Aprilia has for the first time in 2023 a satellite team – the CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team – but the truth is that since the beginning this partnership has been rich in some controversies. Miguel Oliveira looks to the future with some uncertainty about the equipment he will have available in 2024, although it is clear to him what is best for the evolution of the RS-GP and the Italian project.
At the beginning of this partnership, it was widely discussed that Aprilia was very close to RNF and provided strong support, however, more recently Aleix Espargaró questioned the role of Oliveira and Raúl Fernández’s team, although (yesterday) he said that it is his responsibility to develop the bike, relieving some “pressure” from the Malaysian structure.
After another round in the world championship, at the RNF’s home, Oliveira was questioned about whether he would have, like the factory team, the latest version of the bike, with the Portuguese defending that his team should also have the latest version of the bike, crucial for its development: ‘Certainly I believe that the goal should be [the satellite team] to have the same material because, in the end, we can compare what we have to better prepare for the future.’ However, #88 assured that he doesn’t know what will happen in the future, but made it clear that it is his wish to have the same bike as the factory riders: ‘It’s not up to me to answer that. I don’t know all the details of the project but certainly we would all wish to have the same bike.’
