Hater's Guide MotoGP Preview: Aprilia (Patreon)

Aprilia Racing
#1 - Jorge Martin ⭐ (2024 World Champion)
#72 - Marco Bezzecchi (12th)

Trackhouse Racing
#25 - Raul Fernandez (16th)
#79 - Ai Ogura 🔰 (2024 Moto2 World Champion)

Do you know how wild it is that you had an objectively mediocre 2024 season and fell into landing a World Champion just for being the fall-back option? Welcome to Aprilia, where nothing is straight-forward.

2024 was… a bit of a mixed bag for the Noale team. The RS-GP24 wasn’t terrible, with strong aerodynamics, and a good ultimate pace, but the low-grip track “ace in the hole” they had in previous years just didn’t matter. Maverick Vinales was excellent early on, blowing the hinges off the doors in Austin, but once the European rounds started, they weren’t troubling the big-boy positions. They only managed podiums on Saturday for the rest of the season, and at times, were pegged back by KTM, who were a bit more peaky over a full race. 

As a result, change blew over. Aleix Espargaro had long teased retirement and followed through with it at Catalunya as he heads to Honda’s test team, Maverick Vinales got fed up with Aprilia’s inconsistency and burned down another bridge as he heads to Tech3 (Seriously, his off-season comments were scorching, he’s running out of places to go), and one of their big aero heads in Romano Albesiano is also now at Honda. Miguel Oliveira, one of the more experienced runners in the field, is now supporting Yamaha’s development. 

But somehow, they took advantage of being in the right place at the right time. As much as they lost Albesiano, they did also snag the big back office pull in Fabiano Sterlacchini, formerly of KTM, as their new technical director. And the small unimportant matter of SNAGGING THE WORLD CHAMPION. Ducati went back on their word to Jorge Martin, the Spaniard turned it into a revenge tour, and a day after the Marquez news became official, Martin had crossed enemy lines. 

Martin channelled that rejection, with the help of a sports psychologist and a renewed mentality, into stuffing the box score. After crashing from the lead in Germany, 17 second places or better led to Bagnaia folding under pressure in Sepang, and Martin stole the #1 plate, like when CM Punk ran out of Chicago with a WWE belt.

Alongside Marco Bezzecchi, somehow, Aprilia’s still managed to upgrade on one of the strongest lineups in the sport, if the Italian can adapt to their engine braking, an element he was the best in the world at in 2023. 

Their partner team in Trackhouse is in an unsettling position. I had to re-write this section due to the breaking news last week that co-owner Pitbull has left the team, without either party giving a reason for the split. We don’t know if there’s going to be any repercussions, but there’s been little signs that make me nervous. 

For the team that wrote a lot of checks about bringing the American legacy back into MotoGP and some exciting early social outreach, their 2025 launch felt tame. A bland new colour scheme, a launch combined with the main NASCAR team, and a startling lack of sponsors. I get it, Justin Marks is very hands off and from what I’ve been told - this is Davide Brivio’s team in all but name, so we’ll have to see the medium-term impact of his management and the ownership situation. 

Read The Hater's Guide to 2025 MotoGP in full on Saturday, February 22nd...