Rivola admits "anger" amid more Aprilia reliability woes
Aprilia racing department CEO Massimo Rivola has admitted his "anger" at the MotoGP team's recent reliability woes, following a Japanese Grand Prix outing compromised by engine issues.
The outfit revealed riders Aleix Espargaro and Andrea Iannone both encountered issues with their engines in the Motegi race, despite running new units.
Espargaro, who had qualified ninth, began to tumble down the order almost immediately in the race and toiled to an eventual 15th place, whereas Iannone crashed at the sharp Turn 11 right-hander - with the team indicating his accident was caused by an engine-related problem.
The two problems add to the RS-GP's dubious reliability record, coming just two weeks after Espargaro retired from the Thailand race due to an electrical issue.
Rivola, who joined Aprilia in the off-season after a long stint with Ferrari, elected to address the media after the Motegi race in place of his two riders.
"The start was good, but we immediately realised that there was a problem because Aleix did not have the pace of this morning [warm-up]," Rivola explained.
"Andrea crashed because of a problem with the engine and also Aleix had a problem with the engine.
"They were two new units and we really need to understand what happened: we will completely disassemble them to find out what the nature of the problem was and if the engines will still be usable in the next races.
"It's true that we are at the end of the current engine's lifespan, but we must try to finish the season in the best possible way. Aleix's performances have been very good in this period, and we can reap encouraging results.
"We always see him in Q2, and not finishing the races gives me much anger because we cannot express our true potential."
Rivola said he was in the process of figuring out a way to "improve quality and processes, and have a more reliable and competitive product".
Asked whether the MotoGP team is in need of an increased budget, Rivola said: "Of course Aprilia is part of a very strong group [Piaggio Group], which can do that - but I believe that we must earn the trust of the Piaggio Group and these things don't help us.
"Having problems when you could've performed well means we can't go home and sleep well because we've made mistakes and it's up to us to solve them."
Additional reporting by Oriol Puigdemont
Share Or Save This Story
WTCR's April opener cancelled due to coronavirus
Australian GP issues update on nine F1 paddock coronavirus tests
Motorsport Games unveils 15 disciplines for 2020
Aleix Espargaro to undergo surgery after vertebral injury
Aleix Espargaro hospitalised after crash in Sepang MotoGP test
Aleix Espargaro quits pro cycling after injuries hinders 2025 Honda role
Valencia MotoGP: Aprilia’s Espargaro tops FP3 as Rossi makes Q2
Vinales “very sad” MotoGP season ending after “very late” start
Vinales “satisfied” with Aprilia MotoGP move
Oscar Piastri: Error that cost me F1 Azerbaijan GP podium was "a bit weird"
Erik Jones agrees to multi-year contract extension with Legacy Motor Club
Kurt Busch buys NASCAR truck from his rookie season for $110,000 at auction
George Russell after rejuvenating Baku win: "It would have been very easy for me to lose the faith"
How to make two MotoGP grids with a single qualifying session
What we learned from an emotional MotoGP Austrian Grand Prix
Are Aprilia riders making it too easy for Marc Marquez to win the 2026 MotoGP title?
What we learned from MotoGP’s decisive San Marino Grand Prix
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments