Could Aprilia be mulling a WorldSBK return?

Confirmation of which motorcycles will be eligible to compete in the 2023 WorldSBK Championship was released on the eve of the opening round in Australia, complete with the surprise inclusion of the latest Aprilia RSV 4.

The updated document from governing body, the FIM, confirms the addition of the latest generation BMW M1000RR and Ducati Panigale V4R, as well as the tweaked Kawasaki ZX-10RR, which has now been permitted the extra 500rpm it was denied upon initial homologation in 2021.

However, there is also a new entry for the Aprilia RSV 4 1100 RR/RF, which sits alongside the erstwhile Aprilia RSV 4 1000 RR/RF because - like the Suzuki GSX-R1000R - it is still eligible despite it being phased out of production. The FIM makes no mention of why it has included Aprilia, though for now its homologation remains TBA anyway.

Why has the Aprilia RSV 4 1100 not been WorldSBK homologated before?

Put simply, the Aprilia RSV4 1100 (1099cc) is not permitted to compete in WorldSBK because - as denoted by its name - it exceeds the maximum capacity limit in the series, which currently sits at 1000cc.

Though WorldSBK has been flexible in this area in the past so as to permit the Ducati 1198, which was allowed to compete due its twin-cylinder set up, inline-four and V4, like the RSV 4, are bound by the 1000cc limit.

It’s a ruling that the FIM hasn’t budged on recently either, so much so that the Ducati Panigale V4R engine was redesigned to be 998cc, unlike the sister Panigale V4S which has 1103cc.

Could Aprilia return to WorldSBK?

While it is perhaps a bit of a reach to suggest Aprilia is plotting a return to WorldSBK in a factory capacity, the RSV 4 1100 would have been actively submitted for it to undergo a homologation process.

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