MOTOGP: 2017 winglet loophole closed

MotoGP has moved to prevent teams being able to circumnavigate the 2017 ban on winglets with extravagant fairing designs.

Aerodynamic winglets were banned from the end of this season by the Grand Prix Commission in June after manufacturers could not reach a consensus on their use. Ducati, which had led development, was angered by the ban and suggested that it would simply re-focus its aerodynamic work.

In a further meeting by the Commission during last weekend's San Marino Grand Prix at Misano, wording in the regulations looking to avoid that has been finalised.

"Devices or shapes protruding from the fairing or bodywork and not integrated in the body streamlining (e.g. wings, fins, bulges, etc.) that may provide an aerodynamic effect (e.g. providing downforce, disrupting aerodynamic wake, etc.) are not allowed," the regulations read.

"The technical director [Danny Aldridge] will be the sole judge of whether a device or fairing design falls into the above definition."

To avoid fairings becoming "wing-shaped", their frontal areas must not protrude more than 150mm beyond a vertical line through the middle of the front wheel's spindle, a ruling all current fairings comply with.

Originally on Autosport.com