Stefan Bradl's 12th place finish at Misano, two positions behind his teammate Alvaro Bautista, again highlighted the progress being made by Aprilia Racing Team Gresini with the Aprilia RS-GP in 2016.
The Italian manufacturer have tested several updates to the machine in recent weeks and saw Bautista going through to Q2 at round 13 – the first time for the fledgling RS-GP. Bradl, meanwhile, showed good pace in practice sessions, before qualifying 13th and producing a solid race performance on Sunday, even if he was still adapting to the latest evolutions of his machine.
Stefan Bradl: “The weekend had started off well, but then a few problems kept me from using the evolution frame consistently. So for the race it was hard to choose which configuration to use and in the end I preferred the standard chassis. Unfortunately, it did not prove to be the best solution.
“I struggled with braking, the area where the new frame could have provided more advantages. In any case, the race result is not bad, considering the circumstances. I am back to finishing in the points. We showed some good signs during the weekend and we definitely learned a lot for the season finale.”