Misano, Saturday September 10, 2016, FP3: Michele Pirro performs his first run with a lenticular rear wheel on his Ducati. This will be the only time it will be used.
Some photos have been posted on the internet and, as Ducati will later confirm, everyone is thinking of an aerodynamic test, like on time trial or pursuit bikes.
The rumor that is emerging today, reported by MCN, would be that in fact the carbon flanges were only there to hide an energy recovery system, like those used in F1.
Photo credit : MCN
Let's be clear, we admit straight away that we don't believe it for a second!
Energy recovery systems fall into two categories, electrical or mechanical, and neither seems really applicable to motorcycles.
Electrical systems require batteries or supercapacitors as well as large cables linked to the high voltages generated. In short, nothing that appears in the photos of Pirro's motorcycle...
A mechanical system, a hypothesis favored by rumor, is based on a flywheel which rotates at very high speed and in fact generates a gyroscopic effect tending to prevent the wheel from tilting; not really ideal when taking a turn after braking!
The future will perhaps tell us if Ducati has launched in this direction other than that of KERS, which in any case has been prohibited by regulations since 2008 and Ktm's tests in this area on its 125cc, such as aerodynamics from next year, or if it's just journalistic nonsense, as we currently think... Sorry!
