Huewen: Ducati the favourites, ’but you have to watch for Aprilia’
Marco Bezzecchi, Jorge Martin and Luca Marini, those are the three names that topped individual days during the Sepang MotoGP Test for Ducati, although Maverick Vinales was a constant threat for Aprilia.
Whether it was riders aboard the 2023 Ducati bike or those with the 22 engine such as both VR46 riders and Gresini Ducati, the Italian manufacturer made a realy statement of intent. Yet, Huewen believes Aprilia are in the mix.
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Speaking on the Crash.net MotoGP podcast, Huewen said: "Ducati came into this season with a massive advantage and they’ve continued with that at the moment, but Aprilia, you have got to watch out for that factory.
"The tiny little Noale factory - it's been looking good since the end of last year and they reckon they’ve got another motor on the bench as well that might give a little bit more performance. It’s going to be very, very interesting."
Aprilia have also been one of the leaders when it comes revolutionising the current aero packages seen on MotoGP machinery, with Huewen saying it’s the first time he’s seen Ducati, who have so often been the front-runner in this area, take inspiration from someone else.
"It’s the first time I’ve known Ducati to follow someone else," said Huewen. "They are copying Aprilia."
But for all the positives Huewen showered Aprilia with, the former Grand Prix racer wasn’t ready to fully commit to them being a consistent challenger for the title because of one particular reason.
Huewen added: "The problem you have at Aprilia is Maverick Vinales. He wins the testing every single year and is always fast in testing. Early on in the season you think that it’s going to be his year; the question is when we get to racing with Maverick Vinales and he gets hassled on the race track.
"I think Aprilia needs two top runners at the front pushing. Maverick is always great in testing, he’s always in the top three over the years, generally. And this year he’s showing a lot of promise but would you put any money on it? Maybe if it was long odds."
One name who could be someone to watch and Huewen addressed it on the podcast, is Miguel Oliveira, after the Portuguese rider moved from KTM to the new RNF Aprilia outfit.
"Oliveira is going to be a real asset in my view," added Huewen. "I think he’s got headroom. I think it’s one of those situations where he’s got potential to be better than what we think he might be.
"Keeping with Aprilia. Would you have Aleix winning a championship? I think he had his opportunity last year and I’m not sure he’s going to get another one this year.
"This is not controversial but I’m going to get slapped [figurately speaking] for it… I think Maverick Vinales, technically, is a faster rider than Aleix Espargaro. But Espargaro always comes up with the good because he never gives us.
"He’s a fast rider obviously. But Vinales has the quality to be faster than Aleix. Will it be a year where he can."
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