CEO of Aprilia, Massimo Rivola, stated that Aprilia played a significant role in the decisions made regarding tire safety at the Japan GP. Rivola expressed his concern when Jorge Martin experienced tire issues in the Sprint race and emphasized that they pressured for the use of the hard tire for safety reasons.
Tire Issues are Critical from a Safety Perspective
Rivola stated that the damage experienced by Jorge Martin's tire was a serious warning not only in terms of performance but also in terms of safety.
Jorge's tire scared us. When the tire pieces broke, the rear wing was also damaged. Therefore, we did not know when it would happen; it could have been on lap 10, or lap 12.
Since the middle tire also carried the same structure, they expressed concern about the possibility of a similar issue occurring on Sunday.
The middle tire also had the same carcass. Therefore, it was a question of whether it would balloon or not. No one knew how long it would last.
Pressure Application for Safety
Rivola indicated that Aprilia was forced because some teams did not start hot, but safety was the issue.
Not everyone agreed on this matter. Some decisions require unanimity, but here the issue was safety. That is why we applied pressure.
According to the Italian manager, if there had been a 20-minute warm-up session, some riders could have chosen the middle tire and faced serious problems later in the race.
Advantage of the Hard Tire
Rivola stated that all riders chose the hard rear tire. He expressed that this decision after a long warm-up was correct and yielded a result above expected performance.
In the end, the hard tire proved to be perfect for everyone. It was good that everyone used the hard tire.
Rivola stated that Aprilia could choose the hard tire even in the Sprint race.
We would use the hard tire in the Sprint race too. There were also ballooning issues with Bezzecchi's middle tire. Miller's tire was already starting to break in places.
Michelin found a safer tire to be positive, taking into account the pressure from the new asphalt's high temperature.
You cannot blame anyone. When you do new asphalt, there are some consequences. Michelin's decision to provide a safer tire by considering excessive heating was the right precaution.
Evaluation of Championship Battles
Rivola evaluated the result of the Japan GP race. According to him, the competition is not only between Aprilia and Ducati, but also between Aprilia and Marc Márquez.
In my opinion, the competition is between Aprilia and Marc. Because other Ducatis were about 20 seconds behind Marc. We knew this; the competition was like last year between Marc and [another rider].
He emphasized how important it was for the team that Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi participated in the championship race for Aprilia, and expressed satisfaction with the results in Japan. Rivola stressed that they have a big Aprilia, but the opponent is a truly big Marc Márquez.
We showed once again that we have a big Aprilia, but our opponent is truly a big Marc. We know who he is. We congratulate him, but the season is still long.
Figures
- Jorge Martin finished in 1st place with 333 points in the 2026 MotoGP season (Aprilia Racing Team).
- Archive: The situation of competition between Aprilia and Ducati in MotoGP (September 26, 2026)
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Go to sourceCompiled by Şükrü Utku Poyraz
