Published: 21 Aug 2024
Plaguing Aprilia: Vinales and Espargaro Voice Concern Over THIS Issue
Aprilia riders Maverick Vinales and Aleix Espargaro struggle with braking issues at the Austrian MotoGP the team must address to remain competitive.
The Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring proved to be a challenging weekend for Aprilia, with their riders struggling to keep up with the competition due to significant issues under braking.
Despite a promising start in the sprint race, where Aleix Espargaro secured a respectable third place, the team faltered during the main event on Sunday, leaving both Espargaro and Maverick Vinales voicing their concern over the RS-GP’s braking performance.
Finishing seventh in the Grand Prix, Maverick Vinales highlighted the critical braking issues that have become increasingly apparent in recent races.
The Spaniard noted that while the RS-GP is competitive in high-speed corners, its performance drops significantly in stop-and-go sections like the Red Bull Ring’s Turns 1 to 4.
“The bike is not loading the front tyre well during braking, which means we’re not getting the maximum performance out of it,” Vinales explained.
“This problem worsens the longer the race is. The heat causes the front tire pressure to increase, which makes it even harder to manage the bike through corners.”
The race saw Vinales drop from his sixth-place starting position, unable to regain ground after being overtaken by Brad Binder and Marco Bezzecchi early on.
Teammate Espargaro echoed the Spaniard’sstruggles. He pointed out that the RS-GP’s tightly packed front end and large aerodynamic elements were contributing to the overheating issues.
“Our bike is very compact, and the aero elements are causing the front to overheat, especially in high-temperature conditions like we had here [at the Red Bull Ring],” Espargaro said.
He added that following the KTMs exacerbated the problem, pushing the temperature of his carbon brake discs to unprecedented levels.
“I had no proper braking power for the entire race, which made it very difficult to maintain a competitive pace,” he admitted.
The braking issue is not a new one for Aprilia, but it was particularly pronounced at the Red Bull Ring, leaving a performeance gap that Massimo Rivola called “unacceptable” after the race.
“We are strong in qualifying and the sprint, but over the longer race distance, our braking issues become too much to overcome,” Rivola said.
“We’ve gathered a lot of data this weekend, and now it’s about finding solutions. The gap to the competition is simply too big at the moment.”
