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Bradl admits MotoGP exit likely in 2017
Aprilia rider Stefan Bradl has conceded he is actively looking outside of MotoGP to continue his career, having received confirmation from the Italian marque he will be dropped for 2017.
Jamie Klein
Edited: Oct 17, 2016, 1:54 PM
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The German, who joined Aprilia at the mid-point of last season in place of Marco Melandri, said he was exploring options in Moto2 - where he was champion in 2011 - and World Superbikes for next year.
Aprilia has opted for a brand-new line-up of Sam Lowes and Aleix Espargaro for 2017, although the latter is still to be officially announced.
"Basically I don’t have anything at the moment, I’m looking around," admitted Bradl. "I got the final confirmation [on Thursday] from Aprilia that they are not planning [to keep] me for 2017.
"Since Barcelona, I started to look around a bit but there is nothing at the moment I can say about my future. I have a few options in some categories, Superbike or Moto2, but I can’t say at the moment things are going in this direction or that.
"There are not many places left. I’m quite realistic, I know about the situation – so I don’t think my future is in MotoGP. I’m not too sad about this.
"My plans were to stay with Aprilia for next season, they changed their mind or their plans, and that’s the way it works here sometimes."
Bautista in Aspar talks
Aprilia's decision to hire Lowes and Espargaro also leaves Alvaro Bautista in the cold, although the Spaniard has now been linked with a switch to the Aspar Ducati team in 2017.
And while Bautista didn't explicitly rule out staying on with Aprilia, saying he believes Espargaro still has not yet signed, he was happy to admit he was in talks with Aspar, where he could ride a year-old Ducati.
"Next year, I am speaking with Aprilia and looking for another option in case I can’t stay here," said Bautista. "We’ll see. At the moment, they have one rider – Lowes.
"My information is [Espargaro] still has not signed, and also Aprilia want me for the future to develop the bike. We are talking.
"Aspar with Ducati is another option. I have these two options on the table, we see what happens. I hope to take a decision as soon as possible.
"Aspar offered me a GP16, so the technical side it’s quite a good option. But working with a factory is really good, because you can make the bike as you want."
Motorsport.com understands that confirmation of Espargaro's move to Aprilia will arrive before the end of the Dutch TT weekend, after a delayed flight prevented the announcement being made on Thursday.
Additional reporting by Oriol Puigdemont
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