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Aprilia technical director Romano Albesiano has shunned the idea of going after Marc Marquez or Fabio Quartararo for one of the seats. The Italian brand is coming off one of the most successful weekends for the team in MotoGP, as it secured a 1-2 finish with the two riders and the satellite bike finished in P4.
Aleix Esparagaro picked up his second win of the season at the Catalan GP, and he did that by completing a late-race overtake on teammate Maverick Vinales. While the two riders appear to have great chemistry amongst themselves, there have been many questions raised about the level of the riders in Aprilia.
Aleix Espargaro is already more than 30 years old, while Maverick Vinales has often been criticized for not being too consistent. With superstar riders like Marc Marquez and Fabio Quartararo currently trundling around on poor bikes built by Yamaha and Honda, there are many who have suggested Aprila could target one of them.
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Aprilia technical director Romano Albesiano, however, does not think that way. He told GPOne:
"The bike is mature and the team is, too. It’s not in our plans in the short-term. We have four riders who are fantastic, we have improved together with Aleix. He has improved in maturity and working with the team. This gives you the idea of how much a rider can evolve."
He continued:
"For example, if I apply this evolution to Maverick, who is already at a very high level, and maybe he improves on some aspects like his consistency, we’re talking about a rider with crazy potential."
He added:
"I’m speaking as a friend and a fan - for as long as Aleix wants to continue and go strong, like this, there is a bike for him at Aprilia.The same for Maverick. I expect a lot from him, more than we’ve seen up to now, which is already a lot. He can make another step up.”
Special praise for the satellite Aprilia riders
Both Miguel Oliveria and Raul Fernandez received special praise from the Aprilia director, who felt that the team was in a very good position in terms of riders and that changing them might not be the best thing for the squad.
He said:
"Miguel Oliveira is a wonderful rider. I don’t know where he would be without the bad luck he has had up to today. As soon as there’s a chance, he is ahead. Then he has an intelligence, an approach which is wonderful. I also love Raul Fernandez because he has enormous talent and just needs support, calm, a company that believes in him. We are that company."
He added:
“We will give him plenty of time to grow and show his worth which we believe is very high. Then if Marquez is free or Quartararo is free, I wouldn’t say we particularly need them.”
Aprilia has now won two of the last three GPs in Silverstone and Barcelona, both with Aleix Espargaro. It will be very interesting to see what happens next with the team as it tries to continue building on this momentum in the coming races.
