At the end of 2018, the most popular arm of the Piaggio group in the field of racing announced the incorporation of the engineer, from Ferrari, with a view to the following year. There, Rivola played different roles, although, surely, the position of sports director that he held between 2009 and 2016, before going on to captain the Driver Academy, the development program for young drivers of ‘Il Cavallino Rampante’.
Through him passed, for example, the reports that gave the final impetus to Charles Leclerc. The signing of Rivola by Aprilia had a restorative effect on a structure that, until then, was going from dislike to dislike; a situation aggravated by the doping sanction imposed on Andrea Iannone (2019).
The plus that the Faenza executive has contributed goes beyond his specific knowledge. His entry on the scene allowed, on the one hand, to free Romano Albesiano from sports management, so that the highest technical manager could focus on the optimization and development of the RS-GP.
At the same time, the influence of the former Ferrari driver in the F1 paddock was paramount in convincing some of the key players in the resurrection of the Noale brand, which in just two seasons has gone from the catacombs to stardom, with Aleix Espargaró as visible face of a project that aspires to everything.
In 2020, Aprilia finished the World Championship in the last position of the table reserved for teams. After the halfway point in 2022, he is at the forefront of that statistic, with Espargaró in second place in the drivers’ standings, just 21 points behind Fabio Quartararo, the leader.
On the phone with Motorsport.com is Antonio Jiménez, the highest authority on the Espargaró workshop side, and one of the most experienced members of the World Championship paddock. “Massimo contributed many positive things.
He is a conciliatory person, who tries to motivate and convince through conversation rather than imposition. He tries very hard to create a good atmosphere within the team, and that is very important”, says Jiménez. “In addition,” he adds, “his hiring allowed Romano [Albesiano] to focus on what he likes. And then, it was also vital that, with Massimo, other pieces arrived that are now key and that coincided with him in F1 “.
Jiménez refers, above all, to the figures of Marco de Luca and Stefano Romeo, whose past was linked to Ferrari, in the golden age of the Maranello team, that is, with Michael Schumacher at the helm. “Aprilia now works with a system that comes from F1. Those who came from there had to adapt their four-wheel mentality to that of two,” says the Belgian, referring to the aerodynamics, with De Luca at the helm, and the electronics , which Romeo takes care of.
The introduction of simulation systems and the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools have been decisive in revitalizing a prototype that, at the moment, is seen as the most balanced on the grid.
“This whole process of change,” Jiménez emphasizes, “has also been possible thanks to the role of Aleix, who is the test of cotton when it comes to evaluating novelties and approving or discarding them.”
As a result of his nature as a person, Rivola has left friends wherever he has passed. One of them is Toni Cuquerella, who coincided with him at Ferrari and with whom he also shares a devotion to motorcycles.
“Massimo is great at generating unity within the team. Unlike other managers, he is very conciliatory and tries to convince through dialogue,” explains the Valencian engineer, current F1 race commentator on Dazn .
“In addition, he has a lot of experience in resource management, and he will surely propose viable investments for development,” Cuquerella elaborates.
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The most recent results allow us to conclude that Aprilia and Ducati are one step ahead of the Japanese teams, which continue to apply their traditional methods, those that are now in doubt and that many believe are, to some extent, obsolete.
“Aprilia’s way of working is different from that of, for example, Honda,” says a member of the Noale company, who in recent years has worked at the golden wing brand and at Suzuki. “Here”, he underlines in reference to Aprilia, “logically there are departments and work groups, but we all know what the others are working on. It is the method for all of us to get involved and help each other. Basically, because what some do influences or it can influence what others do. At Honda, by contrast, people in one division have no idea what those in another are working on.”
This authorized voice from the Aprilia garage attributes this structuring to Albesiano, in addition to highlighting his open-mindedness. “Unlike other bosses, Romano may not be convinced of an idea you propose to him, but he will let you carry it out if you think it will work. It shows that he is interested in winning, and that he is capable of leave the ego aside”, insists this authorized source.
The MotoGP World Championship will return in just over three weeks for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. It so happens that there, just a year ago, Aleix achieved Aprilia’s first podium in the MotoGP era. That was the starting point of a meteoric progression that no one cares to gauge how far it can go.
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