Aprilia will completely renew its MotoGP line-up next season and there is great enthusiasm in Noale. Although the bond with “Captain” Aleix Espargaro, who will retire at the end of the season, and with Maverick Vinales, who will instead go to KTM Tech3, was very strong, having convinced two talents on the launching pad like the world championship leader Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi embracing the project shows how Massimo Rivola and all his men are very ambitious.
On the occasion of the announcement of the signing of the driver from Rimini, the CEO of the Veneto racing department spoke about this great change, which could lead the brand to take another important step forward on the grid of the premier class.
“I’m very happy. It’s a really strong pair of young talents. Last year they finished second and third in the World Championship, the hope is that they do even better next year with us. It’s true that when you change both drivers you don’t it is never a wise choice, in the sense that we know continuity pays off, but faced with two talents of this type I believe it is worth taking this small risk and that it should be accepted with great enthusiasm”, said Rivola.
Why did you choose Bezzecchi?
“I’ll tell you an anecdote: Bez was the first one to whom I offered the saddle four years ago, when we found ourselves in deep shit (when Andrea Iannone was disqualified for doping, ed.). He was one of those who refused, but he did it with full knowledge of the facts. He already had a seat in Moto2 with the VR46, which was a very strong team, so he was aiming to win the World Championship and he knew that if he did well he would have a clear path in MotoGP with Valentino’s team. I was sorry, but I wasn’t upset. In fact, I think an extra year in Moto2 was useful for him. It’s true that he’s in a bit more difficulty this year, but what he showed last year, in his second year, it’s a sign of enormous talent. He impressed me in Argentina in the wet and even more so in India, which was the only track that nobody knew except me who was there. ‘I had been with F1, but I don’t care (laughs). Looking at a driver’s career, there are signs that make his talent and speed stand out. Then he is certainly a character a bit like Vale, a bit like Simoncelli, who are great in MotoGP. But, having said that, we took him because he gives us great gas, not because he is a character.”
This year, however, we are not seeing the same Bezzecchi as in 2023…
“Yes, that’s true. It’s a good observation. When one year a driver performs so well and the next year he’s not the same, you wonder if that means there isn’t enough talent or if there are others problems that could arise from different sides, not necessarily from a technical point of view or anything else. In the end my feeling is that the real Bez is the one from last year and not the one from this year and for this season I still hope that he remains the same. fake to get better results for us (laughs). I have a lot of confidence in his speed and his talent. It seems to me that he has a fairly Latin character and we are used to this, for example. Jorge seems to be one of them. It will be a very motivating garage for Aprilia Racing, but I can’t wait.”
Have you already talked to VR46 about the possibility of bringing the technical chief Matteo Flamigni or some of his guys to you?
“No, we haven’t talked about it yet. We focused first on the drivers’ market, but that of technicians will begin very shortly. We must respect our team first, but also those from which the drivers come. We will try to break as little balance as possible, to unless a rider really feels he needs someone. I take the example of Maverick with Manu Cazeaux, who definitely needed him. However, I still don’t know the answer to this question, because that wasn’t the priority.”
When did your approach towards Bezzecchi begin? How did the signature come about?
“The truth is that his manager, with whom I got along very well, approached us already at the beginning of the season. We first waited for Aleix’s decision, then Mugello, then we concentrated on separating priorities, which clearly they were the riders. The thing that pleased me is that it was all very natural, in the sense that Marco wanted to come to us, to ride our bike, and this is clearly very pleasing.”
Do you think Bezzecchi has a riding style suited to what the Aprilia requires?
“On paper I see it well. Marco is someone who has always been very strong on fast tracks. Ours is a bike that goes well from that point of view. The times I’ve seen him fall, and Silverstone comes to mind last year, it was always front closures because maybe it was a little long when braking, and ours is a bike that helps from that point of view. We’ll have to get to know each other, understand first how to put it on the saddle, because there The rider’s ergonomics are fundamental and he’s been riding the same type of bike for years now. It will require a minimum amount of adaptation, but I hope as little as possible, because we need to bring home results quickly.”
Bezzecchi and Massimo Rivola
Photo by: Aprilia Racing
Given the excellent relationship within the team with Aleix and Maverick, did you ever expect such a big revolution?
“Honestly no. I could have expected Aleix’s retirement, but I thought and hoped to be able to continue with Maverick. The victory in Austin was the achievement of an objective that we had set ourselves as a team, but also personally, of winning with him. It’s It was a huge satisfaction and now repeating Austin is what we would like to do. At the beginning of the year I wouldn’t have thought of changing the two riders, but today, given how quickly the market has moved, I think Aprilia has done a great job. So I can only be very happy.”
You trusted Maverick in a very difficult moment for him and he continued to speak well of Aprilia, then he dumped you like that. Did you feel a little betrayed by him leaving? Didn’t you expect it?
“Pilots are like that and it’s right that they look out for their interests. It’s up to us, in our profession, to ensure that we can be in their best interests. I didn’t feel betrayed, just as I don’t think he felt betrayed when we Jorge announced. At the same time, every rider probably needs to follow their own instincts, their own temptations, especially someone like Maverick. We get along very well with him. We know that he is a rider who can have enormous peaks, and Austin does it was the test. Maybe he felt that the time had come to change. Maybe his big goal today is to win with four different manufacturers. However, we respect his choice and will try to maximize the results of the next Grands Prix, because anyway the season ahead of us is still very long.”
Now you have defined the official team, can you also tell us something about Trackhouse?
“I don’t have much to say, in the sense that the agreement with Trackhouse is that they decide. Obviously we have our say, but the final decision will be made by Davide Brivio and Justin Marks. It’s obvious that I would like to continue with Oliveira and Raul Fernandez, because they were my choice, in which I still believe. We will try to push this decision, also because by changing the two of us, having continuity on the other side would be important.”
Speaking of continuity, do you think losing both Aleix and Maverick could be a problem for the development of the RS-GP25?
“To be honest, we have to give credit to Lorenzo Savadori, who has been our test rider for many years so far. His bike doesn’t seem very competitive when he does the wild cards. I’d say he’s a bit of a victim of ours. You have to have the attitude and love for your team, your factory, your manufacturer to do what you have to do. And so far we have always been going in the right direction. Surely the help of Maverick’s driving style has given us an additional development push because Aleix had already been with us for many years and certainly having a satellite team was another step forward. Soon there will be four RS-GP 24s and this would be another way to take a step forward. the technical office and the testing team in Noale are doing an excellent job. Obviously it is still not enough and I know it will never be enough. But we count on and trust a lot in their work.”
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