Aprilia will have three bikes on the MotoGP grid at a quarter of this year’s races, with test rider Lorenzo Savadori due to contest almost all of the six wildcard appearances the team’s status as a concession outfit allows it to take.
The announcement was made during a virtual unveiling of Aprilia’s 2022 RS-GP machine, a mainly-black design that has obvious links back to the RSV 1000 machine that Nori Haga took to fourth in the 2002 World Superbike championship.
Savadori was thrown into the role of race rider half way through the 2020 season to take the place of Bradley Smith, who himself had replaced the banned Andrea Iannone.
The purpose of that experiment, which continued until the middle of 2021 when Maverick Vinales arrived, was to develop the former superbike racer into an experienced MotoGP rider with the ability to accurately test for the team – something that boss Massimo Rivola told The Race in an exclusive interview last weekend had been confirmed at the Sepang test.
“It’s very difficult to do proper tests with the race riders,” he explained, “but so far Lorenzo has done a very good job.
“The good thing is what he said. We told him not to say anything to the other two, they also rode the bike, and they said the same thing. So if the feeling is the same, the direction to go in is the same.”
Savadori will get the chance to ride at five of the 2022 season’s 21 races.
The Italian himself confirmed to The Race that the five races in question will be at Portimao, Jerez, Mugello, Assen and Misano.
“I’ve been part of the MotoGP project since 2020,” the 28-year-old said at the launch.
“I’m growing together with the bike and I’m really happy. This year I’ll use five wildcards, so I’ll be in various races. It’ll be an important year for me to gain more and more confidence in this category.”
