Aprilia disillusioned in the race and the Japanese GP turns into a “nightmare”

The Japanese Grand Prix weekend began with a hard blow at Aprilia: the announcement of the departure of its emblematic technical director, Romano Albesiano, father of an RS-GP that he managed to profoundly revolutionize to make it one of the winning motorcycles of an era dominated by Ducati. Three days later, faces were still as closed in the Noale clan, the results obtained on the track during this weekend having in no way helped to lighten spirits.

Aleix Espargaró simply saw it as the most difficult race in three years. Since Aragón, the Spaniard is no longer able to get involved in the battles at the front, even though he is used to coming to tickle the men of the first group. He did it again at Silverstone and at the Red Bull Ring where he won two bronze medals in a sprint race, but since then, he has no longer found the points in this exercise and has seen his position invariably oscillate between the eighth and tenth place in the long race.

The Japanese GP did not make this bad series lie, the Aprilia rider having finished the race ninth, 30 seconds behind the winner. The day before, he had fallen during the sprint, while he was running outside the points, although encouraged by big changes in settings inspired by those of his teammate. But the final assessment does not see any real clarity, Espargaró feeling completely dominated at the helm of a struggling RS-GP.

“If we look at the position, yes,” he replied on Sunday when asked if there was anything positive to take away from this weekend, “but I don’t really care about the position. The gap to the winner is incredible. It was one of the most difficult races of the last three seasons. We had no grip at all. The difference in grip is incredible!”

“I had a very good start, but when the Ducatis overtook me, there was nothing to do. I was sliding all the time, I was skating, I was skating. I managed to get to the end, to Only a few turns, I think, because I was already out of gas because of the level of skating. It was a nightmare.

“I’m completely destroyed physically, because I had no grip at all, so I had to fight a lot,” added Espargaró, taken aback by the Ducati’s efficiency with the tires. “I would love to have an explanation, but I really don’t have one. It’s been three races with Romano, that’s all we talk about during the technical meeting. The way they extract grip from their tires is incredible, that’s why they break the lap record, as well as the total race time, which they beat by more than 10 or 12 seconds. And we’re not able to keep up. There’s nothing. that I can do. Maverick did a very good job on the qualifying lap yesterday, but we saw yesterday and today that no one at Aprilia has the pace.”

The race, the worst moment of the weekend

Indeed, Maverick Viñales had created a surprise by qualifying on the front row. However, on Sunday, the Catalan did not comment on his poor performance. After a sprint race spoiled by the holeshot device remaining engaged too long, the main event on Sunday saw him complete the first lap six places lower than his starting place, the fault of contact with Marc Márquez and his incapacity to resist the pack that descended on him. He ended up falling halfway through the race while in 12th position.

“I don’t know if the grip conditions changed or what but it was the worst session of the weekend in terms of performance and feeling. That’s all,” he commented. “The bike is as it is so we can’t do anything other than try to forget this weekend, even if I did good things. We would like not to waste too much time with this weekend -end and fully concentrate on the next one, in two weeks.”

Ensuring we are convinced that “the opportunity [d’Aprilia] is found in Mandalika and Phillip Island”, Vinales hears “get back to the right positions” next week in Australia, but without hope for the rest of this end of the season. “I knew that of the overseas races, Mandalika and Phillip Island would be our tracks. I think the rest will be like Japan.”

For Massimo Rivola, however, it is essential to remain mobilized in this ocean of negative thoughts. “Maverick gave us an excellent qualifying session, which made us optimistic that we had regained our speed. However, the races – although conditioned by a poor start – told a different story,” admits the boss of Aprilia Racing. “We absolutely have to stay focused for the end of the season and work harder than ever to understand where we are going wrong.”

Avec Luca Bartolomeo