Romano Albesiano, Aprilia Racing Manager commented: “With Iannone, we have another highly talented and fast rider who is also demonstrating his value this season. His arrival is a sign of the Piaggio Group and Aprilia's growing commitment to the MotoGP programme, where our bike has already demonstrated that it can rely on a valid technical base. Now we need to stay focused on the 2018 season, beginning from the next GP of Barcelona. We have a strong team that has never stopped working hard. We want to keep growing and take the RS-GP where it deserves to be this season, which is still long, with Aleix and Scott, speaking of whom, I wish to thank publicly for his great professionalism and
Tag: Aprilia
Qatar Debrief: Nick Harris and Matt Birt
MB: “That’s a tough one because there’s probably three outstanding candidates. The most obvious is Maverick Viñales, because he won the race, but that wasn’t a shock. The two things he could have caved into were overconfidence and pressure, but he’s a very level headed guy, cool and calm. And he dealt with the pressure impeccably. It shows how mentally clinical he can be. Johann Zarco as well was phenomenal, to lead on his MotoGP debut. Very rarely do we see rookies ride away from the best in the world! But I think for me, the man of the night was Aleix Espargaro. Most would agree the Aprilia isn’t on the level of the Honda, Ducati, Yamaha and Suzuki -
Lowes: “After Assen I get my first go on the Aprilia!”
With Zarco just a further 2 points behind you in the standings, do you now see it as a three-way battle for the title now?“I have always said my title rivals would be Rins and Zarco. When Zarco had one or two bad races, everyone was counting him out. He won the second race of the year, then people were writing him off after Jerez. I suppose that’s Moto2, but for me it’s always been myself, Zarco and Rins. Hopefully I can keep taking the fight to them. If you had said to me in Japan last year that after seven races I would be two points ahead of Zarco, I’d have bitten your hand