English
Italiano
Fins, spoilers, and appendages, in short, aerodynamics has made its way into the MotoGP in the last few years, but not without some controversy. Engineers have indulged themselves on motorcycle fairings, drawing inspiration from the world of automobiles, where every surface is the subject of accurate studies, to say the least.
For the moment, only motorcycles have been the subject of much attention, but Spidi has decided to experiment something different. Clothing manufacturers have been carefully studying aerodynamics for a while (with humps on all suits and profiles on helmets) but, until now, no one had thought of adding a wing.
Spidi tried it, and Andrea Iannone was a test rider. As you can see from the rich gallery of images, it's an actual spoiler applied above the hump, and you can clearly see two other profiles inside. Their function is to improve the air flow that affects the rider and, therefore, the aerodynamic coefficient.
.
This is undoubtedly an interesting innovation and could pave the way for a new evolution in technical clothing. But it's just an experiment for now, and Iannone won't be using the new suit in the race.
Also because the regulation is quite unclear to this regard. In fact, it indicates the materials that must be used to manufacture it, and the minimum resistance requirements for it to be approved, but it does not expressly prohibit adding appendages. The last word will be that of Technical Director Danny Aldridge. It's easy to predict that he'll soon have to worry about this issue, too.
