Aprilia Racing is a motorcycle racing factory team of competing in the MotoGP World Championship owned by Aprilia, subsequently by the Piaggio Group.
History Despite being a relatively small company by global motorcycling standards, Aprilia is very active in motorcycle sports. It contested many Road Racing formulae, including the now-defunct 125 cc, 250 cc and 500 cc Grand Prix classes of the FIM World Championship. From 2002 to 2004, they participated in the FIM MotoGP World Championship, and from 1999 to 2002, they participated in the FIM Superbike World Championship. Aprilia has returned to World Superbike since the 2009 season and in MotoGP since the 2012 season.
Aprilia also feature in the off-road racing world, with their 450 cc V-2 motocrosser producing respectable results (including race wins) in both off-road (Motocross) and on-road (Supermoto) categories.
Aprilia made their international racing debut in the Motocross World Championship competing in the 125cc class from 1976 until 1981 with a best result being a fifth place in the 1979 season with rider Corrado Maddi. The firm then focused on the Grand Prix road racing world championships in 1985 and since then it has seen varying successes. Aprilia won their first world championship race at the 1987 San Marino motorcycle Grand Prix with rider Loris Reggiani winning the 250cc race. In , they won their first road racing world championship with Gramigni winning the 125cc class. They continued to be successful in the smaller displacement categories, winning numerous races and championships in the 125 cc and 250 cc Grand Prix classes.
However, their 500 cc Grand Prix bikes failed to attain the same success. They began campaigning in the 500cc class in 1994 with a 250 V twin motor enlarged to 380cc in hopes of using its lighter weight and nimble handling as an advantage against the heavier, V4 engine bikes used by the competition. The bike eventually displaced 430cc and had its best result with a third place by rider Doriano Romboni at the 1997 Dutch TT but, could never overcome power disadvantage during the starting line sprint and was withdrawn at the end of the season for further development. Their first MotoGP effort, dubbed the RS Cube, was technically advanced but difficult to ride and performed poorly in the championship. The Cube did, however, pioneer many advanced technologies including ride by wire throttle and pneumatic valve actuation systems. Aprilia left the MotoGP class at the end of and then left the lower classes when two-stroke engines were banned. Aprilia set the record for the most points earned by a manufacturer in a single season from the 125cc class with 410 points in . It was also the highest points earned by a constructor in Grand Prix motorcycle racing's history until when 420 points were won by the same bikes winning 16 out of 17 races.
The company is also notable for choosing atypical engine configurations. For example, they progressed with development of a V-2 500 cc Grand Prix bike when other teams were moving to V-4 configurations for what some believed was better and more usable power outputs. Aprilia continued this trend, taking advantage of lighter minimum weights with the introduction of their RS Cube MotoGP bike – featuring three cylinders in an inline triple layout, the bike had the fewest cylinders on the Grand Prix paddock.
Aprilia rejoined the MotoGP class in , taking advantage of the newly introduced Claiming Rule Team category that encouraged independent teams with lower budgets to use bikes from manufacturers not officially involved in MotoGP. Aprilia supplied RSV4 SBK-derived bikes under the ART (Aprilia Racing Technology) name to Aspar Team, Paul Bird Motorsport and Speed Master teams. In both the and seasons Aprilia's ART machinery stood out as the best CRT bikes.
In , Aprilia partnered with Gresini Racing as a factory-supported independent team. The team competed as the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini with an all-new 1000cc V4-engined RS-GP.
In , Aprilia entered the series as an official factory team for the first time since 2004. Their previously supported Gresini Racing team returned to a fully-independent team using Ducati bikes. Aprilia's factory team is named Aprilia Racing.
MotoGP Aprilia entered the Grand Prix road racing world championships in 1985 and since then it has seen varying successes.
On 15 August 2010, Aprilia became the most successful motorcycle racing brand in history, surpassing fellow Italian MV Agusta with a record 276th victory.
Early times
500 cc class Aprilia began campaigning in the 500cc class in 1994 with a 250 V twin motor enlarged to 380cc in hopes of using its lighter weight and nimble handling as an advantage against the heavier, V4 engine bikes used by the competition.
The bike eventually displaced 430cc and had its best result with a third place by rider Doriano Romboni at the 1997 Dutch TT but, could never overcome power disadvantage during the starting line sprint and was withdrawn at the end of the season for further development.
As MotoGP Many world champions started on Aprilia such as Biaggi, Capirossi, Gramigni, Locatelli, Sakata and Rossi.
First venture While having a technically advanced bike, Aprilia performed poorly in the championship in their first MotoGP effort.
They left the MotoGP class at the end of and then left the lower classes when two-stroke engines were banned.
Second Attempt Aprilia rejoined the MotoGP class in in the Claiming Rule Team category.
In , Aprilia entered the series as an official factory team as "Aprilia Racing" for the first time since 2004, and won its premier class grand prix at Argentina with Aleix Espargaró. A first-ever 1-2 result in a feature race was secured by Espargaró and Maverick Viñales at the 2023 Catalan Grand Prix.
In , defending riders' champion Jorge Martín signed for the factory team from Pramac Racing replacing the retiring Aleix Espargaró. Marco Bezzecchi also joined from the VR46 Racing Team, winning the British Grand Prix in his debut season with Aprilia. Bezzecchi would also win the final two races in Portugal and Valencia, giving Aprilia their first ever back-to-back wins in the premier class.
In March 2026, Aprilia Racing achieved a one-two finish at the 2026 United States motorcycle Grand Prix in Austin, with Marco Bezzecchi winning the race and Jorge Martín finishing second. Martín also won the sprint race, marking his first sprint victory with the team.
For , Aprilia Racing will retain Marco Bezzecchi while signing Francesco Bagnaia, who moves from the Ducati factory team.
Results
MotoGP results
By rider
Year Class Team name Bike Riders Races Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points Pos. 2022 MotoGP Aprilia Racing Aprilia RS-GP Maverick Vinales 20 0 3 0 0 122 11th Aleix Espargaró 20 1 6 2 2 212 4th 2023 Maverick Viñales 20 0 3 1 1 204 7th Aleix Espargaró 20 2 3 1 2 206 6th Lorenzo Savadori 3 0 0 0 0 9 (12) 24th 2024 Maverick Viñales 19 1 1 1 1 189 7th Aleix Espargaró 19 0 0 2 1 134 11th Lorenzo Savadori 3 0 0 0 0 0 (0) 28th 2025 Jorge Martin 7 0 0 0 0 34 21st Marco Bezzecchi 22 3 9 5 2 353 3rd Lorenzo Savadori 13 0 0 0 0 8 24th 2026 Aprilia Racing Monster Energy Jorge Martin 7 1 4 0 0 156* 2nd* Marco Bezzecchi 7 4 6 2 1 173* 1st*
By season (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Motorcycle Tyres Riders 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Points Points Points 2022 Aprilia RS-GP QAT INA ARG AME POR SPA FRA ITA CAT GER NED GBR AUT RSM ARA JPN THA AUS MAL VAL Aleix Espargaró 4 9 1 11 3 3 3 3 5 4 4 9 6 6 3 16 11 9 10 Ret 212 4th3343rd2483rd Maverick Viñales 12 16 7 10 10 14 10 12 7 Ret 3 2 13 3 13 7 7 17 16 Ret 122 11th Lorenzo Savadori Ret 21 22 20 19 0 NC colspan="2" 2023 POR ARG AME SPA FRA ITA GER NED GBR AUT CAT RSM IND JPN INA AUS THA MAL QAT VAL Maverick Viñales 25 127 4 Ret7 Ret9 12 Ret Ret7 53 68 23 56 88 199 24 11 Ret 11 46 104 204 7th 410 5th326 3rd Aleix Espargaró 96 15 Ret4 5 58 68 169 34 15 97 11 128 Ret 5 10 8 85 Ret Ret 8 206 6th Lorenzo Savadori 18 11 19 5 (12) 24thcolspan="2" 2024 QAT POR AME SPA FRA CAT ITA NED GER GBR AUT ARA RSM EMI INA JPN AUS THA MAL SLD Maverick Viñales 109 Ret1 11 9 53 128 85 53 127 138 7 Ret 16 6 67 Ret9 8 7 7 15 189 7th 335 4th 285 3rd Aleix Espargaró 83 88 75 Ret 95 41 119 DNS WD 63 93 10 Ret 8 Ret 9 168 9 13 54 134 11th Lorenzo Savadori Ret 21 DNS 20 0 (0) 28thcolspan="2" 2025 THA ARG AME QAT SPA FRA GBR ARA ITA NED GER CZE AUT HUN CAT RSM JPN INA AUS MAL POR VAL Jorge Martin Ret 7 Ret 49 10 138 DNS Ret 34 21st 395 5th 418 2nd Marco Bezzecchi 6 Ret6 6 99 148 14 14 88 56 23 Ret2 24 34 37 Ret 21 4 Ret1 31 116 13 153533rd Lorenzo Savadori 20 DNS 15 18 9 18 17 17 Ret Ret Ret 16 16 16 8 24th 2026 THA BRA USA SPA FRA CAT ITA HUN CZE NED GER GBR ARA RSM AUT JPN INA AUS MAL QAT POR VAL Jorge Martin 45 23 21 4 11 NC 22156*2nd* 329* 1st* 218* 1st* Marco Bezzecchi 1 14 F 1 2 23 49 14173*1st*
Other GP classes Aprilia has been successful in the smaller displacement categories, winning numerous races and championships in the 125 cc and 250 cc Grand Prix classes.
History Aprilia won their first world championship race at the 1991 Czechoslovak motorcycle Grand Prix with rider Alessandro Gramigni winning the 125cc race.
In , they won their first road racing world championship with Gramigni winning the 125cc class.
Aprilia set the record for the most points earned by a manufacturer in a single season from the 125cc class with 410 points in .
It was also the highest points earned by a constructor in Grand Prix motorcycle racing's history until when 420 points were won by the same bikes winning 16 out of 17 races.
Honours
Riders' championships YearClass Champion Motorcycle 125cc Alessandro Gramigni Aprilia RS125R Kazuto Sakata250cc Max BiaggiAprilia RSV 250Aprilia RSV 250 125cc Valentino Rossi Aprilia RS125R Kazuto Sakata 250cc Loris Capirossi Aprilia RSV 250 Valentino Rossi 125cc Roberto Locatelli Aprilia RS125R Arnaud Vincent 250cc Marco Melandri Aprilia RSV 250 Manuel Poggiali 125cc Álvaro Bautista Aprilia RS125R 250cc Jorge Lorenzo Aprilia RSW 250 125cc Gábor Talmácsi Aprilia RS125R 250cc Jorge Lorenzo Aprilia RSA 250 125cc Julián Simón Aprilia RSA 125 Nicolás Terol
Manufacturers' championships +250cc1995, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009125cc1996, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011
Superbike World Championship (SBK) In 1999, Aprilia entered the Superbike World Championship with a homologated special version of the RSV Mille.
They were third in the riders' championship in 2000 with rider Troy Corser, and third in manufacturers' points and fourth in rider points both in 2001 with Corser and in 2002 with Noriyuki Haga. Aprilia retired from the series at the end of that season.
In February 2008, Aprilia debuted a V-4 superbike, the RSV4, for the 2009 Superbike World Championship.
Aprilia won its first Superbike world championship in 2010 with Max Biaggi, claiming both the riders and the manufacturers titles.
Riders' championships YearChampionMotorcycle Max BiaggiAprilia RSV4 1000Aprilia RSV4 Factory Sylvain Guintoli
Manufacturers' championships
2010 2012 2013 2014
Other commitments Aprilia also feature in the off-road racing world, with their 450 cc V-2 motocrosser producing respectable results, including race wins, in both Motocross and Supermoto categories. Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing European Championship Aprilia has also participated in the European championships of various classes having won multiple championships across 250cc and 125cc classes.
Year 250 cc 125 cc 1988 Fausto Ricci 1989 Andrea Borgonovo Gabriele Debbia 2004 Álvaro Molina 2005 Álvaro Molina 2006 Álvaro Molina 2007 Álvaro Molina 2008 Lorenzo Savadori 2010 Maverick Viñales2011 Romano Fenati
Superstock 1000