Aprilia, whose RSV4 Superbike enginౠe has long been tipped as a possible powerplant for the new range of CRT MotoGP bikes, also looks set 🐲to build a chassis for the new privateer category.

Factory test rider Alex Hofmann is gatheri🌞ng data by lapping with Bridgestone tyres on an RSV4 at this week's Valencia test.

"There are still no final contracts," GPOne.com reports Aprilia's Gigi Dall'Igna as saying, "and we do not know yet whether we'll use gear driven cams or motors like those that currently run in Superbike, because the di🎶fference is minimal. The frames, however, obviously will be different. The frame will not be as used in SBK."

The possibility o🅰f a full Aprilia bike explains wꩵhy some CRTs have announced they intend to use Aprilia engines, but have been coy about the chassis supplier.

CRTs (Cla🦹iming Rule Teams) are allowed extra fuel and engine changes r▨elative to next year's full factory 1000cc MotoGP bikes from Honda, Yamaha and Ducati.

CRT status must be approved by the Grand Prix Commission, in order to avoid under-cover factory entries, but with all three factories reducing machine numbers for 2012 - and Suzuki leaving - MotoGP will surely be grateful for any indirect Aprilia involvement.

Aprilia ran a factory MotoGP team from 2002-2004ꩵ, when it supplied motorc𒁃ycles to all three grand prix classes.

The premier-class withdraw was followed by an ඣexit from the intermediate category, when it switched from 250cc to Moto2 in 2010.⛎ Aprilia, which won the final 125cc title with Aspar's Nico Terol this year, is unlikely to join the replacement Moto3 class.

CRT would thus be the only way of keeping Aprilia - whose RSV4 won the 201𒈔0 World Superbike championship with Max Biaggi - involved in grand prix.

Aspar, PBM and Speed Master look most likely to use an Aprilia CRT bike, with former𓃲 Pramac Ducati rider Randy de Puniet being linked with an Asღpar ride following Suzuki's exit.

Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta is keen to follow F1's format of havi♌ng specialist independent race teams, woꦑrking in partnership with manufacturers where possible - but able to survive without them.

The CRT rul♉es are seen as the first step along the path of breaking MotoGP's dependency on the major manufacturers, which provided all 17 bikes in this year's championship but are struggling with the costs involved.

Next year's grid is expected to contain just 12 factory-built bikes, with the rest of th🐽e grid - likely to consist of around 20 riders - made up of CRTs.