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Category: Moto GP
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APRILIA RACING SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH DORNA THROUGH 2026
FROM THE 2022 SEASON, THE RS-GP FACTORY BIKES WILL BE ON THE TRACK WITH THE OFFICIAL APRILIA RACING TEAM
Aprilia Racing is pleased to announce the signing of an agreement with Dorna Sports to participate in the MotoGP World Championship through 2026.
For the next five seasons, Aprilia Racing will be one of the protagonists in the top motorcycle racing competition in the world, thereby reaffirming its mission of technological research and experimentation excellence within the Piaggio Group.
From 2022, Aprilia Racing will participate as manufacturer, with the official RS-GP machines on the track as a factory team, as the agreement has ended with Gresini Racing, which accompanied Aprilia Racing’s participation in the championship since 2015. In the moving and heartfelt memory of Fausto, Aprilia Racing holds team Gresini in the highest regard and wishes to thank them for these years together.
Aprilia is one of the most victorious brands in motorcycle racing history, having won an astonishing 54 world titles in its young career, 38 in World Championship GP Motorcycle Racing, 7 in Superbike and 9 in Off Road disciplines. With 294 GP wins, it is the European brand that has won the most races in World Championship GP Motorcycle Racing. Many of the riders who have made motorcycling history in the last few decades have made their début on the bikes from Noale. These World Champions include Max Biaggi, Loris Capirossi, Alex Gramigni, Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, Casey Stoner, Manuel Poggiali, Marco Simoncelli and Alvaro Bautista.
Massimo Rivola – Aprilia Racing CEO
“I am obviously happy about this agreement. From next season, we will be participating as Aprilia Racing Factory Team. This opens up new and hopefully great opportunities and we will need to manage many additional responsibilities. It is a natural step that we are taking just as we are beginning to see the first positive signs from the hard work we’ve done in Noale, first and foremost on our structure, and consequently on our beautiful RS-GP bikes. At this time, our thoughts and gratitude go to Gresini Racing, who have accompanied us in these years. In heartfelt memory of Fausto, I wish the team and all its staff the best success for the coming seasons.”
Carmelo Ezpeleta - Dorna Sports CEO
“Dorna and Aprilia extending their partnership is really positive news for the FIM MotoGP World Championship. We are excited to continue this association with the Italian manufacturer in a project that has set many fascinating goals, not just in racing performance, but in overall technical excellence of the championship.”
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THE ELECTRIC SEASON STARTS AT JEREZ FOR INDONESIAN E-RACING GRESINI MOTOE 
Two tests with some ups and downs and now it is time to race for Team Indonesian E-Racing Gresini MotoE, who will make its debut this weekend with new colours and the same type of goals. Matteo Ferrari and Andrea Mantovani will be the protagonists of this 2021 season and the first event of the year is on paper a very interesting challenge.
Matteo Ferrari, title winner in 2019 and runner up last year, will aim at racing at the sharp end of the field and, to do so, he will need to bridge the gap with the quickest riders in the last test: his goal is to get the crown back.
Less pressure on the rookie Andrea Mantovani, who has already shown a great degree of adaptability in the category, and who will test his skills at Jerez de la Frontera from Friday 30 April with the first free practice session.
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The 2021 World Championship season has just started, with teams Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3, Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 and Indonesian E-Racing Gresini MotoE sporting the new brand RidingStyle that will provide all teamwear for both squads in 2021. 
This is a partnership with the company director Tedy Suryadi that gets to its seventh year, making it a natural continuation of a historical working path for Gresini Racing and RidingStyle, two institutions united by passion, experience and competence.
TEDY SURYADI - RIDINGSTYLE DIRECTOR
“It is always an honour for me and RIDINGSTYLE to work hand in hand with GRESINI RACING, a world-class company that has been involved in the Moto3, Moto2, MotoGP and MotoE world championships. I have interacted directly for 6 years in providing the needs of the Gresini's team uniform in a family atmosphere, called the #gresinifamily. The interaction makes me have a real feel like part of the Gresini family. Both RIDINGSTYLE, my brand, and GRESINI RACING share common vision, mission and passion, which is to build and advance the business, the family and also the Nation through the MotoGP world championship. I would like to thank Gresini Racing for providing this great opportunity for RIDINGSTYLE, a start-up business company with its world-class qualified competences to become a technical supplier for Gresini Racing through the Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3 Team and Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 team projects. This collaboration does not only bring benefits to each party in the MotoGP world championship but also encourages the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs/UMKM) in Indonesia. "We are Gresini Family, Terimakasih!"
CARLO MERLINI – GRESINI RACING COMMERCIAL & MARKETING DIRECTOR
“We are really delighted to announce the partnership with RidingStyle. We know Tedy for long time as we have been working together in the development of the Gresini’s team clothing and merchandise already for 6 years now, therefore it came natural to embrace the opportunity to keep the partnership going also in connection with his new brand Riding Style. The experience that Tedy brings is extremely important to understand the specific needs of the team. Gresini Racing, as a world level team, is always on the quest for improvements and R&D and RidingStyle has proven to be the right partner to meet such demanding requirements. Welcome RidingStyle among the technical partners of Federal Oil Gresini Moto2, Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3 and Indonesian E-Racing Gresini MotoE teams!”.
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FORMULA1 AND MOTOGP TOGETHER FOR A TRIBUTE TO FAUSTO GRESINI
Imola, Portimao - 18 April 2021. The last farewell from the motorsport world to Fausto Gresini was a commemorative event done together by Formula1 and MotoGP. 
For the first time in history – and live worldwide – The Formula1 and MotoGP World Championship have joined together in the memory of Fausto Gresini by linking together the Portimao and Imola grids in what was a heartfelt goodbye to the Gresini Racing team principal.
A big thank you goes to Stefano Domenicali (Formula1 CEO) and Carmelo Ezpeleta (Dorna Sports CEO) who advocated for this initiative that linked the two biggest worldwide motorsport series in the memory of Fausto.
STEFANO DOMENICALI – CEO FORMULA1
“To remember Fausto Gresini means to scroll through some of the most beautiful sporting pages of our hometown Imola. The passion for motors and motorsports has tied us together from an early age. Fausto not only has been a World Champion, but also an incredible scout of extraordinary talents, who left their mark into two-wheeled motorsport. He will never be forgot.”
CARMELO EZPELETA – CEO DORNA SPORTS
“Fausto has been, without a doubt, among those who most contributed in bringing MotoGP to the level it is now. He was first of all a good friend and one of those key figures of our paddock. With his charisma and smile, he built one of nicest and best equipped teams of the paddock, and my goal is to keep his memory alive. He left a great family both outside and inside the paddock and we will miss him a lot. We celebrated him in Qatar with a heartfelt minute of silence, and I think this shared event with Formula1 is the ultimate proof of how important his figure has been in the whole motorsport world.”
NADIA PADOVANI – GRESINI RACING TEAM OWNER
“On behalf of myself, my kids and the whole Gresini Racing, I would like to thank, from the bottom of my heart, Stefano Domenicali and Carmelo Ezpeleta for having united the motorsport world to commemorate Fausto, a great man both in life and in the sport. We are immensely grateful and moved for this wonderful and unexpected tribute.”
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SOLID PERFORMANCE AND SIXTH PLACE FOR ALEIX ESPARGARÓ IN PORTUGAL
LORENZO SAVADORI CONTINUES TO IMPROVE AND EARNS HIS FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
THE APRILIA RS-GP, PUT TO THE TEST AFTER THE GOOD START IN QATAR, CONFIRMS ITS STATUS AS A GROWING PROJECT
Aleix Espargaró rode his Aprilia RS-GP to a sixth-place finish in the Portuguese GP, held on the Portimão track, keeping the gaps to a minimum: just over 8 seconds behind the winner and less than 4 from the podium.
It is a nice result that represents his third top-ten finish in the first three races. Never before had Aleix started a championship this well with Aprilia, so much that he is lying sixth in the overall standings. And the result could have been even better, but after a warm-up session where he had demonstrated a better pace than the one he had during the race, number 41 had to reckon with the highest heat of the weekend which conditioned the performance of the medium tyre chosen for the rear.
Aleix and Aprilia were put to the test after the good performance in Qatar and the RS-GP confirmed its status as an outstanding and growing project, while Aleix demonstrated great skill managing the race, in spite of the unexpected difficulties he had to face.
There is good news from the other side of the garage as well, confirming the improvements seen throughout the weekend and, thanks in part to a few crashes, Lorenzo Savadori earned his first championship points, finishing 14th.
ALEIX ESPARGARO'
"After the warm-up session where I had started on a used tyre and felt very good, I may have expected something more from this race. But we mustn’t forget the path that has brought us this far, battling in the leading group three races in a row, with speed and without mistakes. To be even more incisive, I was lacking a bit of grip at the rear, with the asphalt 20 degrees hotter than this morning, maybe choosing the hard tyre wouldn’t have been such a gamble. Without ever testing it thoroughly during the weekend, we didn’t feel confident enough and, all things considered, we continue demonstrating our value anyway. I am having more fun than ever in the saddle. I'm stoked and I can’t wait to get back on the track to see what satisfaction we’ll be able to take home next."
LORENZO SAVADORI
"My first points in the MotoGP World Championship are certainly an important detail, but the experience I continue to build race after race is worth more than anything else. Our goal is still to reduce the gap behind the leaders, as well as behind my teammate, and the results will come as a result. I lost a lot of ground in the early stages of the race today. My difficulties braking and cornering are accentuated with a full tank, whereas I was then able to maintain a pace similar to the group ahead of me."
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