Espargaro's Suzuki MotoGP experience to help Aprilia

Aprilia is in the early stages with its first full-blown MotoGP bike, the RS-GP, which missed the bulk of 2016's pre-season testing owing to delays.

Briton Lowes and Espargaro will replace incumbents Stefan Bradl and Alvaro Bautista.

While Lowes will be a MotoGP rookie, it will be the seventh season in the premier class for Espargaro, who has been heavily involved in shaping Suzuki's GSX-RR, now a frontrunning bike, since late-2014.

"That's great for me, in my first year I need to learn to ride the bike first," Lowes told Autosport.

"Whether it's an Aprilia or Yamaha, the first few times I ride the bike, I've got to learn to ride it, so it's going to be different.

"For me the project will be good having him as a team-mate because he's coming from a bike that's done the same job the last two years and it's improved.

"I bet from when he first got on [the Suzuki] to now there's a big difference, so hopefully when he first gets on [the Aprilia], he'll see where it's at and he'll be able to push it from that side.

"So I think it will work really well."

Aprilia has made progress with its RS-GP, but is still lacking useable power, while getting the weight of the package down is also a priority.

Bautista has recorded its best qualifying result, 13th at Jerez, with Bradl having its best race result of seventh at Termas de Rio Hondo.

"I think coming into the season, they'd done less that what people thought, they'd really not done many laps so I think what they're doing is great," Lowes said.

"MotoGP is a top level and it's hard to win in MotoGP, it's tough.

"I think they'll improve, they're improving all the time, the base of the bike is quite strong. I think there's areas that they can improve.

"At the minute, it's about managing what they've got and I know they've got more power out of it but we can't use it yet.

"They're making a bike from zero so it is difficult.

"It'll be a nice experience for me to work in a factory bike and have a genuine input in what's going on even though I'm a rookie."