Photo: motogp.com
Team Aprilia Racing Gresini is considering putting an early end to the contract with Marco Melandri. Even though in certain conditions, Melandri's performance seemed to be improving, drawing the line leaves both Romano Albesiano and Fausto Gresini frustrated with the lack of consistency from the Ravenna pilot.
After the utterly disappointing race at Mugello, both the factory and the racing outfit revealed that they have been talking about possibly replacing Melandri. The head of the Aprilia Racing program and the manager of the team plan to have a private discussion with Melandri very shortly and try to figure out the best course of action.
For Aprilia, 2015 is a transitional year, and everybody at ART and Gresini knows this. They are developing and testing new technologies that will be employed in the 2016 iteration of the bike, which is also supposed to be a completely new machine.
Bautista earned 5 points in the first six races of the season, and looks like he is getting better with each passing round, especially as the new technologies, such as the seamless gearbox, are implemented and finely tuned.
As opposed to Bautista, Melandri has constantly been struggling to avoid being the last rider to pass under the checkered flag and it looks like Aprilia has sort of had enough of this. The two officials mentioned still trying to find a solution that works for Melandri, but are already considering a replacement.
The first name on the list seems to be that of Alex De Angelis, with Mattia Passini apparently also possibly in for a ride on Aprilia Gresini machinery. The new Aprilia bike, however, needs a pilot with MotoGP experience, Gresini adds, so having a rookie as a developer is not the smartest move.
Either way, Aprilia needs to act fast, as Albesiano said, in early May, that the 2016 machine will be on track in November. Was Mugello Melandri's final MotoGP race? We'll find out soon.
For Aprilia, 2015 is a transitional year, and everybody at ART and Gresini knows this. They are developing and testing new technologies that will be employed in the 2016 iteration of the bike, which is also supposed to be a completely new machine.
Relying on a single rider for development instead of two is not helping Aprilia
With such difficult tasks ahead, nobody is expecting either of the riders to pose a real threat at the middle of the time sheets. However, it looks like Bautista is the only rider who can provide Aprilia with real feedback AND points.Bautista earned 5 points in the first six races of the season, and looks like he is getting better with each passing round, especially as the new technologies, such as the seamless gearbox, are implemented and finely tuned.
As opposed to Bautista, Melandri has constantly been struggling to avoid being the last rider to pass under the checkered flag and it looks like Aprilia has sort of had enough of this. The two officials mentioned still trying to find a solution that works for Melandri, but are already considering a replacement.
The first name on the list seems to be that of Alex De Angelis, with Mattia Passini apparently also possibly in for a ride on Aprilia Gresini machinery. The new Aprilia bike, however, needs a pilot with MotoGP experience, Gresini adds, so having a rookie as a developer is not the smartest move.
Either way, Aprilia needs to act fast, as Albesiano said, in early May, that the 2016 machine will be on track in November. Was Mugello Melandri's final MotoGP race? We'll find out soon.
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