Aprilia’s stunning dominance at the British Grand Prix was no coincidence, with team boss Massimo Rivola identifying aerodynamics as the main factor behind the RS-GP’s advantage at Silverstone.
Aprilia enjoyed its most dominant weekend in MotoGP to date, taking all three podium positions in qualifying, the Sprint and Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Jorge Martin led the way in qualifying and the Sprint before finishing second in the main race, while Raul Fernandez claimed his maiden MotoGP victory on Sunday. Marco Bezzecchi also completed the all-Aprilia podium in both the Sprint and Grand Prix.
According to Rivola, the bike’s performance through Silverstone’s high-speed corners was the biggest difference compared with its rivals.
“Mainly high-speed cornering. I think we have an advantage on the aero side, and the faster the corners are, the more the aero works,” Rivola explained.
Silverstone’s layout features several fast and flowing sections, giving Aprilia an opportunity to exploit one of the RS-GP’s strongest characteristics.
Rivola stressed that the advantage is unlikely to be as significant at every circuit, pointing out that different tracks can favour different manufacturers and riders.
“I think there are tracks that fit our bike more and tracks that fit more Ducati, or some riders more,” he said.
Source: The Race
Despite the impressive results, Rivola believes Aprilia’s progress is also the result of strong teamwork within the organisation.
He praised technical director Fabiano Sterlacchini and the wider engineering group in Noale for continuing to push the project forward.
“To be at that level, Fabiano and all the people in Noale deserve a big reward,” Rivola said.
“What makes the difference is working together and believing that we can do it.”
The Silverstone results further strengthened Aprilia’s position in the 2026 championship. Martin now leads the riders’ standings, with factory team-mate Bezzecchi second and Trackhouse’s Ai Ogura third.
Reigning world champion Marc Marquez remains the leading Ducati rider in fourth, 40 points behind Martin.
Aprilia also holds the lead in both the constructors’ and teams’ championships, underlining the manufacturer’s growing threat to Ducati as the season progresses.
While Silverstone may have played directly into the strengths of the RS-GP, Aprilia’s performance has made one thing clear: its rivals will need to find an answer to the Noale-based manufacturer, especially at circuits where high-speed cornering is crucial.
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