MotoGP: Grand Prix Commission clarify wording of winglet ban

MotoGP’s senior rule-making body the Grand Prix Commission have clarified the wording of next year’s ban on aerodynamic features like winglets in the premiere class, following meetings of both the GPC and the Motorcycle Sports Manufacturers’ Association at this weekend’s San Marino Grand Prix.

The newly confirmed regulations bring a complete ban to any ‘devices or shapes’ that protrude from the fairing – wording that extends the ban not only to winglets like those used during the 2016 season by most factory bikes, but also to components like the aerodynamic bulges originally introduced to fairing design as far back as the turn of the century.

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The rules have been further extended to also clarify exactly what is allowed in terms of front fairing shape, after talk of some teams working to create adventure bike-style ‘beaks.’ From 2017, the front of the fairing cannot protrude more than 150mm beyond a vertical line drawn through the front wheel spindle – a rule that no current fairing breaks.

However, with the genie now out of the bottle, many in the paddock expect the development into the effects of aerodynamics to continue in the future, potentially through the use of fairings unique to every track.

 

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