Aprilia faced a challenging post-race MotoGP test in Valencia on Tuesday (18 November), with Marco Bezzecchi admitting the team had “not enough time” to properly evaluate its new aerodynamics package.
Overnight rain delayed the start by more than two hours, forcing Aprilia to squeeze its testing programme into limited track time—despite the session being extended by 30 minutes.
Bezzecchi said the conditions made it difficult to draw clear conclusions:
“Of course it’s different, but as always, not enough time to really understand. We tested many things, but the day was particular because of the weather. Mixed feelings — positives for sure, but also doubts and negatives.”
The reduced running meant Aprilia couldn’t complete the usual back-to-back comparisons between the updated bike and the final 2025-spec RS-GP.
“If you want to try more things, you have to focus on them. No chance for the back-check, and the back-check is super important to understand,” Bezzecchi explained.
He added that after riding the 2025 bike for thousands of kilometres this season, evaluating new components in only 40–50 laps made it impossible to make definitive decisions.
Bezzecchi’s assessment mirrors that of Jorge Martin, who was more clearly positive about a new chassis but also acknowledged the test’s limitations.
Despite some promising signs, Aprilia now heads into the off-season with data to analyse—but no firm conclusions yet.
