With only a few weeks remaining in the commencement of the 2019 MotoGP season, Aprilia revealed its new livery. Unlike the white, red, and green design of that it had in the 2018 season, the new theme is dominated by black accompanied by red, green, and yellow highlights.
This season riding the Aprilia RS-GP will be Aleix Espargaro and his new teammate Andrea Iannone. Both the riders were present at the time of the unveiling of the new livery which took place on the eve of the final pre-season test in Qatar.
#Aprilia: all new team and bikes, the 2019 #MotoGP challenge has begun! 👍@MotoGP @AleixEspargaro @andreaiannone29 @BradleySmith38
Discover more: https://t.co/B1WNjN6SBg pic.twitter.com/6zRF0EjtOk— Aprilia (@ApriliaOfficial) February 22, 2019
Iannone, who was previously in the Ducati team, concluded the final day of the Sepang test, which took place earlier this month, a promising seventh-fastest, just under eight tenths off the pace. He sat out the last day of running in Malaysia as he recovered from a mouth infection, and had his place taken by new test rider Bradley Smith, the new test/wild-card rider. Smith is again joining Aprilia’s two race riders as he gears up for his first wildcard appearance of the year in the 2019 curtain-raiser on March 10.
Former Ferrari Formula 1 man Massimo Rivola has been brought on board as Aprilia Racing’s new CEO, allowing previous team chief Romano Albesiano to focus more on the technical aspects of his role in 2019.
Speaking on the unveiling Rivola said, “It is no exaggeration to think of us as a ‘David’ against the giants of world motorcycle racing and I have no problem with this comparison since, in the end, David triumphed.”
