{"id":762196,"date":"2026-06-26T19:34:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T19:34:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/762196\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T19:34:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T19:34:17","slug":"aprilia-boss-explains-why-he-chose-francesco-bagnaia-for-850cc-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/762196\/","title":{"rendered":"Aprilia boss explains why he chose Francesco Bagnaia for 850cc era"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Thursday, Aprilia officially announced that it signed Francesco Bagnaia<\/a> on a four-year deal to replace Jorge Martin<\/a>, who is poised to move to Yamaha in 2027.<\/p>\n

With Bagnaia’s arrival next year, Aprilia will have an all-Italian line-up in 2027, with\u00a0Marco Bezzecchi<\/a> already committed to the team for the long term.<\/p>\n

With three-time world champion Bagnaia, Aprilia boss Massimo Rivola saw a major opportunity, and did not hesitate for a second to seize it.<\/p>\n

This means that VR46 graduates Bagnaia and Bezzecchi will not only continue training together but will also defend the same brand and colours in the premier class from next year.<\/p>\n

In an interview with Motorsport.com Italy, Rivola explained why Aprilia chose Bagnaia as Bezzecchi’s team-mate for 2027.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving a multiple world champion is certainly an opportunity,” he said. “The fact that he chose us is definitely a source of motivation, and the fact that he trains every day with Marco is also a sign of the trust he has in us, seeing what Marco has achieved.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I think that in [Bagnaia’s] mind he may be saying: ‘if they managed to take Marco to such a high level, they\u2019ll be able to do the same with me’. It\u2019s great that this message exists. Moreover, having two Italians, being truly exceptional, and being able to proudly display our flag on a black motorcycle is a huge motivation.”<\/p>\n

Aprilia has already completed several seasons with two top-level riders. Rivola has no concerns about pairing two A-level figures in the team, insisting it is better to have two superstars than two riders who may get along well but are slower on track.<\/p>\n

\u201cI must say, there is great motivation,” Rivola said. “We have a huge challenge ahead of us. I also believe Pecco has shown courage because, beyond the VR46 factor and the daily training battles with Bezzecchi, there is also a desire for redemption within him. I think that if he chose us, it\u2019s because he believes he can beat those who \u2014 I’m not saying rejected him \u2014 but preferred other riders over him, despite the fact that he was the rider who brought them the world championship back.<\/p>\n

“He also gave up higher salaries that the Japanese manufacturers were offering. So, welcome aboard. It will be an opportunity for us, and I have no doubt we\u2019ll make the most of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Pecco <\/p>\n

Pecco Bagnaia, Ducati<\/p>\n

Aprilia\u2019s\u00a0ability to revive riders: Can it do the same with Bagnaia?<\/p>\n

The opportunity to speak with\u00a0Rivola was too good to pass up without reflecting on what Aprilia has managed to achieve over the years \u2014 and what it will now be asked to do with Bagnaia as well: helping a talented rider regain his best form during a difficult period.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook at Maverick [Vinales]\u2019s example,” Rivola said. “It was incredible. A rider who completely lost it at his previous team (Yamaha) ended up winning \u2014 and winning brilliantly \u2014 a fantastic race in Austin, which remains one of the best things we\u2019ve seen in recent years. Bezzecchi has also made tremendous progress.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Aprilia and Martin haven’t enjoyed the best of relationship at times. In the middle of last year, he tried to extricate himself from his contract at Aprilia while he was sidelined by injury.<\/p>\n

The Spaniard eventually agreed to see out his deal and has bounced back strongly on track, dominating the French GP weekend to thrust himself firmly into title contention.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook at Martin as well: he arrived at Aprilia as a world champion, but after going through a season like the one he\u2019s had, seeing him regain that confidence without denying what may have been an instinctive reaction on his part \u2014 which was entirely understandable and justified, considering the association his mind could have made between us, our bike, and the pain he was going through \u2014 seeing him like this today is very encouraging,” Rivola said.<\/p>\n

“Let\u2019s say that, so far, we\u2019ve done a pretty good job with riders. The hardest part, however, is still ahead of us this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photos from Dutch GP – Friday<\/p>\n

\"Marco<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Pedro<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Jack<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Jorge<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Marc<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Fabio<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Marc<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Fermin<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Marco<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Alex<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Marc<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Raul<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Fabio<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Cal<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Fabio<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Marco<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Jorge<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Marc<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Fabio<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Raul<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Maverick<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Cal<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Jorge<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Francesco<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Fabio<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Marco<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Joan<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Marco<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Enea<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Fabio<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Luca<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Alex<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Luca<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Brad<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Francesco<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Ai<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Jack<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Ai<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Joan<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Cal<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Alex<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Fabio<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Pedro<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Enea<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Marc<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Franco<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Diogo<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Francesco<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Jack<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Maverick<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

\"Fabio<\/p>\n

Dutch GP – Friday, in photos<\/p>\n

See also:<\/p>\n

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– The Motorsport.com Team<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On Thursday, Aprilia officially announced that it signed Francesco Bagnaia on a four-year deal to replace Jorge Martin,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":762197,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[363696,5743,64,63,7607,5745,806,805,803,804,85],"class_list":["post-762196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-aprilia-boss-explains-why-he-chose-francesco-bagnaia-for-850cc-era","tag-aprilia-racing-team","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-francesco-bagnaia","tag-motogp","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/762196","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=762196"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/762196\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/762197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=762196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=762196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=762196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}