MotoGP | Aerodynamics, “last piece of the puzzle” for development

Aerodynamic appendages have gained increasing importance in MotoGP since they were first introduced by Ducati, who placed small wings on their bikes. From there, the other manufacturers followed suit after seeing how much these innovations had transformed the performance of the Desmosedici.

The impact of excessive aerodynamics on racing quality is becoming a controversial topic, however 2024 has seen the bar raised on investment in wings and fairings, with Aprilia and KTM leading the way in terms of development.

Jack Miller believes aerodynamics offers a cost-effective way of bringing upgrades to MotoGP bikes and says it is now the last key area that has not yet been fully exploited by the five manufacturers competing in the premier class.

“That's the main thing,” says KTM's Australian. “We spent many years developing the electronics, engines, tires and much more. Now we are at the final piece of the puzzle of what we can do.”

“I've seen statements from someone at Aprilia who says it's cheaper for them to develop the aerodynamics rather than the engine. Well, it's true. We don't want to develop one of those MotoGP engines again, it's crazy. So the aerodynamics is an easy to install piece that can help. But where does it end? How long does it continue? I don't know,” Miller says.

Aprilia made headlines in pre-season testing when it debuted a radically revamped version of the RS-GP, which featured a large rear wing and a new carbon panel on the swingarm.

Aleix Espargaro, standard bearer of the official team, described the ever-increasing resilience on aerodynamics as something that “is part of the game”, underlining the brand's advantage in the 2024 concept: “We have seen that the lines change a lot in our sport, it is part of the game.”

“I've said many times that it's not about what we like or don't like. This is the regulation and you have to be the best, our bike is very good from an aerodynamic point of view. So we hope that in Portimao this extra downforce will help us. They all have a lot of aerodynamics. Ours is very good, but when you have a good team of aerodynamic engineers, it means that the bike has a lot of load in the center of the corner, which we have, but it doesn't have so much strength on the straight”, concludes the Catalan.