Raul Fernandez-Aprilia, what happened? Rivola apologizes

Aprilia continues to battle for the top positions in the races and in the MotoGP riders’ standings. But the Aragon GP allowed Marc Marquez to overtake Marco Bezzecchi, who slips to third place, and to close in on the leader Marco Bezzecchi (+19). A bitter pill for Raul Fernandez, forced to retire due to a mechanical issue on his RS-GP.

The weekend at MotorLand Aragon was really hard to swallow for Raul Fernandez, seventh in the overall standings. The Trackhouse rider had to retire, while running in sixth place, due to a technical failure. Despite the frustration and disappointment, the Madrid native refused to explain what happened after the race. "I can’t say what happened, it was a mechanical problem. I want to thank the team for the work they did, because it wasn’t the weekend I expected."

Television footage clearly showed the Aprilia with the #25 suffering from vibrations during the race. A retirement that comes at the decisive moment of the MotoGP season, definitively shattering Raul Fernandez’s title dreams, after his win at Silverstone, third place at the Sachsenring, and second at Assen.

Following these mechanical issues, Aprilia’s CEO, Massimo Rivola, publicly apologized to the 25-year-old from Madrid. "I want to publicly apologize to Raúl, because when there’s a technical problem, whether it’s a mechanic’s mistake or something that doesn’t work on the bike, it’s right to apologize to the rider, just as he apologizes to us when he makes a mistake."

Aprilia cannot afford this kind of error if it wants to stay in the title fight. Rivola is fully aware of that. "It’s a problem that needs to be analyzed. Now we’ll send the bike back home and see what happened. But these are warning signs that require a decisive response."

In the current MotoGP season, Aprilia has already won seven of the 13 Grands Prix held so far and leads all three standings: riders, constructors, and teams. The Noale manufacturer continues to work on detailed improvements to the current RS-GP. At Silverstone it introduced aerodynamic updates, while at Aragon a new rear wing was debuted. Aprilia can boast four riders in the top seven in the standings, while Ducati has only two. Proof that the Veneto prototype is not only competitive but also adaptable to various riding styles.

The engineers are also working on the new 850cc bike set to debut in 2027. A double workload that is anything but simple. "Yes, we’ve started working eight days a week and 25 hours a day," Paolo Bonora joked to MotoGP.com. "It’s difficult... We know we have this opportunity and we’re going for it."

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