Manuel Pecino is one of the best permanent journalists covering Grands Prix. Previously responsible for the Spanish group Alesport which publishes, among other things, the Solomoto magazine, the Spaniard now works independently and opened his own site for over a year.
His relationships within the paddock open all doors for him and the man has recently managed to ask the same questions to all the technical managers of the manufacturers involved in MotoGP. These answers must therefore be taken into consideration, even if they sometimes diverge…
In what direction will MotoGP aerodynamics evolve after the wing ban?
Kouichi Tsuji (Yamaha): “Engineers are still trying to find an aerodynamic advantage. And when they find one, they work to increase its effect. This is what happened last year with the fins. Today, research continues with a very simple objective: to have less drag and more agility. »
Tetsuhiro Kuwata (Honda): “With less downforce, our performance is affected. Everyone is now looking for solutions to recover lost aerodynamic advantages. It's difficult without adding fins, but as engineers we are here to find solutions. We need challenges, and this is a big one. »
Gigi Dall'Igna (Ducati): “Without the fins, it’s not easy. It will be impossible to recover the same downforce. We are now trying to regain the balance we had, but currently our bike is much more unstable. We are trying to find the right compromise. We will most certainly start the season with our 2016 fairing without the wings and the model that we have been testing since Sepang. »
Ken Kawauchi (Suzuki): “We all know what the wings have done in terms of aerodynamic assistance and we are all looking for a way to generate the lost downforce in a different way. Obviously it will be very difficult to recreate what the fins brought, but we have to work to make the most of what the regulations allow us to do. Regarding the agility and handling of the bike, the disappearance of the fins did not change the behavior of our bike. »
Romano Albesiano (Aprilia): “A lot has been said about these fins. Obviously, we cannot deny the benefit provided in terms of stability. We were also in favor of maintaining them. However, I think their effectiveness has been exaggerated. The proof is that when Aleix tried our bike for the first time in Valencia without the wings, he immediately set good times. Today, some manufacturers are trying to find support with new fairing designs, while others are not making it a priority..."
Sebastian Risse (KTM): “For our part, we have never used fins. We began to investigate this issue, but soon learning that they would be banned, we did not pursue it further. I'm curious to see what our opponents will develop to compensate for the loss of support. Everyone seems to have ideas, but who is going to take the risk of attacking the championship with a revolutionary fairing without knowing how it will work on this or that circuit? No one can work “step by step”, and with only one development allowed during the season, there is no room for error. »
Remarks:
Overall, all the answers agree on the same observation; the wings provided support and were effective, that is to say they allowed the motorcycles to achieve better times on a lap of the circuit.
Yamaha, which was the first to officially test a new fairing, therefore continues in this direction while trying to reduce the harmful effects of aerodynamic downforce, namely an increase in drag which slows down the motorcycle as well as reduced handling. .
At Honda, we note a decorrelation between the words of Tetsuhiro Kuwata and those of Livio Suppo who openly mocked the efforts of Yamaha and Ducati in the aerodynamic field, specifying that this had not brought them the world title.
Ducati surprises a little by announcing a start to the season with the same fairing as in 2016 even though the Italian firm has always been ahead in this area. Logically, we nevertheless expect an innovative fairing during the season.
At Suzuki, we remain neutral, which does not prevent us from trying a new fairing at Phillip Island. Same attitude at Aprilia while at KTM, we obviously have other fish to fry at the moment…
In the end, it is possible, even probable, that manufacturers will take advantage of the possibilities authorized by the regulations to at least try to have a "normal" fairing for "normal" circuits, that is to say without large load transfers. , as well as another for tracks with strong braking and strong acceleration, where aerodynamic downforce presents a real advantage.
Unless... unless we move towards a more flexible solution which has come to mind and which we will try to find out if it would comply with the regulations...
To be continued…
