I recently stumbled across this video on youtube. It's dry, but does an excellent job of summarizing current MotoGP aerodynamic paradigms.
The airflow management techniques revealed in the video are incredible, but they have also caused MotoGP to become less interesting to me, as I watch the manufacturers drink from the poisoned chalice of downforce development.
Unlike race cars, motorcycles are inherently unstable platforms that have exponentially more pitch and roll than their four-wheel counterparts. This makes aerodynamic downforce even more difficult to achieve. Furthermore, the development of aerodynamics within auto and moto racing have followed opposite trajectories. Motorcycle aggressively banned early aerodynamics (e.g. dustbin fairings) to reduce top speeds and performance, whereas automobile racing, particularly F1, embraced aerodynamic bodywork to increase drag.
Aero development will always be part of MotoGP because streamlining airflow while providing adequate cooling for engine and brakes is critical. However, if you link the various aero systems in this video into a single concept, the sport-destroying blackhole may become more evident. The manufacturers are playing with something they cannot control that has the potential to undermine the sport, bankrupt the participants, and make the participants much less safe.
It's alarming how little is being done (publicly, anyway) to push down the lid on this Pandora's box.
The airflow management techniques revealed in the video are incredible, but they have also caused MotoGP to become less interesting to me, as I watch the manufacturers drink from the poisoned chalice of downforce development.
Unlike race cars, motorcycles are inherently unstable platforms that have exponentially more pitch and roll than their four-wheel counterparts. This makes aerodynamic downforce even more difficult to achieve. Furthermore, the development of aerodynamics within auto and moto racing have followed opposite trajectories. Motorcycle aggressively banned early aerodynamics (e.g. dustbin fairings) to reduce top speeds and performance, whereas automobile racing, particularly F1, embraced aerodynamic bodywork to increase drag.
Aero development will always be part of MotoGP because streamlining airflow while providing adequate cooling for engine and brakes is critical. However, if you link the various aero systems in this video into a single concept, the sport-destroying blackhole may become more evident. The manufacturers are playing with something they cannot control that has the potential to undermine the sport, bankrupt the participants, and make the participants much less safe.
It's alarming how little is being done (publicly, anyway) to push down the lid on this Pandora's box.
