Photo: motogp.com
Five rounds until the end of the 2015 season, Aprilia announces that the rider line-up currently racing in the MotoGP class will remain unchanged for 2016. This means that Aprilia Racing Team Gresini will field German Stefan Bradl and Spaniard Alvaro Bautista the next season, even though they will be riding a completely redesigned prototype.
Aprilia has laid off their former rider Marco Melandri after half a season of very poor results, and have received an unexpected "gift" from Forward Racing. The Swiss team confronted with very serious financial problems after team boss Giovanni Cuzari was arrested and were forced to miss the Indianapolis round.
Bradl expressed his intentions to make his best and not miss other rounds, and Forward were (more or less willingly) forced to let the German go. With the highest recommendations from Aprilia's iconic rider Max Biaggi supporting bringing Bradl in, the house of Noale moved quickly and made an offer the German was glad to accept.
However, developing the bike will not rest on Bradl's shoulders alone, as he will be helped by Moto2 Gresini rider Sam Lowes, who will thus also start getting acquainted with the premier class prototypes ahead of his most probable MotoGP appearance in 2017.
Ahead of the Aragon round, Aprilia's riders Bautista and Bradl are 16th and 20th in the world ranking, respectively.
Bradl expressed his intentions to make his best and not miss other rounds, and Forward were (more or less willingly) forced to let the German go. With the highest recommendations from Aprilia's iconic rider Max Biaggi supporting bringing Bradl in, the house of Noale moved quickly and made an offer the German was glad to accept.
Having a Moto2 world champion and Sam Lowes help develop the new bike
His experience with other machines was also a great asset for Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, as the biker has been working extensively on an all-new RS-GP bike prototype for 2016. Currently, Bradl is getting used to the 2015 motorcycle and even managed to earn two points at Brno.However, developing the bike will not rest on Bradl's shoulders alone, as he will be helped by Moto2 Gresini rider Sam Lowes, who will thus also start getting acquainted with the premier class prototypes ahead of his most probable MotoGP appearance in 2017.
Ahead of the Aragon round, Aprilia's riders Bautista and Bradl are 16th and 20th in the world ranking, respectively.
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