Rivola: ‘Aprilia not interested in WorldSBK, looks like MotoGP B championship’
The Aprilia MotoGP CEO believes the current dynamics of the WorldSBK class don’t fit with what Aprilia wants to do.
The Italian brand is wanted in WorldSBK by series organiser Dorna, but it doesn’t have a motorcycle that meets the criteria, as of now.
- Ducati MotoGP riders set to test alongside WorldSBK stars at Portimao
- Vierge: 2023 ‘intense, always fighting through adversities’
In terms of the MotoGP class, making bikes slower has been a prominent topic of discussion over the last few seasons, as the bikes are sometimes hitting the type of top speeds that are considered very dangerous.
Superbikes are not as fast as MotoGP, but developments in the series will always tend to follow that of MotoGP, however, Rivola began his argument against Aprilia joining the Superbike class by delving into the top speed discussion.
Speaking to Speedweek, Rivola said: “In my opinion, making the MotoGP bikes too slow isn’t very smart either. My first argument was that we can’t be slower than the superbikes.”
“We also need a price cap for the series machines because it is ridiculous to allow 45,000 euro bikes to compete against 25,000 euro bikes.
“We are not interested in the Superbike World Championship because at the moment it looks like a MotoGP B championship. If they make fair rules, then I’m happy to be there too.”
Those comments were directed in large part at Ducati, who are leading the way in terms of development, but also the price range for modern Superbike machinery.
Japanese brands don’t tend to sell their bikes for the same price and thus Ducati could be seen as having an advantage.
Rivola then admitted a change of rules for superbikes should be made: “The only future I see for Superbikes is Superstock rules.
“They should keep the same cool name, but just unscrew the indicators and rearview mirror and then race.
“That's the message that every manufacturer wants to convey because then they can sell the motorcycles.”
