Aprilia's international racing career began in the Motocross World Championship in 1976 before the company pivoted to Grand Prix road racing in 1985. Their first world championship race victory came at the 1987 San Marino motorcycle Grand Prix, where Loris Reggiani won the 250 cc race. The first manufacturers' title followed in 1992, when Alessandro Gramigni won the 125 cc class.
Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Aprilia dominated the 125 cc and 250 cc classes, nurturing riders who would go on to become premier-class world champions, among them Valentino Rossi, Max Biaggi, and Loris Capirossi. Aprilia set the record for the most points earned by a manufacturer in a single 125 cc season, accumulating 410 points in 2007 — the highest point score by a constructor in Grand Prix motorcycle racing history until 2011, when the same machinery produced 420 points across sixteen of seventeen race victories.
Aprilia's first attempt at the MotoGP class produced the technically ambitious RS Cube, an inline three-cylinder machine that pioneered ride-by-wire throttle and pneumatic valve actuation — technologies that later became standard across the paddock. However, the RS Cube proved difficult to ride and delivered poor championship results. Aprilia left the MotoGP class at the end of 2004 and subsequently exited the lower classes when two-stroke engines were banned.
In the 500 cc two-stroke class, Aprilia campaigned an unconventional V-twin enlarged from 250 cc displacement, eventually reaching 430 cc. The configuration offered lighter weight and nimbler handling compared to the V4 machines favoured by Japanese rivals, but the power disadvantage on straights proved an insurmountable obstacle. Doriano Romboni achieved the bike's best result with third place at the 1997 Dutch TT before the project was withdrawn.
Aprilia rejoined the MotoGP class in 2012 under the Claiming Rule Team category, supplying RSV4 Superbike-derived machines branded as ART (Aprilia Racing Technology) to Aspar Team, Paul Bird Motorsport, and Speed Master. The ART machinery distinguished itself as the most competitive CRT package across 2012 and 2013.
From 2015, Aprilia partnered with Gresini Racing as a factory-supported independent team, fielding the all-new RS-GP with a 1000 cc V4 engine. The team operated as "Aprilia Racing Team Gresini" through the following years, gaining experience and developing the platform. In 2022, Aprilia entered as a fully official factory team for the first time since 2004, with Gresini returning to independence using Ducati machinery. The new factory team achieved Aprilia's first premier-class grand prix victory at Argentina with Aleix Espargaró, and later secured a historic 1-2 result at the 2023 Catalan Grand Prix with Espargaró and Maverick Viñales.
For 2025, defending Riders' champion Jorge Martín signed with Aprilia from Pramac Racing, replacing the retiring Espargaró. Marco Bezzecchi also joined from the VR46 Racing Team and won the British Grand Prix in his debut season with the team. Bezzecchi went on to win the final two races of 2025 in Portugal and Valencia, giving Aprilia their first-ever back-to-back premier-class victories. In March 2026, Aprilia achieved a 1-2 finish at the United States motorcycle Grand Prix in Austin, with Bezzecchi winning and Martín second.
Aprilia entered the Superbike World Championship in 1999 and achieved its first riders' title in 2010, when Max Biaggi won both the Riders' and Manufacturers' championships on the RSV4. The V4 superbike went on to win the Manufacturers' title in 2012, 2013, and 2014. Trackhouse Racing has served as Aprilia's satellite MotoGP team since 2024.
Aprilia's trajectory — from dominant small-class constructor to credible MotoGP factory force — is among the more remarkable in the sport's history. Their willingness to pursue unorthodox engine configurations, from the V-twin 500 cc bike to the inline-triple RS Cube, established a technical identity that set them apart from the mainstream Japanese factories. The organisation's accumulated victory total across all classes made it the most successful manufacturer in motorcycle racing history at the time that record was set, a testament to its depth of commitment across multiple decades and categories.
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