Aprilia heat mystery dates back to “nightmare” 2018 MotoGP test
“If they want to improve this is the first thing to solve”
Aleix Espargaro says the problems Aprilia has struggled with in hot temperatures have gone without a solution since MotoGP testing in 2018.
The recent flyaway races of the 2024 season in places like Malaysia and Thailand saw Aprilia riders once again battle with extreme temperatures on their RS-GP.
This has been an ongoing issue for years, with Maverick Vinales forced to retire from last year’s Thai GP due to how the heat was affecting him on the bike.
While the increased aerodynamic development of MotoGP in recent years and the packaging of the RS-GP has widely been blamed for Aprilia’s problems, Aleix Espargaro admits that the engineers don’t really know.
“Actually, this question is also the one that I’m doing to the engineers but is also what the engineers are looking for: they don’t know,” he replied when asked if the packaging of the bike was the problem.
“This heavy aerodynamics is not helping for sure. We’re trying to close everything, trying to add a lot of aero, so it’s not helping.
“But it’s the problem we’ve had from the first season. I remember the first test we did with Scott Redding in Thailand was a nightmare five or six years ago. And we never improved.
While the heat issues have physically taken their toll on riders, Espargaro also said after struggling to 13th in last week’s Malaysian GP that the heat is also affecting the performance of the bike.
“The last three, four seasons we suffered a lot, a lot, a lot with the temperature,” he said.
“And it’s not just the riders in Thailand - Maverick [last year] couldn’t finish the race.
“But it’s not just about our physical condition, but it’s also about the hardware of the bike: the fuel pump, the tyres, the brakes, the engine was extremely slow where it was fast in Australia.
“In the sprint I overtook many, many riders. But now with this temperature nothing works.
“So, obviously for the future Aprilia, I think the base of the bike is not that bad, but with these temperatures it’s impossible that nothing works.
“So, for the future Aprilia, if they want to improve this is the first thing to solve.”
