MotoGP: Aprilia Levels Up For 2025

MotoGP: Aprilia Levels Up For 2025

© 2025, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc. By Michael Gougis.

First person/opinion:

By Michael Gougis

A year ago, at the Trackhouse Racing MotoGP launch in Hollywood, team officials were explaining that Miguel Oliveira would be racing a 2024-spec bike and Raul Fernandez would start the season on a 2023 machine. The explanation? It took a long time to build a factory-spec bike, and Trackhouse was racing to get ready for its first season in MotoGP. There was no time to supply Trackhouse with two additional bikes built to the latest spec. Fernandez would have to wait until mid-season to get a 2024 machine, and at the launch, team officials weren’t even exactly sure when they’d get the new bike for Fernandez.

Fast-forward to January 2025. Aprilia’s MotoGP Team Manager Paolo Bonora says the company not only introduced the 2025-spec RS-GP in November at the post-season Barcelona test, but is building 10 of the 2025 bikes for the upcoming tests in Sepang.

Ten of them. All 2025-spec.

Two for each of the factory riders, incoming World Champion Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi. Two for each of the Trackhouse riders, Raul Fernandez and Ai Ogura. And two for test rider Lorenzo Savadori. No one is going to trundle around on year-old equipment gathering data. Aprilia is going to have all five riders on new stuff, pushing it to the limit, gathering data and delivering feedback on the bike that will be its front-line weapon for the upcoming season.

It’s a big turnaround. But it’s the latest indication that Aprilia is stepping up its game for 2025.

Obviously, signing Martin was the first indication that things were changing for Aprilia. And signing former KTM MotoGP technical director Fabiano Sterlacchini was another indication, as was hiring race winner Marco Bezzecchi from the VR46 satellite Ducati squad.

But a skeptic could see something other than an increased commitment to MotoGP in all of those hires. Martin had twice been skipped over for the factory Ducati team, the satellite Pramac team he rode for was leaving Ducati and going to Yamaha, the first signs of KTM’s financial troubles were starting to appear, and Yamaha and Honda were mired at the back of the pack. Where else was Martin going to go if he wanted a factory ride?

Sterlacchini’s options were limited once he left KTM and Honda poached Romano Albesiano from Aprilia to head up its MotoGP development. Again, where was Sterlacchini going to go, other than Aprilia?

And Ducati was cutting the number of 2025-spec Desmosedicis it would field. Factory riders Francesco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez would get them, as would one other rider, but they would be on a satellite team. And like nearly everyone else on the GP23, Bezzecchi struggled on a year-old bike in 2024. The possibility of doing that again in 2025 on a satellite team probably didn’t sound appealing to a rider who looked like a title contender in 2023.

So you could chalk all of those up as opportunistic hires by Aprilia, signing people who didn’t really have a better choice.

But bringing the new stuff to the Barcelona post-season test was a major sign of leveling up. Committing to have every one of its riders on the latest spec machine from the beginning of the season is another major sign that Aprilia is upping its efforts.

And, based on the images presented at the 2025 factory Aprilia launch, its engineers are taking their cues from the two other fastest bikes in the field, the Ducati and the KTM.

Note in the main image above the long aero fences midway up the fairing; the streamlining behind the rear wheel; and the vented leading lip on the front fender. Those are all taken straight from the KTM RC16 playbook.

Aprilia has finally incorporated leading-edge fairing lower ducting, as pioneered by Ducati. It also has adopted the tail section fins pioneered by Ducati – Aprilia was the only bike on the grid last season without aerodynamic elements on the top of the tail. Gone is the “bat wing” tail section Aprilia experimented with last year. Rather than plowing new ground, the company is taking inspiration from the bike that’s winning everything.

Front view of the Aprilia RS-GP25. Photo courtesy Aprilia.

The streamlined front fork covers (the bottom legs of the front fender) are massive, similar to something seen on a Moto2 bike. The head-on shot shows that there are new aero elements inside the front wheel “spats.”

Remember that since April 2023, only Aprilia has beaten Ducati in a Grand Prix race. The RS-GP is good. And if you look at the new faces in the Aprilia garages, the new spec of the new bikes and the sheer number of new machines, you’re looking at a factory that trying, really trying, to shoot for the top of the Championship table.

 

Latest Posts

Dakar: Docherty Wins Final Stage, Sanders Takes Overall Win

The 47th edition of the Dakar and the 6th...

MotoGP: Aprilia Levels Up For 2025

First person/opinion: By Michael Gougis A year ago, at the Trackhouse...

Parts Unlimited Sponsoring New MotoAmerica Talent Cup

  Parts Unlimited Is The Title Sponsor Of The New...

Yamaha Introduces 2025 XMAX Sport Scooter

Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA, is excited to announce the...

MotoGP: World Champion Martin To Run No. 1 For Aprilia

The dawn of a new era: Aprilia Racing unveils...