Official: Aprilia re-signs Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales
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The contract extensions were officially announced on the eve of the factory’s home Italian MotoGP at Mugello and means Aprilia is now the first team to complete its full rider line-up for 2023.Espargaro made history with Aprilia’s first ever premier-class win in Argentina this year and arrives at round eight a close second in the world championship.Aprilia Racing CEO Massimo Rivola said: “I’m very happy to announce Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales will continue with Aprilia for the next two years.”I didn’t consider any other [rider] options… Aleix helped to build this ‘family’ with us and we consider Maverick inside this family.”Related 2023 MotoGP World Championship – Rider line-up so far Valentino Rossi’s memorable home Mugello MotoGP momentsDespite earlier talk of difficult negotiations, Espargaro will now remain with Aprilia for eight seasons, having helped bring the RS-GP project from the back to the front of the grid.Valentino Rossi’s memorable home Mugello MotoGP moments MotoAmerica: ‘We needed to get to Danilo Petrucci more quickly’ Exclusive: Kawasaki confirms it has no interest in replacing Suzuki in MotoGPAfter finally breaking Aprilia’s long-held MotoGP best of sixth place with a podium at Silverstone 2021, Espargaro has gone on to take more rostrums (four) than any other rider so far this year.”I’m very happy,” Espargaro said. “We did a good job in the last six years. It’ll be eight years by the end of 2024. It’s extremely good on the human and technical side to stay here. Now I can be even more focused and calm. We have a big opportunity ahead of us this year.”Related MotoAmerica: ‘We needed to get to Danilo Petrucci more quickly’ MotoGP riders concerned by Finland, contracts, pay…The 32-year-old added: “People said it would be the end of my career when I left Suzuki for Aprilia. They said the same for Maverick coming from Yamaha last year. But we arrive here leading the teams’ championship.”With 98 points from seven rounds, Espargaro has already eclipsed his full-season points tally at Aprilia between 2017-2020 and is on course to sail past his 2021 total (120 points, eighth overall) by the midway stage of this season.”43067179.0008.jpg While Espargaro’s stunning results meant it would have been a shock if he hadn’t reached a new agreement with Aprilia, Vinales’ future seemed less clear and – with so many other riders yet to sign – many believed Aprilia might wait before deciding on the second seat.Instead they have shown their faith in Vinales, who made his Aprilia MotoGP race debut in September last year, following a shock mid-season split from Yamaha.A race winner on both the Suzuki GSX-RR (1) and M1 (8), Vinales has a best result of seventh so far on the RS-GP, but feels he has the pace to achieve much more if he can qualify higher on the grid.”I’m very happy to continue with the progress and work here,” said Vinales. “It’s a boost of confident to be inside a high level factory like Aprilia and we are building up strongly. As soon as I entered the Aprilia family I felt it was my place.””5Espargaro’s five podium finishes since Silverstone last season means Aprilia will join the other MotoGP manufacturers in competing without any technical concessions from 2023.Aprilia Racing technical director Romano Albesiano said: “It’s crucial to keep the same riders. Changing would have been a difficult challenge. I’m very happy and proud to keep working with Aleix, it’s been a long story, and I’m pretty sure with Maverick we will get to the same level.”Vinales and Espargaro join only Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda), Franco Morbidelli (Monster Yamaha), Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) in having an official place on next year’s MotoGP grid.”6But with Suzuki leaving MotoGP, available factory team seats are now limited to just one place each at Repsol Honda, Ducati Lenovo, Monster Yamaha and Red Bull KTM, with reigning champion Fabio Quartararo’s new Yamaha deal increasingly seen as a formailty.More follows…This is a breaking news story. will continue to bring you updates – please refresh this page for the latest details.Follow for all your motorsport live coverage, breaking news and expert analysis. We are your No 1 source for the big races in Formula 1, MotoGP, Superbike World Championship, British Superbike Championship, Indy Car, NASCAR, World Rally and every other major motorsport championship.will bring you lap-by-lap updates from the best races every weekend across two wheels and four wheels – we are your ultimate home of motorsport.
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