Fabio Quartararo, the 2021 world champion, announced last week that he would stay at Yamaha for another two years despite speculation linking him with other teams as the Japanese manufacturer continues to struggle to be competitive.
Autosport understands that the French rider’s new contract with Yamaha is worth €12 million per year, making Quartararo the highest-paid rider on the grid.
In recent months, Aprilia had opened a line of dialogue with Quartararo over a possible move, but the Italian team’s offer was barely more than €4m.
Speaking to Autosport, Rivola suggested Aprilia’s priority is to use its budget to improve the bike instead of offering riders bigger salaries.
“The limit that we have at an economic level in terms of rider salaries is very much related to the performance of the bike. If a rider wants to win, I don’t know if money should be the determining factor in that decision,” Rivola told said.
“Before that, I think it’s more important that he asks himself what he wants to do: do I want to make money or do I want a project that allows me to win? And I think the Aprilia project allows you to fight to win.
“And I will say more: if he wins, money will not be a problem. But the commitment has to be mutual.”
Asked to assess Yamaha’s decision, he said: “I’m not used to commenting on news about other teams. In this case, I will simply say that it seems to me that Yamaha is moving in the right direction.”
Regarding the line-up for next season, Rivola believes that Espargaro and Maverick Vinales deserve preferential treatment because of the gamble they took in joining the team.
In that sense, and given the level of competitiveness of the RS-GP, Aprilia is in no hurry.
Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia Racing Team
Photo by: Aprilia Racing
“We will probably be the last ones to sign the two riders for 2025. First of all, because we want to respect Aleix and Maverick, and give them time to make clear their desire to continue. Of course, I listen to everyone, because it is very interesting to know how one is perceived,” said the Aprilia CEO.
Although his impact on the Noale factory project has been decisive since he joined at the end of 2018, Rivola is elegant enough to downplay his merit, and shift most of the weight to the company he works for.
According to Nielsen data, Aprilia’s value has increased tenfold in the last five years, the same amount of time Rivola has been its CEO.
In his first three years as boss,…
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