BEZZECCHI RUNS NEW APRILIA SWINGARM AERO AT SEPANG

Aprilia brought another swingarm aerodynamic update to Sepang on Friday, with Marco Bezzecchi testing an additional panel mounted beneath the existing rear-winglet-style board on his RS-GP. The latest addition underlines the team’s continued development push, despite only four rounds remaining in the current 1000cc era, as it seeks to claim the final title before MotoGP moves to 850cc machinery.

Ducati has recently adopted similar swingarm aero, with Marc Marquez running the Aprilia-inspired design on his Desmosedici after first trying it in Australia. The devices are believed to help improve rear grip through corners. Marquez said the exchange of ideas is simply part of racing, rather than a matter of copying: “For me, an engineer, a rider, a person - you cannot be arrogant and only [use] your ideas. Sometimes you can learn from the others, sometimes the others can learn from you.”

He added: “I don't feel that they copy and paste. In the end, this is competition; everybody is looking, even me as a rider, at what the others are doing to try to perform better.”

The new hardware arrived on a strong day for Marquez, who topped both Friday practice sessions. Aprilia’s leading rider was Ai Ogura, third overall, while Bezzecchi finished sixth. Jorge Martin, Bezzecchi’s injured team-mate and Marquez’s closest championship rival, ended the day 21st and last after cutting short the afternoon session to rest his injured wrist. Marquez holds a ten-point lead over Martin in the standings.