How can we talk about the aerodynamic developments tried by Yamaha during the MotoGP test in Portimão without starting with the impressive rear saddle wing that appeared on the YZR-M1 of fabio quartararo ?
Huge, not very graceful and with an intriguing concept, the appendix has already generated many reactions, far from all being positive. But it doesn't matter, since, after all, manufacturers are not there to make pretty motorcycles but fast motorcycles.
What can we say about this fin?
Let's try to decipher the object, made up of two oblique fins and a horizontal plane which provides support.
The fact of having put the two oblique fins, unlike Aprilia which also tried a rear wing, is quite clever because these, when the bike takes an angle, undoubtedly act as saddle fins , as found on Ducati, Honda and Yamaha.
The horizontal plane clearly provides support due to its inclination. Having support at the rear is useful during two phases, braking to counter the tendency to lift off the rear wheel, and acceleration to have more traction. But nothing is ever free, and the aerodynamic drag generated in a straight line by this enormous wing risks being costly in terms of top speed.
Is the game worth it? Only Iwata engineers will be able to answer this question…
What else ?
Although they went more unnoticed, Yamaha tried other elements, certainly less exotic and undoubtedly more interesting. First of all, on the motorcycle Franco Morbidelli, a second pair of side fins was added to the first, thus transforming (with the help of the more protruding frontal fins of the fairing) the blue M1 into a sort of Fokker triplane of the Red Baron manfred von richthofen
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Nothing really revolutionary these days, but effective, in the sense that each of these elements really provides support. On this subject, you will see in our next article on the wind tunnel that today we are far from the support of around forty kilos generated by the first Ducati fins...
Another interesting element, Yamaha also tried “downwash ducts” which consume a lot of aerodynamic drag, initiated by Ducati. Narrow and high, in their shape they approach the latest items recently tried by Stefan bradl in Portimao.
Thus, at the last minute, Yamaha finished testing in Portugal the entire range of aerodynamic elements that we see among the competition, with the exception of front wheel fins (Ducati/Aprilia) and swingarm fins (Aprilia). ) .
More…
But, there is a but…
It's only a general impression, but compared to opponents whose bodies are clearly very homogeneous and the result of work in the wind tunnel, we have a bit of the feeling that at Yamaha we took a standard M1 on which we stuck a whole bunch of appendages to see what it looked like.
Let’s take an example, that of “downwash ducts”. They are there, substantially identical to those of Stefan Bradl's RC213V, but do not seem to favor the extraction of hot air from the radiator and exhausts, their secondary function at Ducati and Honda.
Likewise, the double pair of side fins are not connected together by a more or less vertical fin, as is the case for example with Ducati and KTM. And when we see the curvature of these elements from the aforementioned manufacturers, we say to ourselves that there were a lot of hours in the wind tunnel to define their shape. On the M1, if we exaggerate, we have the impression that these are two identical parts attached to the pifometer with pop rivets. It's probably just an impression.
Conclusion
Yamaha, like other manufacturers, will have to approve at least one first aerodynamic package before the Portuguese Grand Prix (possibly two). To date, we have no idea what it will be, unlike Ducati, Aprilia, Honda and KTM…
Photo credit: Michelin
