MotoGP Rumour Mill: Aprilia, Aprilia, Aprilia, Bezzecchi, Lorenzo, Jason Derulo?
Welcome to the rumour mill where we discuss rumours in the MotoGP paddock.
Please take all rumours with a pinch of salt as they are just RUMOURS.
Aprilia are dominating the headlines at the moment, everywhere you look there is talk of Aprilia signing everyone from Jorge Lorenzo to Marco Bezzecchi, at this rate we would not be surprised if rumours of Jason Derulo and Lewis Hamilton started to appear, just put all the names in a hat and pull one out. Andrea Iannone was confirmed as being banned from racing for 4 years, putting an end to his MotoGP career, forcing Aprilia to completely reset and hire a new rider, abandoning the work completed with Iannone.
Jorge Lorenzo has confirmed himself that Aprilia is an interest for him, starting his career with them he has said it would be nice to “complete the circle” with them, rumours have come out at a potential test rider role for him with Andrea Dovizioso replacing him as the Yamaha test rider, but this is MotoGP and things change FAST – Dovizioso has confirmed he is taking a sabbatical from racing, no testing no nothing, returning in 2022 to fight again for the title.
With Lorenzo, more rumours have been muttered about a return to racing as a full-time rider, an idea which would be welcomed by Aprilia given that they need a strong rider to pair with Aleix Espargaro and develop the bike, however, Aleix said Lorenzo is out of shape and not “fit” to be riding a MotoGP bike at the moment, so we will see, Lorenzo also held talks with Ducati earlier this year, saying that he declined a full-time ride offer as the thought of racing full time again was not something he liked.
Marco Bezzecchi now enters the frame, the rather fast Moto2 rider has signed a deal to remain with the Sky VR46 Moto2 team for 2021, but contracts mean F all in MotoGP these days, he has also been linked to Aprilia also, an interesting thought, Aprilia looking to follow in the footsteps of other the manufacturers of Honda, Suzuki, KTM, Yamaha and Ducati in hiring young riders with Ducati locking out the entire Moto2 youth market for 2021.
EuropeanGP Winner Marco Bezzecchi
Now, if you remember, we mentioned the Yamaha test rider role with Dovizioso declined, if Lorenzo moves to Aprilia, the seat will become open, who is earmarked for this you ask? Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Supersport World Champion. Crutchlow is currently out of a ride for 2021 and finds himself completely plagued with injuries in 2020, therefore a 2021 testing role with Yamaha could be an exciting prospect for him, he will get to spend more time at home with Lucy and Willow and still ride MotoGP bikes, giving him time to heal in between testing sessions. Yamaha have unofficially debunked this rumour, but this was a source not high enough within Yamaha to properly confirm.
Red Bull KTM Ajo are also heavily rumoured to be doing a swap, they have signed Raul Fernandez for the 2021 Moto3 season, but, due to his height, he is massively rumoured to be moving to the Moto2 class replacing Tetsuta Nagashima in the team (who is rumoured to go to the MV Agusta squad), Fernandez would be teammate to Remy Gardner. Fernandez would be replaced by 2020 Red Bull Rookies champion Pedro Acosta in the Moto3 team, Acosta was confirmed to the Prustel GP team earlier this season in a deal which has fallen through, I wonder why…
Pedro Acosta was crowned the 2020 Red Bull Rookies champion at the Valencia circuit
In other Moto3 news, KTM brand Gas Gas are taking over, they are rumoured to be taking over the Aspar Moto3 team who are running Izan Guevara and Sergio Garcia for the 2021 season, if true, we will be seeing them in a whole lot of red, potentially with Red Bull sponsorship also.
As we have said, do not take these rumours as fact, they are only paddock talk and hold little weight.
Featured image – www.motogp.com
Red Bull
