What is behind Aprilia's breakout MotoGP season?

Marco Bezzecchi and Raul Fernandez have hailed Aprilia’s new technical director Fabiano Sterlacchini following the marque’s impressive ascent towards the front of the field in MotoGP.

Sterlacchini joined Aprilia at the end of the 2024 season after successful stints at KTM and, most notably, Ducati, where he worked closely with general manager Gigi Dall’Igna.

Under the Italian engineer’s stewardship, Aprilia is enjoying its best season ever in MotoGP, winning grands prix in Britain and Australia and climbing to second position in the manufacturers’ standings behind Ducati.

While the RS-GP scored victories in both 2023 and ‘24, it has evolved into a bike that performs consistently across a wide range of tracks, with Aprilia addressing long-running weaknesses such as heat dissipation at Asian venues.

Factory Aprilia rider Bezzecchi highlighted Sterlacchini’s intelligence, experience and approachable character as key qualities behind the team’s progress in 2025.

“First of all, he is a super intelligent person - not just on the motorbikes side, but in general, you can speak about everything and he knows many many things,” said the four-time race winner. “This is super cool because having a conversation outside of racing is super nice with him. 

Fabiano Sterlacchini, Technical director Aprilia Racing, Paolo Bonoro, Team manager Aprilia Racing

Photo by: Aprilia Racing

“In terms of racing, his know-how is super big and he has a lot of experience. He is also a nice character so he doesn't put you in a difficult situation. When I speak sometimes with some [other] engineers, I feel [I know] a bit less than them in terms of knowledge. With Fabiano, it is super different, it’s amazing to stay with him. 

“He has a lot of experience, he's super calm and super professional, and I feel very good with him.”

Trackhouse rider Fernandez first raced a bike designed by Sterlacchini in 2022 when he stepped up to MotoGP with Tech3 KTM. This season, Sterlacchini’s guidance helped him claim his maiden MotoGP victory at the Australian Grand Prix.

“It was a little bit strange at the beginning because I had the possibility to work with him at KTM when I just came to MotoGP, but we didn't really work together,” Fernandez revealed.

“This year, at the beginning of the season I didn’t have enough time to work with him because of my injury, but during the last GPs he was the person helping me to make the last step to arrive at this kind of position. 

“I am super happy to work with him. It's true that he is a super good person. But also in my case, he helped me a lot, especially in the last moment when I had to make the final step.”