Four years after entering MotoGP, for KTM, Miguel Oliveira is close to starting the new season – the Portuguese Grand Prix will be on the 26th -, now in Aprilia’s new secondary team, the Malaysian RNF, and using the Italian bikes of the year past. Reaching the factory formation this year is out of the question, but next year, “never say never”, as Massimo Rivola revealed to “Speedweek”.
Aprilia’s competition director foresees, for example, that if Aleix Espargaró “want to leave, to focus on his passion for road cycling, there will be a vacancy”. Aleix, 33, has two seasons left on his contract, as does Maverick Viñales, five years younger. Rivola says that “Miguel knows that”, but sometimes there are sudden changes, and recalls that, “midway through the 2021 season, Maverick left Yamaha, albeit for bad reasons”.
Miguel Oliveira is focused on the start of the World Cup, having tests already on the 11th and 12th, in Portimão, and he may still have the hope that, in 2024, Aprilia will deliver an updated motorcycle to the RNF, similar to what Ducati does with the Pramac , Honda in connection with LCR and KTM with Tech3-GasGas.
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