Yesterday it was Aprilia that stole the show on the first day of the collective tests at Portimao for the most curious technical innovation (the wings on the fork), but today the eyes moved above all to the Yamaha. If Franco Morbidelli put the M1 to the test with airfoils that give it the shape of a triplane, the most challenging test fell to the vice-world champion Fabio Quartararo, who about an hour and a half from the end led to the debut a new solution.
A couple of days ago, Maio Meregalli anticipated to Motorsport.com that the Iwata-based company was working on an aerodynamic solution never seen before for the tail, which would go in a very different direction compared to the fins introduced by Ducati and copied by Honda in 2022. Something that would have had more of a Formula 1 flavour.
Indeed, the Italian manager was telling the truth, because it is a real little spoiler mounted at the end of the tail, which also differs from the one tested by Aprilia during last year’s Mugello race and which he reproposed also yesterday.
MotoGP, Portimao March Testing
Photo by: German Garcia Casanova
That of the Noale company was a rather small profile, which was connected to the tail with a single pylon. The Yamaha one, on the other hand, is supported on a double pylon and the aerodynamic profile is also decidedly more cumbersome.
Most likely the intent is to try to improve cornering of the M1 and try to make it more similar in behavior to the bikes of the competition, perhaps even finding a little extra grip at the rear. The fact remains, however, that at that point it’s never easy to manage the behavior of the flows, which are also conditioned by the rider’s movements, even if the Ducati, for example, with the fins has managed to obtain greater stability under braking.
It will therefore be interesting to hear exactly what Quartararo’s comments will be at the end of the day, to understand whether it was a positive test or not. Net that in any case this solution will have no impact on the current homologation problems of the fairing that Yamaha is facing, given that the tail is currently free from any type of constraint.
MotoGP, Portimao March Testing
Photo by: German Garcia Casanova
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