Fabiano Sterlacchini, who began his career under the auspices of Ducati as Gigi Dall'Igna's right-hand man, witnessed the Desmosedici GP's transformation into a dominant machine, winning three consecutive championships. In 2021, KTM signed him up, and his contributions immediately took the RC16 to new horizons. But the call of home brought him back to Italy last summer, looking to write a glorious new chapter with Aprilia.
Aprilia Racing made a major strategic decision by recruiting Fabiano Sterlacchini as new technical director. With the ambitious goal of competing with Ducati and aim for the head of MotoGP, this appointment is part of a desire to maximize the potential of RS-GP and its riders, in particular Jorge
Martinthe reigning champion, and Marco Bezzecchitwo promising talents in the category.
Fabiano Sterlacchini has extensive experience, having been the right arm of Dall'Igna's teeth chez Ducati. He helped develop the Desmosedici GP, the bike that has dominated the last three world championships. In 2021, he joined
KTMwhere its first steps were immediately visible, notably on the RC16. After passing through the Austrian team, Sterlacchini chose to return to Italy to join Aprilia in 2024. During the last tests of 2024, he closely observed the work of
Jorge Martin with the motorcycle. As
Aprilia explained: “ during the last outings of 2024, Sterlacchini was already present in the stands, notably during the Montmelò test, to see world champion Jorge Martin in action. »
From his first months at Aprilia,
Sterlacchini worked to strengthen the competitiveness of RS-GP. During testing in Barcelona, the drivers
Raul Fernandez et Marco Bezzecchi
tested an improved version of the motorcycle, reporting progress over the previous version. Sterlacchini
commented on Marca: “ certainly, the group of drivers that we have is very strong, we have the world champion, and it's a sport in which the driver makes the difference and Jorge Martin is the reference. »
Fabiano Sterlacchini: ” Jorge Martin is certainly a reference »
However, he does not hide the fact that Ducati remains a performance model: “ last year, Ducati conquered the first four positions in the general classification ; this is a sign that there is an important level on the technical level.
»
Despite Ducati's enormous competitiveness,
Sterlacchini is determined not to focus on just one technical area. He stressed that work must be done on all aspects of the motorcycle to increase overall competitiveness: “ for me it is necessary to
work in all areasto try to increase competitiveness. When you show that you are competitive, you can fight for the race, like
Maverick Viñales did it in Austin For example. ” According to Sterlacchinithe goal is to create a faster motorcycle, but also a rider who will know how to take advantage of it: “ a pilot can be helped by showing him how to operate the motorcycle, the maneuvers he can do to go faster. This is an important aspect. »
Aprilia relies heavily on Jorge Martin, and
Sterlacchini recognizes the importance of its role in the development of motorcycling. He explained: “ it is certainly a reference, which gives us indications on the aspects which limit him the most in being able to express his talent. » Pour Sterlacchiniit is crucial to allow
Martin to reach its full potential with the RS-GP, because this is what will determine the team’s performance: “ performance then depends a lot on what a rider manages to get from the bike and if he can do what he wants with her. If he doesn't succeed, we will have to work on this aspect. »
The objective ofAprilia is clear: fight for the title in 2025 and reduce the gap with Ducati. Sterlacchini and his team are ready to take on the challenge, confident in the work done so far and in the potential of the drivers. As he summed it up, “ we are all here for that “, and the team's hard work is in line with this ambition to put RS-GP at the top of MotoGP.
