Every since Dorna and FIM announced the new 2012 rule change in MotoGP (that could actually be implemented in 2011) rumors that Aprilia could be returning to the premier class have been frequent, despite Gigi Dall’Igna and Leo Mercanti having always denied the rumor.
However the latest new coming out of Spain, have one of the most powerful managers of the GP paddock, Jorge Martinez (Team Aspar) and the Italian manufacturer working on an ambitious project that could see Aprilia debut next season in MotoGP with a 1000cc bike with a modified RSV4 engine.
Starting with Martinez would be an excellent move, because the Spaniard has one of the largest and the best organized structures in the Grand Prix circus.
with teams in all three categories, and has had a long relationship with Aprilia’s Gigi Dall’Igna, despite last year’s falling out when Aprilia suddenly backed out of the Moto2, leaving Aspar without a chassis and scrambling to find a last minute supplier for Julian Simon and Mike di Meglio.
With the MotoGP grid down to sixteen riders after Valentino Rossi’s injury, and in a worse case scenario the risk that some other rider crashing and hurting himself, the sooner that privateer teams using modified production engines and prototype chassis can enter the series the bigger grid we’ll see and hopefully some interesting racing.