Why Aprilia is so strong: Fernandez names the decisive factor

– Aprilia has reached the top in MotoGP 2026. The RS-GP is no longer just considered a dark horse for individual tracks, but a motorcycle with which several riders regularly compete for wins and podiums.

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This was particularly impressive recently in Silverstone: Raul Fernandez won the Grand Prix, Jorge Martin came second, and Marco Bezzecchi completed the Aprilia triple. For Fernandez, this development is no coincidence but the result of many small changes within the brand.

The Spaniard knows what he is talking about. Since his switch to the manufacturer project, he has experienced various development stages of the RS-GP and thus also got to know the weaknesses of earlier generations. That is why his judgment about the current character of the motorcycle is remarkably clear.

“I believe that since Fabiano came to Aprilia, the situation at Aprilia is somewhat different,” says Fernandez. He means Technical Director Fabiano Sterlacchini, who moved from KTM to Aprilia after the 2024 season and replaced Romano Albesiano there. This marked the beginning of a new phase of technical development at Aprilia.

Fernandez: The difference lies in the details

From Fernandez’s point of view, the decisive progress does not lie in a single spectacular technical innovation. Rather, Sterlacchini tackled exactly those areas that had repeatedly caused problems before.

“He started working on the small details,” explains the Trackhouse rider. “For the small problems we had when I came to Aprilia, he started finding solutions. Maybe that was the decisive point.”

This assessment fits the development approach that Aprilia has taken in the past two years. The RS-GP26 was further developed in practically all areas: from aerodynamics and chassis to electronics and the V4 engine. Sterlacchini’s technical department explicitly relied on an evolution of the entire motorcycle rather than a single big solution.

Photo series: From RS Cube to RS-GP: All MotoGP bikes from Aprilia since 2002

Fernandez also describes the development as a gradual process. In doing so, he explicitly highlights his brand colleague Marco Bezzecchi alongside Sterlacchini.

The Italian made an important contribution to the further development. “I also believe that Marco did a very good job last season because he also changed small things on the motorcycle,” reveals Fernandez.

Bezzecchi was one of the most important reference points for the further development of Aprilia in 2025 when Jorge Martin was injured for a long time. Sterlacchini later confirmed that both Bezzecchi and Fernandez had to adapt to certain characteristics of the Aprilia and that both made progress in doing so.

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Motorcycle initially difficult, now easy to manage

Fernandez’s description of the riding feel is particularly interesting. Because the current strength of Aprilia does not seem to lie solely in maximum grip or a particularly fast lap. Rather, the decisive factor is how well the performance can be used over an entire race distance. “Now, in my opinion, it is a motorcycle that is very easy to manage,” says the Spaniard.

Fernandez sees one of the biggest advances compared to earlier versions precisely in this. He recalls a phase when the Aprilia RS-GP could be fast but managing the tires was significantly more difficult.

“I remember that two years ago it was quite difficult to manage the tire,” explains the Spaniard. Today, the situation is fundamentally different from his point of view. The motorcycle can be ridden more controlled, and the available performance can thus be converted much better into race results.

Tire management is of central importance in modern MotoGP. The enormous aerodynamics, electronics, and complex tuning options make the motorcycles extremely powerful but also demanding.

Aprilia no longer just fast, also versatile

The fact that the current Aprilia generation apparently masters this difficult balancing act better is also shown by the breadth of results. Fernandez already won the sprint in Mugello in 2026, beating factory rider Jorge Martin.

In Silverstone, he finally celebrated his first Grand Prix win of the season. Even more telling was the performance in Assen: There Fernandez won the sprint ahead of his Trackhouse teammate Ai Ogura, while Aprilia overall brought all four riders into the fight for the top positions.

And it is precisely this versatility that makes Fernandez’s assessment so interesting. Because if different rider types are competitive with the same base, this speaks more for a well-balanced and manageable motorcycle than for a machine that only works under very specific conditions.

The current trend confirms this. In Silverstone, Aprilia achieved a triple win in the Grand Prix – Fernandez ahead of Martin and Bezzecchi. This turned the former challenger into a manufacturer that can set the pace at the top.

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