After an absence of 10 years, Aprilia returned to the premier class last season as a factory entity in collaboration with the Gresini team. A year earlier than planned, 2015 was a difficult slog for the Noale factory. The RS-GP, a modified version of the ART machine, was woefully off the pace and lagged at the back for much of the season.
So difficult was the bike that Marco Melandri departed mid-season and Aprilia were forced to look elsewhere. By luck, Forward Racing were in financial strife and Stefan Bradl was able to wriggle his way out of his contract with the Swiss outfit. With two experienced hands onboard in Bradl and Alvaro Bautista, as well as Michael Laverty as test rider, Aprilia were able to make small improvements as the season wound down.
Aprilia arrived late with their new machine, but it was clear from the off in pre-season that the 2016 RS-GP was a step in the right direction. In two of the first three races, Aprilia took home top 10 results, albeit somewhat through attrition. Crucially, however, the gap to the race winner had narrowed significantly from 12 months prior.
With each race weekend, Aprilia were bringing a raft of updates foe the RS-GP, using the available technical concessions to good use. The RS-GP was still struggling for grunt, and drive grip was proving an issue at certain circuits. But the team were able to develop their way around these issues and the points were flying in.
After the first nine races, both riders had racked up 72 points between them, which was just six shy of double what they achieved throughout the entirety of 2015. They’d also managed an appearance in the top 10 eight times, twice with both riders. Though this may not exactly be world beating, the field is now full of factory bikes which wasn’t the case in 2015, and it’s this fact that highlights just what an incredible job the tiny-by-comparison Italian manufacturer has done.
Whilst the RS-GP was proving a strong motorcycle on Sunday, Aprilia’s qualifying performances up to this point weren’t up to much. But as the bike kept on developing this began to change, and in the second half of the season they made QP2 five times.
As the season drew to a close, the RS-GP, while maybe not perfect, was now a decent MotoGP bike and both riders reaped the rewards of their hard efforts. Bautista scored points in the final seven of nine races, taking a best of two seventh place finishes in Japan and Malaysia. Bradl managed five points finishes in the same time frame, a best of 10th in Aragon and at Motegi.
At the drop of the chequered flag in Valencia Aprilia had amassed 145 points in the teams’ standings and 101 in the constructors’, 106 and 65 more than in 2015 respectively . Bautista ended the season 12th overall and just 11 points adrift of the factory Suzuki of Aleix Espargaro with Bradl 16th on 63 points, the German only 19 away from his teammate.
The Italian manufacturer, much like Suzuki and Ducati, were big beneficiaries from the switch to a standard electronics package for this season. But it was the Noale factory’s untiring development work and perseverance that yielded them one of their strongest seasons in MotoGP.
It is worth bearing in mind that Suzuki were able to win a Grand Prix and fight at the front regularly in the second season of their comeback. While the Japanese manufacturer may be bigger in terms of personnel and wealth, Aprilia will still have to step up their game and at the very least make the top six a weekly occurrence. How their increased presence in WorldSBK next year will impact things could also prove crucial, and a lack of continuity in their rider line-up could well hinder the team somewhat.
However, their progress from 2015 to 2016 does set a very promising tone for 2017, and though they may have an all-new line-up in Aleix Espargaro and Sam Lowes it is an excellent blend of experience and speed. Next year will be Aprilia’s greatest challenge yet, but it is one they have proven they are most certainly up for.
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