MOTOGP: Ducati predicts aero focus

Aerodynamics such as last year's proliferation of winglets on bikes' fairings will be the next big technical focus in MotoGP, reckons Ducati general manager Gigi Dall'Igna.

Ducati led a move towards small winglets on front bodywork during the 2015 season, with Yamaha following suit later in the year. The Ducati winglets first appeared during pre-season testing at Losail, were then extended at the Sachsenring race in July before an additional pair were added during Motegi practice in October. Yamaha first featured the winglets at the Misano race in September.

"The aerodynamics are one of the areas in motorcycle racing where we didn't think too much in previous years," Dall'Igna suggested. "I would like to focus on it, and I'm quite happy about the improvements we did during the year."

The main purpose of the winglets was to increase downforce on the front wheel of the bike to minimise the chance of a wheelie under acceleration. Although Dall'Igna expects an increasing spotlight on aero additions in MotoGP, he believes it will be a matter of refinement rather than bikes sprouting ever larger or more numerous wings.

"I think we arrived at the final set-up of the aerodynamics, so I don't expect that we'll increase the [number of] winglets in the future," he said. "Maybe we can adapt them a little bit on the racetrack, or find some small details we can improve on."

MotoGP has tweaked its technical regulations for 2016 to stipulate a "minimum radius of 2.5mm" for the edges of all "wings fitted as an integral part of the fairing" for safety reasons.

Originally on Autosport.com