Suzuki with Two More Bikes in MotoGP, Still Has a Lot of Work Ahead, Aprilia Eyes Podium

Less than 24 hours after the dissatisfactory comeback in the premier class, Suzuki was back on the same track for the first official outing before the 2015 season started. This time, the Hamamatsu bikes had their contracted riders aboard, multiple CRT/ Open Class world champion Aleix Espargaro and rookie Maverick Vinales.

One second off and some KPH to work on, but the start is not looking bad

The kick-off test in Valencia showed Suzuki that there is still plenty of work for the house of Hamamatsu if they want to rival the big boys. Suzuki top hat Satoru Terada says the team still has to figure out where the problem lies, because it appears like the problem is the same every time, something which causes key elements to work less than ideally. The issue might be related to the electronics, as Suzuki is trying to adapt the Magneti Marelli software to a Mitsubishi ECU used previously.

Even so, Aleix Espargaro clocked exactly one second off the pace of Marc Marquez, and finished the Valencia test in the 10th position, less than 0.06s adrift Pramac Ducati’s Yonny Hernandez. At the same time, we should also mention that Suzuki is still lacking the power comparable to that the top riders enjoy, and the top speed is also lower. Marquez reached 333.7 km/h (207.4 mph), while Aleix Espargaro could only carry as much as 312.7 km/h (194.3 mph).

Even though Terada admits that dramatically increasing the power of an engine is not an easy task, Suzuki is working around the clock to solve this issue, too, while keeping an eye on the engine reliability.

Four Suzuki machines on the grid since 2017?

We may be in for no less than 4 Suzuki machines on the MotoGP grid as of 2017. It looks like it was the very Randy De Puniet who came up with the idea. A test rider for Hamamatsu in 2014, De Puniet will take over a GSX-R in the World Superbike, but it’s no secret that he is thinking about riding in the premier class. He says that Suzuki would definitely benefit from two extra satellite machines which would provide valuable help in the development of the factory bikes, as well.

Even more, Carmelo Ezpeleta and Dorna are said to ask Suzuki directly to bring a couple of extra bikes to the grid, following in the example of other factory teams, such as Honda, Yamaha and Ducati. Davide Brivio knows this moment will come, but he adds that this is definitely not happening in 2015. He even says that 2016 doesn’t look like a good time for putting up a satellite team either, as the GSX-RR prototype still needs a lot of work and this is a very resource-hungry process.

With Dorna’s outspoken goal to see factories lining up 4 bikes each, it will also be interesting to see how Aprilia will perform in this direction.

Piaggio wants Aprilia on the podium in 2016

Aprilia is another bike manufacturer who is trying to make it big in the premier class. With huge success in the road racing world added to its name, the house of Noale is eyeing podiums in 2016. At least this is what the President of the Piaggio Group, Roberto Colanino told Italian magazine Gazzetta dello Sport.

Aprilia is a part of the Piaggio Group and it’s obvious that the funds Romano Albesiano is getting to fix the MotoGP program are coming from Piaggio mostly. Anyway, the current bike is definitely not on par with the rest of the factory machines. Alvaro Bautista was 1.83 seconds slower than Marc Marquez in the Valencia tests, while Marco Melandri struggled with a 3.36s gap.

The 2015 bike is derived from the WSBK one, and a completely new machine is only expected in 2016. The pneumatic valve technology allows the bike team Aprilia Gresini runs to produce more power than expected, but the seamless transmission which will soon be a must in the class still has to wait. Even though the current state of the bike is already offering more performance than expected, Aprilia will definitely to up their game quite a bit if Colanino’s podium dreams are to become true.