Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1495752
VOLUME ISSUE MARCH , P127 enhanced efficiency of fuel injection and other electron- ics generated another factor: a need for better cooling. Things started to go a little crazy in 2015, during innovative engineer Gigi Dall'Igna's second year with Ducati. The first wing - lets on each side of the fairing nose and flanks introduced an element of downforce—combat- ing wheelies so riders could use more of their surplus power for acceleration, and increasing the force on the front tire to allow harder braking. As rivals copied Ducati, these appurtenances increased in size, number and sophistica - tion, in spite of attempts by rule-makers to stem the tide. These were met with fresh in - novation from Ducati, including 2019's so-called "spoon" scoop under the front of the swingarm. This was nominally to provide a tire-cooling breeze, but also introduced some downforce at the rear. After protests by rivals failed, all the rest again copied Ducati. By now costs were rising fast in tandem with the sophistica- tion, with an increasing need for time in the wind-tunnel, and the start of recruitment of ex-F1 aerodynamicists—particu- larly from Ferrari by Ducati and fellow Italians Aprilia. A cost- saving rule allowing only one fairing update per season was a sticking plaster. For there was more to come. By the end of 2021 Ducati was experimenting with "diffuser" ducting on the lower fairing flanks, reducing pressure there. The result, at high lean angles, was ground-effect, as another kind of downforce improving grip by adding weight without increasing mass. In 2022 Aprilia had a different approach with the same ef- fect—bulging fairing flanks that all-but scrape the road at full lean. Interestingly, Ducati experi- mented with something similar at pre-season tests this year, the first time they have copied anyone else. But there was more. Fair- ing design might be restricted. Seats not so. And during last season both Aprilia (briefly) and Ducati (more permanently) added winglets to the rear. Os- tensibly these add downforce to stabilize the rear under braking. Less obviously, they also further "dirty" the airflow in the bike's wake, making slipstreaming even more difficult for following riders. By the start of this year, all the rivals were at least experiment - ing with similar devices, includ- ing Yamaha's inverted triangle. One negative effect on the racing is difficulty in overtaking, not only because of problems slipstreaming, but also because the turbulent air behind a bike is less effective at cooling a fol - lower's front tire, already suffer- ing extra stress because of the harder braking. Instead of keep - ing the pressure on, attacking riders must drop back to let their front tires recover somewhat. At the same time, another ex - clusively MotoGP innovation fur- ther complicated the equation. Ride-height adjustment—drop- ping the rear—has the effect of reducing the angle of attack of the wings, cutting drag for more top speed. Conversely, it allows a greater angle of attack for more downforce under brak - ing when the rear is released to normal ride height. How relevant is this to street riders? Actually, not at all. Race engineering is now too sophisticated to expect racing to improve the breed. We could however expect it to inform the breed. But what's the point, if that in - formation is simply irrelevant? CN Now, almost seven decades later, some (including FIM president Jorge Viegas) are advocating a new ban on aerodynamics.