The news, a real revolution in the World Cup paddock, became official a few minutes ago: Romano Albesiano, the engineer in charge of the Aprilia project since the Noale brand returned to MotoGP in 2014, he will leave the Italian home to join HRC, the Honda racing department. For its part, Aprilia has secured the services of Fabiano Sterlacchini, engineer responsible for KTM’s MotoGP project for the last three years, and formerly Gigi Dall’igna’s right-hand man at Ducati.
Which of the two movements came first? Time will tell, but what is truly significant about this remarkable movement are two things.
● The dismantling the Aprilia project as far as we know so far. Due to the departure of Albesiano we must add the already known signing of Aleix Espargaró as test driver. Aleix will arrive at Honda with Antonio Jimenez, a World Cup veteran and the teammate with whom Espargaró has achieved his successes in recent seasons. Albesiano is also expected to include a top-level trusted man. I don’t see him just going to HRC. I think an electronics and a motorcyclist, always top professionals, of course.
● The second notable situation of this movement is the Honda’s ‘claudication’. Ultimately the mantra of ‘Honda is Honda’ was fulfilled with the release of the checkbook. Because the signing of Albesiano is an acknowledgment that in Japan they have accepted that in the current situation it is better to ‘buy’ technology than to develop it at home.
Returning to Aprilia, this new movement deepens the revolution that began with the departure at the end of the season of three of its four riders along with their track engineers, the aforementioned Toni Jimenez in the case of Aleix, and Manuel Cazeauxresponsible for the motorcycles of Maverick Viñales. Now the head of the project will also leave, and what remains to be known. And the rumors coming from the satellite team, Track House, are also disbandment. Massimo Rivola You need to use all your experience to reorganize the project.
So, Fabiano Strelacchini becoming the new backbone of the Aprilia MotoGP project. After the ‘puncture’ at KTM, where the results were not as expected by whoever signed him, the Italian engineer will take charge of the racing department at the Noale factory. It will be interesting to see if Sterlacchini will continue Albesiano’s project or if the Aprilia RS-GP as we know it will be revolutionary. Although considering that the current motorcycles have an expiration date – in 2027 the technical regulations change -, it is expected that there will be an evolution of the current techniques… And I wonder: Are Jorge Martín and Marco Bezzecchi sleeping peacefully?
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
