There’s been a lot of discussion about bike development in MotoGP and whether some riders try to tailor the bike to their specific riding style. The truth is that this doesn’t necessarily mean better performance, or at least that’s the conviction of Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola.
Rivola explained to Crash that sometimes riders try to adapt the bike more to what they believe is best for them, instead the other way around, but that this isn’t always synonymous with speed: ‘I think sometimes the riders take us in a direction to get, let’s say, the bike that’s better for them to ride, which isn’t necessarily the fastest on the track’.
In this sense, the top executive of the Noale manufacturer, who will have Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martín in the official team next year, said that it’s important for brands to be true to their origins and beliefs: ‘So, sometimes we’ve had to be quite firm in our convictions and encourage him to keep trying something he might not like, but that we know is faster’.
Ducati has been dominant in MotoGP but Aprilia, some argue, is even stronger than the Italian rival in some details.
By: AM