“0.0001g” - Aprilia’s electronic, aero quest for MotoGP 2026

With engine design frozen for the final year of the 1000cc MotoGP era, electronics and aerodynamics are among the areas targeted by Aprilia for its 2026 RS-GP.

Speaking at Thursday’s team launch, technical director Fabiano Sterlacchini outlined how the RS-GP’s electronics have been refined in pursuit of rider confidence and microscopic gains in acceleration.

“In terms of electronics, probably you saw during the season that we focused quite a lot, considering also the comments of the riders, to have an easy [more stable] bike,” Sterlacchini began.

“Because I always say that you can have whatever performing level, but if the bike is difficult to push to the limit, the rider will keep some margin, no? So at the end, they are slower.

“So, in the electronics we worked for sure in the area of traction control, especially for the exit on the corner, but also in the entry.

“Because whenever you can exploit the benefit of the rear tyre to stop the bike, you can brake later. And then you can not only be more effective during overtaking, but also have a better lap time.

“So basically, those are the aspects where we are working.

"But in the meantime, there are let me say, exotic things like to make the wheelie control smoother and to reach 0.0001g more [acceleration]. Because everything has to be correct.”

Aerodynamics, Sterlacchini said, is normally a trade-off between downforce and drag, “because if you increase front downforce, you are increasing the drag.”

But that relationship can vary, since some downforce produces less drag than others. And drag itself is not always a bad thing. Indeed, it’s a benefit under braking.

“What we want in terms of aerodynamics is to ‘stretch the cover’,” said Sterlacchini, meaning to have the optimum aerodynamic behaviour in each phase of riding.

“[We want] to obtain better efficiency, so you can generate better aerodynamic forces that are productive for performance, but you don't have the drawbacks that you have to pay for the benefits.

“But drag, for example, is helping to stop the bike. So you have to generate the drag during stopping, but not [for top speed] along the main straight.

“So that is basically the continuous work that all the companies are doing. And if you are smarter, quicker than the others, you can obtain better results.”

Sterlacchini made an immediate impact in his debut season as Aprilia technical director.

The 2025 RS-GP won four grands prix, three Sprint races, putting Aprilia a best-yet second in the MotoGP constructors’ standings and third in the riders’ title (with Marco Bezzecchi).