Lorenzo Savadori, here’s why Aprilia didn’t win the Argentinian GP

While on Friday Aprilia looked to be the manufacturer with the best prototype, during the main race the performance of the bike failed to meet with expectations. Owing also to the adverse weather conditions, Aprilia duo Maverick Vinales and Aleix Espargaro crossed the line twelfth and fifteenth on Sunday, far from where they expected to be on Friday, after the team topped the timesheets during free practice.

We try to understand the reasons for this performance with Aprilia MotoGP test rider, Lorenzo Savadori.

Lorenzo Savadori, the interview

What do you think about the Termas de Rio Hondo weekend? What do you think were the reasons for these results?

Aleix and Maverick had great pace right from the first laps and were the quickest overall on Friday, but then the weather got gradually worse and so did the performance. If it had been dry, I think they’d have been up there, as they had impressive pace.

Back at the factory, they’re already analysing the data to understand the reasons behind this drop in performance, so that they can be better prepared in future. The bike has always been good, and competitive in the wet too. When I raced in Austria in 2022 I set excellent times in the wet, so this situation is unusual.

In addition, the riders are increasingly as one with the bike, we’re working hard. With Vinales, for example, we’re working on a development that means he’s increasingly comfortable in the saddle. He has a similar riding style to me so we compare things a lot.

And then there's the track...

We ride relatively rarely in Argentina – I’ve never ridden there for example, so it’s a track where we’re always riding a little blind, and are never 100%. This is another reason for what happened over the weekend.

Are you pleased for Morbidelli and Bezzecchi?

I’m really pleased to see Italy up at the front, but it would have been better if we’d (Aprilia) been on the front rows.

What do you think about Honda having Kalex develop the frame?

I know they’re already on track testing it and I think that the current MotoGP pushes you to find the absolute max in everything. Everyone is seeking performance and so Honda too is trying to make the bike fast thanks to this new collaboration.

When will you be back on track?

We’ll be out next weekend. I’ll start riding on Easter Monday and we’ll be testing new components spanning every area of the bike really, from the aerodynamics to the setup and also something in terms of performance. There are different important areas in which to work.