MotoGP Italy Mugello: Aprilia surprised everyone by presenting an F1-inspired wing

Aerodynamics is the frontier that MotoGP continues to explore in its ongoing search for performance and this time it's Aprilia's turn to amaze everyone, introducing the novelty of the rear wing. The aerodynamic novelty was tested by Lorenzo Savadori on the Tuscan track.

The manufacturer from Noale, a real revelation of this first part of 2022, did not limit itself to introducing a new engine specification during the first free practice sessions of the Italian GP, ​​in order to chase Ducati in terms of pure power: the test driver Lorenzo Savadori, present at Mugello as a wild card, appeared on the track with a rear wing in the "F1 style", a novelty which could also be used by Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales in the next sleeves.

 

 

An experience which, as Romano Albesiano and Massimo Rivola explain, has a precise objective: to generate a greater load at the rear and prevent the wheel from lifting, when braking or on sections like the fast bump at the end of the finishing straight, at the corner called San Donato, an increasingly critical point for the speeds reached by MotoGP motorcycles which exceed 350 km/h there.

A tip which goes in the direction of improving the balance of the bike and which could be repeated on other fast tracks, if of course it brings the expected results. The downforce generated is not enormous, but this aerodynamic novelty will surely cause debate: already when the fins appeared, there was a lot of skepticism at the start and now everyone uses them.

 

 

Another more discreet aerodynamic element was also tested by the Noale brand's test driver, but nothing has leaked about its potential advantages.

Using the rear part of the motorcycle aerodynamically is a solution tested in the past by other manufacturers: like Ducati, which tested a “duckbill” shape in 2018 at Jerez, which was then discarded because, according to the pilots, it did not generate the hoped-for effect.

While the Front Ride Height Device will be banned next year and fins and other aerodynamic developments are debated in the paddock, it remains to be seen whether this technical development will not revive pilots' complaints about the difficulty of overtaking in races, which has brought the case of ailerons to the forefront.