What next for Aprilia, after missing out on Fabio Quartararo?
Will Aprilia look elsewhere or stick with what they've 𒁃g🦋ot?
Aprilia were the team most strongly linked with a move for 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Fabio Quartararo, but he has now re-signed with Yamaha.
That leaves the Italian manufacturer having to decide what to do nex🐼t - in the rider market, a▨nd with the 2024 MotoGP season.
Aprilia can sense a major chance to improve - but, befo💦re thinking about other rider🌳s, they must develop the RS-GP into a bike which the top riders are desperate to ride.
Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola had♋ insisted "we are not ✅sleeping" about the rider market, but had insisted that the priority lied in development of their bike.
His philosophy is th🦂at focusing on the competiꦗtiveness of the package would attract the best possible riders.
Interestingly Aprilia boss Rivola’s insistence that they will take time to consider t🀅heir rider options for 2025 did not tally up with wha꧒t Quartararo had said, before he committed to Yamaha.
The Yamaha rider publicly admitted that he wanted to make a quickᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ decision about next year. He has now done so, signing an extension witꦕh his current team and leaving Aprilia without one big option.
How Aprilia ♔plan to move on could depend on their bike’s competitiveness in the coming rounds.
Who will Aprilia sign for 2025?
Aleix Espargaro and Maverick 🍸Vinales (who won the sprint race at the Portuguese MotoGP) are Aprilia’s factory riders while satellite team Trackhouse run with Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez on bikes which are almost factory-spec.
Espargaro is now the oldest riderꦏ on the grid, at ✤34.
He has often flirted with retirement but, should Aprilia’s fortunes improve an𝓰d his results justify staying on, he could be rewarded with a new one-year dea✱l.
Fellow veteran Vinales became the first rider in the MotoGP era to win a race for three different manufacturers i𓃲n Portugal (although, because it was a sprint, the record books will say differently).
But🌠 nevertheless it was a well-timed reminder of Vinales’ talent at a time when his team were so strongly linked with Quartararo.
If they want to dip into the silly season chao♉s, which ride🤡rs might be on the market?
Jorge Martin is expected to leave Pramac and, if he doesn’t receive a꧂ factory Ducati promotion, wo🧜uld be available.
If Martin is promoted to w𒅌earꦜ red, Enea Bastianini will be out of a job.
Yamaha's expenditure to keep Quartararo mi🌌ght prohibit them from paying big for either Martin or Bastianini, opening the door to Apriliaꦅ.
Aprilia’s Rivola has﷽ previous♊ly admitted interest in acquiring an Italian rider.
Marco Bezzecchi might represenജt another opportunity to do so. Aprilia could offer the VR46 rider his first factory opportunity.
The presence of Trackhouse w🍬ithin Aprilia means they might look to American options.
Moto2 prospect Joe Roberts ✃is the obvious candidate although he is likelier for Trackhouse, than for the factory Aprilia set-up.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade🎃 covering everything from Ame🌊rican sports, to football, to F1.
