2024 Jerez Test

Fabio Quartararo felt "massive change" on new Yamaha M1's first MotoGP test:
https://www.motorsport.com/motogp/n...-new-yamaha-m1-in-first-motogp-test/10604855/

Hard to tell what is new under the skin, but Fabio gives the impression the chassis is significently different:



Front wing has 3 elements, instead of 2:



Fairing is much slimmer too.



The part of their aero that's really intriguing is the side fairing. This is very close to what KTM use. Yamaha have incorporated a channel that runs the length of the side fairing behind the sidepod
The side fairing itself also leans out, meaning that when banked over in the middle of the corner, the face of the side fairing should sit parallel with each other and thus generating ground effect to pull the bike into the road, load up the tyres, generate grip and help turning.

Just like KTM, and now Ducati, they've also paired their side fairings with a downwash duct. The downwash ducts were already there, however.

They have also moved the weld on the headstock, presumably to give a different stiffness. Here is the one from Portimao



And here is the one from the new bike:

Looks like we shouldn't hope for a Honda resurgence any soon

Another look at the side fairing pods

What is the advantage of doing fairings out of carbon fibre instead of fibreglass? Is it easier to work with or stronger?

Lighter and stronger.

warthog1 said:

Lighter and stronger.

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and stiffer

MdubSTYLIE said:

and stiffer

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What? No .... joke???

Keshav said:

What? No .... joke???

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dammit!!! I missed an opportunity.

MdubSTYLIE said:

and stiffer

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And more expensive

MdubSTYLIE said:

and stiffer

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Depending upon how it is laid up.
As per bicycle frames the stiffness on a particular plane can be altered significantly by shape, thickness and lay up.




Yes it can be made stiffer for a given weight.

Here's another one.



But yes in that fairing they have probably been made light, strong and stiff using CF.

Sorry to bang on, but got a few CF bicycles and they ride surprisingly differently. Some are laterally very stiff laterally when you stand and sprint but still have good vertical compliance for a smoother ride.

MdubSTYLIE said:

Lighter and stronger and stiffer !

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At 123 lbs., able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, the father of two and still capable of populating the world if called upon, I can relate to that !

I don’t think they are doing it yet but it’s easy to use CF in a way to deliberately provide flex. With the right design the wind could flex the wings to a position that provides less downforce ie less forward resistance while still providing the downforce when slower ie exiting corners. Possibly will come once they ban ride height devices

mikesbytes said:

I don’t think they are doing it yet but it’s easy to use CF in a way to deliberately provide flex. With the right design the wind could flex the wings to a position that provides less downforce ie less forward resistance while still providing the downforce when slower ie exiting corners. Possibly will come once they ban ride height devices

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Depends how deal with the aero rules as well.

p4p1 said:

Depends how deal with the aero rules as well.

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Correct. F1 has rules on how much a component can flex which was brought in after rear wings were stuck on flexi sticks

mikesbytes said:

Correct. F1 has rules on how much a component can flex which was brought in after rear wings were stuck on flexi sticks

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I'm not a fan of it in motorbike racing but aero is genuinely ....... fascinating IMO.