Although the agreement has not yet been signed, Motorsport.com understands that the intention of both parties is to sign it before the next appointment on the calendar, in Montmeló, next week.
Everything is ready for RNF, the old team refounded on the basis of Sepang Racing Team (SRT), and directed by Razlan Razali, to stop racing Yamaha motorcycles after four years.
In fact, Aprilia and RNF had met at Le Mans to settle the matter, but there, Yamaha asked Razali for a little more time, until Mugello, where the Italian Grand Prix is held this weekend. However, the response that the Malaysian executive already obtained in Italy does not seem to have left him satisfied.
It is not yet clear if Yamaha will compete next year with only two bikes, which, on paper, will correspond to Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli, or if on the contrary it will ally itself with some other team, given the void that Suzuki will leave. .
Aprilia has been thinking about the possibility of articulating a satellite team for some time, even though the lack of infrastructure, on the one hand, and the lack of offers, on the other, delayed the consolidation of the project.
A few weeks ago, however, Massimo Rivola, Aprilia’s racing CEO, acknowledged in a statement to Motorsport.com that this route was not dead yet: “If we receive interesting offers that can make the project grow, we will value it.”
Well, this proposal has come from the hand of Razali, who is not at all satisfied with the treatment received from Yamaha, especially because of the high price he must pay for the rental of his two motorcycles, considerably higher than the amount who asks for Aprilia, or Ducati .
While waiting for everything to close, Aprilia and RNF are already discussing who will be the two riders that will make up the team. WithU, the main sponsor of RNF this year, is an Italian company, and for this reason I would welcome the change from Yamaha to Aprilia. Along the same lines, one of the best placed riders to disembark there is Celestino Vietti, current leader of the Moto2 World Championship.
