The first tests in Barcelona have concluded, which saw many changes both on the side of the riders and teams, but also within them with the arrival of new faces in the technical department. Prominent among them, within the Aprilia revolution, is the arrival of engineer Fabiano Sterlacchini as the new technical director of the Veneto manufacturer after Romano Albesiano's move to Honda.
The Noale manufacturer, after having made a big splash in the riders' market by signing at Mugello with Jorge Martin, who became world champion in Barcelona, is now betting on the talents of Sterlacchini, the bearer of a valuable Know how acquired first in Ducati and recently in KTM.
"It was a fairly positive day," Sterlacchini began, "there was the first contact with the team, although as they say 'a good day starts from the morning,' the riders' feelings were very good. Of course, their conclusions will have to be reviewed and framed taking into consideration the layout of the circuit and the level of grip.
We know that Barcelona in this aspect is a particular track but we are reasonably satisfied."
Can you already make a summary of the positive and negative aspects?
"Some aspects have been seen. The bike has movement coming out of corners, it's a matter of stability, something that was highlighted by the riders. On the positive side, in a reasonably short period of time Jorge Martin has already returned to lean angles appropriate to his riding style, and this denotes the good feeling of the riders from the first approach."
For you, was starting this project here in Barcelona, one of the circuits that has always been favorable to Aprilia in the past, a positive or negative factor?
"I think this aspect is now a legacy of the past, looking at the last race the performance was good but not like in the past. As always there are pros and cons. The important thing is not to lock yourself in a valley of performance that doesn't allow you to make judgments, so I think it was an important opportunity, and we had a good starting reference in Aleix's performance last race weekend, we are satisfied."
Did you perceive a need to supplement the team with additional technical reference figures?
"I think not, quite frankly one of the reasons I came to Aprilia was just the great potential and quality of the people in the team. I think we don't need anything but to work with what we already have."
Before coming to Aprilia, did the opportunity to go to Honda also become apparent?
"During the negotiations after my separation from KTM of course there were approaches of various kinds, then of course choices are made and now I am here."
Ducati right now is still the benchmark, do you already have an idea of how much Aprilia lacks to close the gap?
"Having four Ducati bikes in the top positions shows that the benchmark is theirs. It's hard to measure this, comparisons should be done over a long period, then also taking into account rider adaptation and bike preparation, before making any comparisons. I believe that in motorsport there is no one aspect to take care of, you have to work on all of them, more horsepower, more grip, more stability ... the path made by Ducati has lasted many years in the search for perfection. We, for our part, have to continue in development while also trying to chase to catch up."
Just from Ducati you have taken two riders, one of them being world champion Jorge Martin. What was their initial feedback?
"Their feelings were positive, you also saw from their performance on the track how they already had a good feeling about the bike. Like all projects it is like a blanket, they have identified some best points and some points where we can improve. There is also the subject of refinement of the riders to the bikes to emphasize. Both Bezzecchi and Martin have raced on Ducatis for a number of years, so at this early stage it is difficult to draw firm conclusions."
With Ogura's arrival this year Aprilia changed three riders, the only one left was Raul Fernandez. Will this make things more difficult?
"Ours is a concerted effort, I am only one piece of the puzzle. So it's not just about the riders, we are competing at the highest levels and we have to take every aspect to extremes. I think the arrival of Jorge Martin, the world champion who rode on the bike that won the title is a great opportunity. With him we now have a benchmark that allows us to understand where to intervene. In the short time we have spent together since his arrival at Aprilia, the impression he has given me is that he is both a world champion and a leader. To be honest, it is incredible the way he has approached the job at hand, and that is very positive."
You similarly are on your first approach, do you already have a clear perspective of the situation?
"I think it's impossible to have it right now. More than a good person you would need a god to understand everything in such a short period of time. In some respects certainly the picture now is less blurred, but it is still early to make judgments."
Does Aprilia have a weakness?
"Right now it's premature, hard to say but certainly there are aspects on which I perceive we can improve."
After titles in Superbike, and winning races, in MotoGP now there is you and Martin, is this the third era of Aprilia?
"It is a path where you try to achieve perfection of all systems. It means not only having to improve the technical aspect of the bike, but also how to manage the rider and push him to perform during the race weekend. My favorite aphorism to explain the situation is to "want to align the planets." There's engine braking, traction control, corner exit ... so it's an ongoing process of which we are the third part because the Aprilia's performance is already pretty good, but obviously it's still not good enough in its current state. We're all here to achieve that goal."
Aprilia's racing department has a long history, there are technicians who have been working there for years. How much time do you think you will need to get to know them and understand how to harness their potential to improve performance?
"I think a period of four to eight months is a reasonable amount of time to do that. However, that doesn't mean we won't start working on the project until then, the two will travel in parallel."
