Aprilia Faces Challenges with 2024 MotoGP Bike, CEO Rivola Acknowledges Missteps

Aprilia is open to taking chances with Q1 showings, acknowledging a misstep in the development of their 2024 MotoGP motorcycle. "We're making a mistake."

Massimo Rivola, the CEO of Aprilia, acknowledges that there are missteps being made with their 2024 MotoGP motorcycle and is open to facing the challenges of Q1 sessions in order to diagnose and resolve the problems during practice.

Following the British Grand Prix last weekend, concerns over Aprilia's competitiveness were raised by Maverick Vinales and Aleix Espargaro.

Vinales expressed that Aprilia appeared to have diminished capabilities throughout the initial half of the season, facing challenges that led him to finish 13th in Sunday's race, a result of severe tyre degradation. Similarly, Espargaro, who started from pole position, was only able to secure a sixth-place finish, attributing his performance to the same issue.

In a conversation with Sky Italy, Rivola observed that while the RS-GP continues to perform well in short races, it has evidently declined in effectiveness during grand prix events.

"Rivola noted that ever since their comeback to Europe, an Aprilia has consistently secured a spot on the front row for the past seven races starting with the Spanish GP."

"The RS-GP performs commendably during short bursts of speed, yet when it comes to enduring races, particularly from the midpoint forward, it fails to maintain a competitive edge."

"There's a problem with how tyres are wearing down, tied to the management of performance."

It's essential that we prioritize this, perhaps even to a greater extent than our weekend planning activities, even if it means occasionally navigating challenges during the first quarter.

"It's likely necessary to collect additional details this Friday."

"As soon as we hit the track at the beginning of the grand prix, we immediately show speed, yet we often find ourselves struggling primarily with tyre problems."

"I believe our issue is more about the configuration, including mechanical and electrical aspects."

"Regarding our strategy for the weekend, perhaps we need to focus on maximizing tyre durability and paying attention to the small things that could set us apart."

"In the British Grand Prix, we improved our time by 40 seconds compared to the previous year, a significant leap forward. However, we still crossed the finish line 10 seconds behind the victor.

"Indeed, we're just 2.5 seconds off Pecco Bagnaia's pace, yet it's worth noting that Aprilia has consistently shown speed at this track… However, we've demonstrated this primarily through our overall performance."

"We're making some mistakes, or more accurately, Ducati is excelling, especially since our return to racing on European tracks.

"They successfully utilized the Montmelo test, known for its low-grip track, to progress. They executed it effectively."

Aprilia kicked off the 2024 season impressively, with Espargaro securing a third-place finish in the Qatar sprint, while Vinales triumphed in the Portugal sprint and achieved a double victory in America.

Since that time, Aprilia has achieved only five more podium finishes, all of which occurred in races of shorter distances.

Following 10 events, it trails Ducati by 160 points, sitting in second place in the rankings, with only a 14-point lead over KTM.

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