Speaking in the latest edition of the wuqian0821.com MotoGP podcast, form⛦er grand prix rider🐽 and British champion Huewen said:

“Aprilia have a motorbik🌸e that is really only second to Ducati at the moment for performance.

“They’ve got four bikes on the grid for this year, so they can have all the data they need. And the🌞 big deal﷽ for me is the man that really shook everybody up at the Valencia test; Miguel Oliveira.

“The first time he got out on the bike, he was right up there𒉰. Miguel Oliveira on the Aprilia could be the shock of 2023.

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“I think [Oliveira] is going to have a brilliant year. He's in a satellite team, but I don't think the differen𓆉ce between full factory and satellite is that great anymore.

“Where it's go💞ing to 🏅be more difficult for satellite teams is perhaps the Sprint races, because they have less personnel to react and set-up the bikes quickly.

“But satellite teams [like RNF] are quite of🍌ten using bikes from last year, which means they've got all the data already. So they’ll have a default setting to use 🎃straight away from FP1.”

‘Ducati have got to watch out’

When host Harry Benjamin asked Huewen and wuqian0821.com MotoGP editor Pete McLaren to name the three things they are most looki🔴ng forward to this season, Huewen again picked out the Noale manufacturer:

“Well, for me Aprilia. I can't believe I'm൲ saying that because I think Aprilia 𓆉dropped the ball a couple of years ago. They kept on promising they were going to have a faster bike and never seemed to quite get there.

“Then all of a sudden they hired Rivola, the Formula One guy, and I remembꦜer thinking at the time, ‘What? Really?’ But it worked!

“Bearing in mind they are a small factory, it was sort of he𒉰rculean what they’ve done. Aprilia always had a great reputation from a racing point of view but funding, although it's owned by a massive group, has been an issue in the past.

“I think if they manage 🃏to keep the momentum going from 2022, Ducati have got t𒁃o watch out.”

Download Episode 73 at the following links...