Outgoing Aprilia MotoGP rider identifies the bike’s biggest issue

Miguel Oliveira suggests the Aprilia MotoGP bike has a narrow working window where it's “really, really amazing”, noting that “if you’re a little bit out, it seems to be difficult”.

The outgoing Trackhouse rider swapped KTM for Aprilia at the end of the 2022 season and showed well on the year-old spec of RS-GP he raced in 2023.

In a year plagued by injury, Oliveira still managed three top five finishes in 2023 before stepping onto the 2024-spec Aprilia for last season.

While it was a bike that managed a grand prix win in Maverick Vinales’ hands in Austin, Oliveira didn’t crack the top five on a Sunday in 2024 - achieving a best of sixth in Germany a day after finishing second in the sprint.

Ahead of his Pramac Yamaha switch, Oliveira commented on his time at Aprilia: “I was trying to analyse my career through Aprilia and I jumped from a 2022-spec to a 2024.

“I did a test on the ’23, and the bike was actually super good - it was amazing.

“And yeah, it was tricky, it was complicated. It’s a bike that when you click and everything aligns, the bike is really, really amazing.

“But if you’re a little bit out, it seems to be difficult. It seems to be hard to make the difference.

“It’s not up to me anymore to understand the bike. I gave the feedback and that’s it. We’ll leave it in other hands now.”

Vinales has said on record that all he wanted from the 2024 bike was the 2023 version with a little bit more downforce.

After a strong start to the year, Aprilia spent the second half of it chasing its tail as it slipped to third in the constructors’ table behind KTM.

On his stint with Aprilia, Oliveira added: “Technically, I’m a different rider.

“I ride in a different way than I was riding two years ago.

“And I think this will be useful for me, especially because I could adapt, and that’s the most important thing.”