Aprilia<\/a> Racing.<\/p>\n\u201cFor sure, it’s a hybrid bike, to shakedown some concepts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to verify [those concepts], and very soon we are going to repeat the exercise with a more mature bike.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThat [process] will go on continuously up to the first race [of 2027]. So we are on schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Aprilia](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/aprilia-850-2.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Aprilia 850, Jerez test.<\/p>\n
\u00a9\u00a0Aprilia Racing<\/p>\n
de Luca confirmed that several \u2018legacy\u2019 concepts from the factory’s current title-leading 1000cc RS-GP will be carried over into the new era.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are concepts we can carry over from this year to next year. Others, for sure, we cannot, because they are too linked to the new power unit, to the new weight distribution.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut there are a few fundamentals, a few concepts, from this year that we can continue to develop for next year. So it’s not black and white, it\u2019s a mix [of new and old].\u201d<\/p>\n
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As well as smaller engines and a switch from Michelin to Pirelli tyres, next year\u2019s rules place tighter restrictions on aerodynamics, ban ride-height devices and require the use of 100% non-fossil origin fuel.<\/p>\n
![\"Marco](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/gng_1310426_hires_1600x900.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Marco de Luca, Aprilia, 2026 French MotoGP.<\/p>\n
\u00a9\u00a0Gold and Goose<\/p>\n
Asked which presents the biggest challenge, de Luca replied:<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are all challenges. For sure, tyres are an unknown. So we need to discover the tyres.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo far, we did a good test. We are starting very seriously to create our models about the tyres.<\/p>\n
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\u201cFor the rest, for sure you’ll have a completely different bike in terms of weight and weight distribution.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“So it’s something you need to simulate very carefully to take the right direction, because as usual if you\u2019re wrong and you discover it’s too late – it’s too late!<\/p>\n
\u201cAerodynamics is interesting, because it will be different, but still have similarities to this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe [removal] of ride height devices will be easier, because it’s less expensive, less complicated. But there are some considerations\u2026 I cannot go any deeper than this.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Aprilia](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/gng_1306237_hires_1600x900.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Aprilia rear aero, 2026 Spanish MotoGP.<\/p>\n
\u00a9\u00a0Gold and Goose<\/p>\n
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Despite tighter restrictions, de Luca believes aerodynamics will continue to play a major role.<\/p>\n
But he also highlighted the extension of aero homologation [update] restrictions, which will expand to cover more areas of the bike.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is more homologation. So the shot you have [to get aero design right] has to be a good one,\u201d said de Luca.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to really be on top of it. So we are spending the maximum we have to be honest!\u201d<\/p>\n
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de Luca, who previously worked in aerodynamic roles with Minardi, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Mercedes and McLaren before joining Aprilia in 2019, expects rider feedback to become even more crucial during the 850cc development.<\/p>\n
\u201cI cannot see a major change [in the process] compared to what we are doing now.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut for sure, when a rider didn’t race with the new tyres, they need to be very, very clear on what they feel, what they would like to have.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo in that respect, I am expecting some different and more complicated feedback from riders because they are going to face a completely new machine, especially in terms of tyres.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aprilia starts this weekend’s Catalan MotoGP with Marco Bezzecchi just one point ahead of team-mate Jorge Martin.<\/p>\n
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Yamaha is now the only MotoGP<\/a> manufacturer yet to reveal images of its 850cc prototype.<\/p>\nSubscribe to our MotoGP Newsletter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Aprilia has described the 850cc MotoGP prototype seen at the Jerez test as a \u201chybrid\u201d machine \u201cto shakedown…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":641343,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[89838,18009,10669,64,63,5744,139585,10732,806,805,803,804,34524,85],"class_list":["post-670868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-89838","tag-aprilia","tag-aprilia-racing","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-jorge-martin","tag-lorenzo-savadori","tag-marco-bezzecchi","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-pirelli","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=670868"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670868\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/641343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=670868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=670868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=670868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}