everywhere.

“The direction - thanks to the job of Fabiano Sterlacchini and his guys - comes with experience of that kind of direction. We think we are going in the right direction.”

Aprilia pinpoint area where ‘we are the reference’

But Rivola also knows where the strong point of the bike is.

Aprilia are known for their radical innovation on the aero side in the RS-GP, such as ground-effect fairing spec back in 2024, and the rear-seat fairing first shown at post-Grand Prix Jerez test earlier this season.

“On the aero side? I don’t want to look arrogant but I think we are the reference in that area,” Rivola said.

Such is the performance of the Aprilia in recent weeks, questions have arisen about why Martin wants to leave.

Honda are his reported destination of choice.

Although Honda have also made giant strides forwards this year, they lag behind Aprilia at the most recent rounds.