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With just over a week left before the season opener, Aprilia has also unveiled the new bike. In Noale, there is no lack of confidence in the new RS-GP that once again flaunts an Italian livery, just like in 2017. Doing the honours was none other than Roberto Colaninno, alongside journalist Vera Spadini: “In this job, you need imagination and faith – the Piaggio Group CEO said – in recent years we have done a lot, so much that we think it will be complicated to add even more for the future.”
Then the Managing Director summed up the situation: “In the company, we have spoken recently about new technologies that bear the name of artificial intelligence – he revealed – In other words, robots that open up a generation of humanoids. There are a thousand people at Piaggio involved in this work and they are focusing their efforts on the future – he added – and I believe that the future is something magical.”
Then Albesiano took the stage: “Romano is doing something fantastic – Colaninno pointed out – Namely, he is creating a team capable of realising what we hope to achieve. Whatever result arrives is fine, since he will be giving it his all – the MD concluded – I obviously do not expect to finish last, but I don’t expect to finish first either (smiling).”
The MotoGP project manager is ready for the new challenge, responding to the CEO’s remark: “It’s not true that any result will be fine – he began – We are coming from a positive 2017, where my job is to be the coach. There is always a bit of pressure, but that motivates us and keeps us alive at the same time.”
The engineer then discussed the latest advancements from Noale: “This is a bike that expresses the Italian spirit – he pointed out – It is a derivation of the 2017 version, although we have changed a lot like the fairing, frame, fork and engine. The RS-GP is therefore a consolidation of the previous version – he added – Plus, we wanted to re-propose the frame shapes of the RSV4 on the MotoGP bike.” The goal? “To get close to the leaders and to battle consistently for the top ten and on some occasions even for the top five. If our confidence increases, we can go anywhere.”
In short, Albesiano has high expectations: “In the tests, we only tested the 2018 version. I am confident because we are more competitive than last year – he concluded – This is the strongest team that Aprilia has ever had!”
In Noale, all hopes are placed in Aleix Espargaró: “I am charged up and ready to go – the Spaniard began – 2017 was my first season and we managed to ride some good races. This year I like the bike a lot better – he added – Plus, the gap between the riders is closer and I expect some heated battles.”
Listening by his side was new entry Scott Redding: “Over the winter I lost 5kg – the Brit revealed – As soon as I arrived at Aprilia I felt like a kid in a toy store. I have a lot of energy and the bike has proven to be consistent, so I can’t wait to confirm my sensations in Qatar.”
The final word then went to Fausto Gresini: “The only thing I will say to this group is to give 100% in MotoGP – he commented – It is obviously not easy, but it is up to us to get the most out of the RS-GP. Honda, Yamaha and Ducati are the favourites, but Aprilia has taken a huge step forward.”
