Aprilia takes on KTM riders Miguel Oliveira and Raúl Fernández in its new RNF satellite team

Team RNF is not having a successful season as a Yamaha satellite team after joining MotoGP. After taking over Petronas SRT, Andrea Dovizioso and Darryn Binder are riding more at the back of the field. The RNF has run out of patience and has formed an agreement with Aprilia to buy its bikes from next season. The Malaysian team also confirmed its rider line-up today. From 2023 we will see Miguel Oliveira and Raúl Fernandes, current KTM riders, in Aprilia’s satellite colours.

Yamaha, and generally all the Japanese brands on the grid, have been struggling this year. Suzuki won’t be seen in MotoGP races from next year, Honda is going through its worst crisis in decades and Yamaha itself is being kept afloat by world champion Fabio Quartararo. The Frenchman is working wonders on the track and despite the visible performance advantage of the Ducati machines, he leads the championship among the riders.

However, the other Yamaha riders are struggling, including Yamaha’s satellite team RNF. The results are not there, so the RNF has decided to switch to Aprilia motorcycles from next year, which is enjoying its most successful period in history.

Among the free riders, the RNF has chosen the pair of Miguel Oliveira and Raúl Fernández, both racing for KTM this year. Oliveira turned down the offer from GasGas (and thus staying in the KTM family) and Fernández is not too comfortable with his bike.

Oliveira entered MotoGP in 2019 after impressive seasons in the junior categories. In his second season with satellite KTM, he surprised with two wins at the Red Bull Ring and at his home Portimao.

After moving to factory KTM, he added two more triumphs at Barcelona and this year at Mandalay during the Indonesian Grand Prix. A newcomer to the Royal Cubature, Fernández has, with rare exception, tasted nothing but a KTM motorcycle.

Last year in Moto2 in his debut season in the category, he impressed with a second place overall, just four points behind his teammate this year, Remy Gardner. Aprilia has signed Oliveira and Fernandez to two-year contracts, according to The Race website.

Sources: MotoGP, The Race