Aprilia's proudly all-Italian challenge in the MotoGP World Championship begins from a base that is more solid than ever. In fact, the work done by the Noale Racing Department during the 2017 season came together in the consistent growth of the young RS-GP project which, once again characterised by the Italian livery designed by Aldo Drudi, has been revamped and advanced in every area for the 2018 season.

The final part of the season was a turning point for Aprilia. The sixth place earned by Aleix Espargaró at Aragón with a gap of less than six seconds behind the winner, followed immediately by excellent performance in Japan (fourth in qualifying) and Australia (best time at the end of the first day of practice) highlighted clear progress, then halted by the unfortunate injury Espargaró suffered as he was battling in the lead group during the Phillip Island GP.

For the 2018 season, Aprilia is keen to pick up from there, from a bike that maintains the same construction philosophy as its forerunner, but refined and advanced in every aspect and with an extremely motivated pair of riders, fully aware that they have everything they need to aim consistently for the top spots in the rankings. Alongside Aleix Espargaró will be Scott Redding. The English rider, born in 1993, is coming into his fifth MotoGP season, the first on a factory team.

The work done by Aprilia Racing has involved every aspect of the RS-GP. A brand new frame led to a complete repositioning of the masses and therefore a new weight distribution, perhaps one of the clearest aspects but one that is fundamentally important in defining the dynamic performance of modern MotoGP bikes. The airbox and exhaust are also new, called on to optimise the performance of the exclusive narrow V4, which was also upgraded. Also in the chassis architecture, some big changes were made with a new front suspension and the carbon swingarm which will be further developed during the season.

Confirmation of the project's technical maturity came during the pre-season tests, during which Aleix and Scott passed the 2018 version of the RS-GP with flying colours. The development direction taken has therefore been confirmed and it draws from the experience of one of the most victorious racing departments ever, backed by 54 World Titles earned in all motorcycling disciplines and now highly motivated to do well in the premier class of this 2018 World Championship season that will begin 18 March on the Losail track in Qatar.


ROBERTO COLANINNO - PIAGGIO GROUP CEO AND MANAGING DIRECTOR

“What Aprilia Racing has tackled is one of the most exciting challenges of the many that a large group like ours faces every day in markets all over the world. Because it is a challenge that involves the highest values of technology. It is an extremely particular honour to see first hand how this cutting-edge technology is born in a racing department made up of young people who are our valuable wealth of knowledge, led by highly experienced engineers. This is an all-Italian asset of excellent skills that make Aprilia Racing one of the most advanced research and experimentation platforms from which the Piaggio Group benefits. Our best wishes go to Albesiano and his staff today. They have the task of translating this work into results. It will be a difficult season, with very strong rivals, but Aprilia, as we saw at the end of last season, has everything it takes to succeed.”

ROMANO ALBESIANO - APRILIA RACING MANAGER 

"The 2018 RS-GP is an in-depth optimisation and evolution of the concepts we had on the track last year. The frame is radically new, as is the airbox, the cooling system and the aerodynamics. The new project's first positive step was the popularity with the riders during the winter tests. They both noticed straight away how much the bike has grown. This reaction is never a given when you introduce such significant changes, but it makes us optimistic for this new MotoGP season. I expect this to be an extremely demanding season. The level has been raised even farther in terms of both the bikes and the riders on the grid. On our part, we have all our papers in order to be contenders.”

ALEIX ESPARGARO' 

“Last year we rode some very good races and only a few mistakes compromised our final position in the standings. I have great confidence for 2018. The team has worked well and the new RS-GP is growing in the right direction. All of our rivals have improved a lot. MotoGP is a top level championship, but I am certain that we will be close to the top. I am a positive person. I prepared well for this new season and I believe in the direction we are going.”


SCOTT REDDING 

“This is my first year as a factory rider and I must say that I have had very positive sensations so far. Having a team behind me that supports me and works with me to improve the bike gives me great motivation. We have managed to improve consistently with every outing, also experimenting with some solutions that were a gamble, but always with specific goals. It is difficult for me to make predictions right now. I am still adapting to the RS-GP and at the same time we have undertaken development of the 2018 model. In any case, I am positive. Thanks to the last tests in Qatar, we have taken another step forward, narrowing the gap behind the leaders, so I am confident as we approach the first race.”

FAUSTO GRESINI - TEAM MANAGER

“This will be an important season for us. Aleix, in his second year with Aprilia, will be able to take advantage of the experience he gained last season, where he learned to work with a new team and a new bike. He adapted quickly and allowed us to bring home some important results, further motivating the team thanks to his grit. Scott, for the first time, has the support of a factory team. He is still very young, but he has a lot of experience in MotoGP. We have already had the chance to sample his professional attitude and his technical prowess in the tests where he advanced development of the 2018 RS-GP impeccably.”  


With 104 World Championships in its collection (54 Aprilia, 15 Moto Guzzi, 21 Derbi, 14 Gilera) the Piaggio Group is the most victorious motorcycle group of all times, and Aprilia, born into racing, is the true sports banner for the Piaggio Group.

With 294 Grand Prix races won in World Championship GP Motorcycle Racing, Aprilia holds the record for the most wins of any European manufacturer in the history of top motorcycle competition. These race wins are joined by 54 world titles: 38 in the World Motorcycle Championship (20 in the 125 class and 18 in the 250 class), 7 in Superbike (double Rider/Manufacturer title in 2010, 2012 and 2014, Manufacturer in 2013) and 9 in the Off Road disciplines (7 in Supermoto and 2 in Trial). The Aprilia trophy case also includes the 2005 Superstock 1000 FIM Cup, won with the RSV4 RF ridden by Lorenzo Savadori, currently riding an Aprilia in World Superbike alongside Eugene Laverty.

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Aprilia, with 54 world titles, is the crowned jewel of the Piaggio Group's trophy case, filled with 104 world titles won by the Aprilia, Gilera, Moto Guzzi and Derbi brands.

Aprilia is one of the most victorious brands in motorcycle racing history, having won an astonishing 54 world titles in its young career. These are championship wreaths that Aprilia has won from 1992 to the present, 28 achieved since - in 2005 - the Manufacturer from Noale joined the Piaggio Group.

• 38 titles in Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing (20 in 125 and 18 in 250).

• 7 titles in Superbike (Rider and Manufacturer in 2010, Rider and Manufacturer in 2012, Manufacturer in 2013, Rider and Manufacturer in 2014).

• 9 titles in the Off-Road disciplines (7 in Supermoto and 2 in Trial).

In Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing Aprilia has won 294 Grand Prix races and has won 52 (with another 121 podiums) in Superbike.

The Aprilia trophy case also includes the victory in the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup with the RSV4 RF ridden on the track by Savadori.

But above all, Aprilia Racing has represented from its birth, an unrepeatable forge of talent. All the riders that have made motorcycling history in the last few decades have made their début on the bikes from Noale. Most memorable among these, in addition to Max Biaggi who won three 250 world titles with Aprilia from1994 to 1996, are: Loris Capirossi (250 World Champion with Aprilia in 1998), Valentino Rossi (125 Championship in 1997 and 250 in 1999), Jorge Lorenzo (250 Championship in 2006 and 2007), Casey Stoner (250 second place in 2005), not to mention Manuel Poggiali, Marco Simoncelli, Alvaro Bautista and Kazuto Sakata.

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Compared to Aprilia's golden role, the Piaggio Group trophy case is even more impressive, combining other extraordinary brands as well, such as Moto Guzzi, Gilera and Derbi.

Aprilia: 54 championship titles

Derbi: 21 championship titles

Moto Guzzi: 15 championship titles

Gilera: 14 championship titles

On 15 March 1921 the "Società Anonima Moto Guzzi" was established in Genoa with the goal of "Manufacturing and sales of motorcycles and any other activity pertinent or connected to the metal mechanical industry". The partners in the Company were the renowned ship owner from Genoa Emanuele Vittorio Parodi, his son Giorgio and his friend Carlo Guzzi. Guzzi was a former comrade of Parodi’s in the Italian Air Corps, as was another friend Giovanni Ravelli, an aviator – like Parodi – who died, however, on 11 August 1919 during a test flight. It was in memory of this friend that the spread-winged eagle motif in the Moto Guzzi badge was chosen.

The company's first motorcycle was the legendary Normale 8 HP. This was followed by successful models such as the 1928 Guzzi G.T., dubbed “Norge” to commemorate the expedition to the Polar Arctic Circle, and the Airone 250 (1939), which remained Italy's best selling medium capacity motorcycle for over 15 years. Sports victories soon arrived: the first was the prestigious Targa Florio in 1921 which launched an impressive series of successes: the rich Moto Guzzi collection of wins when retiring from competition (1957) included an impressive 15 world speed titles and 11 Tourist Trophies.

With the eagle brand legendary motorcycling world champions were groomed such as: Bruno Ruffo (twice in 250), Bill Lomas (twice in 350), Enrico Lorenzetti (250), Fergus Anderson (twice champion in 350), and Keith Campbell (350). Seven championship titles were added to these in the Manufacturer competitions.

In 1950, Moto Guzzi installed a state of the art wind tunnel at Mandello del Lario, making it the first constructor worldwide to do so. The company's racing division was a team of brilliant minds, with engineers such as Umberto Todero and Enrico Cantoni, and a designer who would soon become a legend: Giulio Cesare Carcano of Milan, father of the 1956 Guzzi Otto Cilindri 500. This was a futuristic design that went down on motorcycle technical history because of its extremely refined technical solutions and its 285 kph top speed.

The Gilera story finds its roots in the early nineteen hundreds: the first bike to bear this name, the VT 317, was built in 1909 by Giuseppe Gilera. In the post war period, Gilera produced 500cc bikes with which it won some of the most important international competitions. 1936 was the year of the Rondine adventure, a racing bike ahead of its time with compressor and an in line 500cc four cylinder engine which allowed Dorino Serafini to win the 1939 European Championship.

After the war Gilera entered the racing sectors, the new 500 four cylinder became the dominating name in the MotoGP top class, engaging in epic duels with Norton, Moto Guzzi and MV Agusta, as well as taking six rider titles between 1950 and 1957 with Umberto Masetti (1950 and 1952), Geoff Duke (three time championship winner between 1953 and 1955) and Libero Liberati (1957). And six world Manufacturer titles also arrived, three Tourist Trophy wins and seven Italian titles. In all Gilera, before retiring from competition in 1957, had won 40 world Grand Prix races.

In 2001 Gilera (having joined the Piaggio Group in 1969) returned to the World Championship, 125 class, ridden by the young man from San Marino, Manuel Poggiali, who brought the Lombardy brand back to victory and was crowned World Champion, giving the two-ring brand its thirteenth championship title.

In 2006, following Aprilia's integration into the Piaggio Group, Gilera returned to the 250 class, ridden by a very young Marco Simoncelli. The 2008 season marked the first 250 victory in Gilera history: Marco Simoncelli dominated in the Italian GP at Mugello and doubled the success straight away in the next GP at Barcelona. He won again at the German GP, the Japanese GP and the Australian round and with his third place in the Malaysia GP he was crowned 250 World Champion. An Italian was once again World Champion on a Gilera 51 years after Libero Liberati. Marco finished his triumphant season by winning the final race in Valencia as well, and by doing it with extraordinary authority, riding his No. 58 Gilera decorated with a special livery to celebrate the brand's 100 year anniversary.

Derbi was established in Catalonia in 1922, founded by Simeòn Rabasa Singla. Initially it was a small bicycle repair workshop. After the Second World War Derbi began factory production of the first mopeds.

For Derbi the choice to enter the competition world was a strategic and long term one.

In more than forty years of racing the 'Balas Rojas', as the Spanish fans had christened the extremely fast Derbi bikes, had won 107 world championship Grand Prix races, reaching the extraordinary achievement of 21 world titles: 9 brand and 12 rider titles.

With Derbi great champions have raced, some winning world titles such as Angel Nieto (5-time champion on a Derbi), Jorge Martinez "Aspar" (4 times), Manuel "Champi" Herreros (1) and Mike Di Meglio (1). Others began their career to go on and become World champions in the top class such as unforgettable riders Barry Sheene and Alex Crivillè. The most recent young champion to ride the historic Catalonia brand to victory was Marc Marquez. In 2010 Marquez dominated the final 125 class season, earning an impressive 10 wins and 12 pole positions, being crowned 125 World Champion and riding Derbi to the Manufacturer championship title.