Following the presentation of its 2021 team, Aprilia now prepares for the Losail season-opener on 28 March.

There are high hopes for the new bike, the 2021 RS-GP, which is expected to put on a more convincing performance after a disappointing 2020 (also due to difficulties relating to the Covid pandemic).

Aprilia 2021 RS-GP: wind in your face

The bike with which Lorenzo Savadori and Pol Espargaró will take to the track benefits from various aerodynamic updates compared to the previous version used last season, with greater emphasis on those technical concepts that see the front section of the Noale GP bike resembling that of F1 cars.

The most obvious element are the new winged profiles that "soften", offering more of a ‘seagull wing’ design compared to last year’s sharper profiles. And this allows for an increase in surface area without increasing lateral bulk.

The central air vents should be more efficient when it comes to ‘catching’ the air in a zone where flow is not yet disturbed by the shape of the wings.

The fairing in the pan zone is now more rounded and appears more protective for the rider overall.

Carbon swingarm

One section that doesn’t appear to present any major new features is the rear end, which largely retains the shapes of the 2020 RS-GP, while the front disc cover does change, now more enveloping to better conduct flow to the radiator. Chassis updates include a new carbon fibre rear swingarm (with new lower spoiler).

Modifications made to the inside of the RS-GP are shrouded in secrecy for now, but we can see a different rear exhaust, which is straighter, and a lower exhaust that is shorter than that of the 2020 RS-GP.

In general, in looking at these first images, we see an attempt to add load to the front of the bike, to obtain greater directional precision and greater braking stability.

The engine remains an unknown and was a weak point of the 2020 bike. Only the track will be able to answer this question and confirm whether or not Albesiano and his team have been able to find the horsepower needed to keep pace with the competition.

Translated by Heather Watson

MotoGP: Aprilia Racing opens 2021 with Espargaro and Savadori