The affair of Ducati deflector is settled sportingly and closed legally. But politically, the work is only just beginning. Barely had the Court of Appeal closed its doors when Honda launched an attack on the technical director, Danny Aldridge, who is now the target. Through him, it is the obsolescence of a procedure in the face of a new sensitive and complex context which is highlighted. The HRC presented him with a deflector arguing that it produces aerodynamic downforce; It was logically rejected. Honda wanted to create a precedent to demonstrate the current situation through absurdity...
Knowing this, we will be forced to use only the conditional. At the microphone of MotoGP.com, Aldridge indeed commented: “ the only thing I can say is that in fact, any new device that a manufacturer brings to me must be approved. I won't make anything public until it comes out on track. In other words, I can't tell you if anyone came to me and I won't say if something was rejected. At this point, these are rumors, so you'll have to wait and see if anything new hits the track ».
There will therefore be a sequel and it is Honda who has control over it. For the story with Ducati, the technical director specifies: “ we have a set of guidelines that brands must follow. It is a sort of annex to the regulations, updated when we feel the need to clarify certain themes such as aerodynamics. At the beginning of March, ahead of the Grand Prix, we updated these guidelines to control what is allowed on the swingarm. Teams can thus use a part that allows the rear tire to be cooled, or to deflect water, as Yamaha has already done. ».
« In Qatar, Ducati came to see me and said: "We have this element, the primary objective of which is to reduce the temperature of the rear tire", because according to them it was a point which posed a problem for them. issue. So I examined this device and I came to the fact that its primary function was indeed to cool the tireu”.
« The other manufacturers felt, on the contrary, that it was not correct, because, according to them, it gave them more support; which is not permitted by the guidelines. That's when this whole thing started. They decided to file a complaint, it was rejected. This shows that my reading was correct and that the function of such a device was, as Ducati declared, to cool». Aldridge concluded by saying that all this pressure put on him was not considered a personal attack…
