Maverick Vinales compares the Aprilia RS-GP24 with last year’s model, as ridden by Raul Fernandez this season up to and including the Sachsenring
In terms of aerodynamics, Aprilia had a two-pronged approach in the first part of the 2024 MotoGP season. While the two factory riders Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales and also Miguel Oliveira from the Trackhouse team have been on the Aprilia RS-GP24 since the start of the season, Oliveira’s team-mate Raul Fernandez has had to compete with the aerodynamics from 2023 for logistical reasons until now
Following the current summer break, the MotoGP season will continue on the first weekend in August with the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. There, Fernandez will also receive the 2024 aerodynamics. However, it will not be the one that Espargaro, Vinales and Oliveira have been riding with since the start of the season.
Instead, Aprilia wants to have the one upgrade permitted per season homologated for Silverstone. And this will then be made available to all four Aprilia riders at the same time. Fernandez has been riding the 2024 engine since the start of the season. Apart from that, the young Spaniard learned during the summer break that he will remain on board with Trackhouse-Aprilia until the end of 2026.
According to Maverick Vinales, there is another difference between the 2023 and 2024 Aprilia apart from the aerodynamics. “The weight distribution is different. Last year, the balance of the bike was shifted much further back. As a result, the bike had less downforce,” says Vinales.
The Aprilia factory rider is convinced that they have developed in the right direction over the winter. “If I now compare my current bike with Raul’s, I can’t see any area where the 2023 bike would be better. That shows me that we have taken a step forward with the 2024 bike,” said Vinales.
Apart from the race weekend at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, which he had completely under control, Vinales has not yet made it onto the podium with the RS-GP24. Team-mate Aleix Espargaro has also not yet managed a top three finish on a Sunday with this year’s Aprilia, nor has Miguel Oliveira. In the sprints, however, there have already been seven top 3 results for the 2024 Aprilia.
Vinales hopes that thanks to the aero upgrade in the second part of the season, the team will be able to compete in the top three again in the Grands Prix. “We need one more step. Let’s hope that will come in the summer so that we can fight at the front again after the summer break,” says the Aprilia factory rider, looking ahead.
Of the eleven race weekends still to come on the 2024 MotoGP calendar, five will take place in Asia. Aprilia has struggled to keep up with the pace of the European competition there in the recent past. However, there are still five race weekends in Europe before the Asian tour begins.
