Aprilia ran a private test at Jerez of its 2027 850cc MotoGP prototype, two days after the official post-race test, and released photos and video of the session. Test rider Lorenzo Savadori completed the prototype’s first on-track laps in wet conditions, and Aprilia said the engine had been running since the previous year. The private outing followed public 2027 shakedowns by KTM, Honda and Ducati, and Yamaha remained the only factory not to have publicly showcased a new 2027 bike, an early M1 prototype believed to have run privately in Japan. Savadori, who retired from the Jerez Sprint after contact with Toprak Razgatlioglu, said he would test new parts over the weekend that Aprilia planned to pass to factory riders Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin.

The prototype displayed 2027-spec aerodynamic revisions, including a revised nose profile and a protruding front wing. Aprilia also fitted a novel flow diverter nicknamed “elephant ears,” two wing elements mounted at the sides of the front fairing that create a third tier of aerodynamic surfaces, and the team had introduced new upper-fairing winglets on the RS-GP26 during the official Jerez test.

Aprilia’s aero program, led by technical boss Fabiano Sterlacchini and aero head Marco De Luca, gathered additional data using a tail-mounted “satellite” sensor as the team sought to refine designs amid concerns that current aerodynamic concepts may be nearing performance limits. The outing was framed as part of broader development ahead of the 2027 rules change that will shift MotoGP to an 850cc formula, switch from Michelin to Pirelli tires, impose tighter aerodynamic limits, ban ride-height devices and require 100 percent non-fossil-origin fuel. The prototype’s track runs followed extensive bench testing and Pirelli tire work alongside Aprilia’s current 1000cc RS-GP, and the updates come amid lingering controversy over Aprilia’s earlier “leg wing” concept, which rivals largely copied and which Aprilia showed yielded measurable gains, with Aprilia leading the 2026 championship and locked in an aero arms race with Ducati as the two manufacturers compete for the 2026 title.