Jorge “Aspar” Martinez has once again been linked with being a part of Aprilia’s alleged entry into MotoGP racing. Reportedly working with Aprilia to develop a 1000cc motor based off the RSV4 Superbike powerplant that’s dominating World Superbike right now, Aspar and Aprilia have denied any intention to go racing together in MotoGP.
For his part, Aspar currently has his hands full racing in all three of the GP series, while Aprilia has voiced that its priority right now is winning in WSBK. The final nail in the coffin for this rumor is its timeframe of a 2011 entry, which barring another rule change from the GP Commission, is still an 800cc rule year.
That doesn’t mean that we can’t rule out an Aprilia MotoGP bid for 2012 though. With a claiming rule team structure and 1000cc displacement, there’s been a bit of speculation about near-production motors making it into premiere GP racing with prototype chassis. Assuming Aprilia cleans house this season in WSBK, the Italian brand may look for new grounds to conquer, with MotoGP being the next logical step.
Entering the new series, the company from Noale could gain a wealth of GP experience from Team Aspar, which has successfully campaigned in 125GP and 250GP. Team Aspar is currently 7th in the new Moto2 series with Julian Simon, after rocky start with the RSV chassis, and is 11th with Hector Barbera on the bright yellow Paginas Amarilla Aspar Ducati.
Despite the fact this rumor has a misguided entry date, the timing would be right for Aprilia to begin development now, for a 2012 entry. This season and the next could also prove a very valuable dry run for Team Aspar running a MotoGP team, which may or may not be part of Aprilia’s plan. As always, time will tell.
Source: Motocuatro via MotoBlog.it
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