MotoGP announces new clampdown on aero fairings for 2019
MotoGP has announced a stricter set of regulations surrounding the use of aerodynamic fairings for the 2019 season
Since the ban on winglets at the end of the 2016 season, MotoGP manufacturers have experimented with more intricate bodywork in a bid to replicate the downforce-increasing effects of the outlawed devices.
Currently, teams are restricted to two different fairing designs per season: a 'standard' version that has to be homologated prior to the start of the season, and an 'evolution' that can introduced at any stage thereafter. Riders are then free to interchange between the two designs.
Some manufacturers - notably Ducati - have incorporated designs with multiple sections, which can be added and removed to suit different tracks' aerodynamic requirements.
This practice will be outlawed in 2019, according to a statement released by MotoGP after a meeting of the Grand Prix Commission last weekend at Assen.
It read: "Aero-body design guidelines have been released by the technical director and new aero-body dimension limits and limitations on the combination of different aero-body parts have been introduced.
"As a result, the present designs will still be allowed, but it won't be possible to remove/swap significant aerodynamic parts."
Another area where stricter limits will be imposed for 2019 is electronics, specifically with the introduction of a "unified inertial platform".
This follows MotoGP's adoption of a control ECU [Electronics Control Unit] for the 2016 season and is designed to clamp down on the practice of teams using the inertial platform - which informs the standard ECU of data such as lean angles - to feed the ECU different data about what the bike is doing and gaining a potential advantage.
Crutchlow: Pack races like Assen MotoGP round a disaster for Hondas
Vinales says Yamaha could still salvage 2018 MotoGP title bid
Why Honda and Yamaha have been left behind in MotoGP's new era
The once all-conquering Japanese manufacturers are going through a difficult period in MotoGP this season. With Suzuki quitting, Honda struggling to get near the podium and Yamaha only enjoying success courtesy of Fabio Quartararo, Japanese manufacturers have been left in the dust by their European counterparts. Key paddock figures explain why.
Who is Valentino Rossi’s newest MotoGP star?
Valentino Rossi’s protégés stole the show at Assen as Francesco Bagnaia stormed to victory to arrest a recent barren run. But it was the rider in second, on Bagnaia’s old bike, who had all eyes on him. Securing his and the VR46 team’s first MotoGP podium, Marco Bezzecchi has all the characteristics that made his mentor special
How Quartararo is evoking an absent MotoGP great in 2022
OPINION: Fabio Quartararo has seized control of the 2022 MotoGP world standings after another dominant victory as his nearest rivals faltered. And he is very much heading towards a second championship echoing how the dominator of the last decade achieved much of his success
The human importance of Marquez’s latest enforced MotoGP absence
OPINION: Marc Marquez will likely sit out the remainder of the 2022 MotoGP season to undergo a fourth major operation on the right arm he badly broke in 2020. It is hoped it will return him to his brilliant best after a tough start to the season without a podium to his name. But it’s the human victory that will far outweigh any future on-track success he may go on to have
Why Ducati holds all the power in its MotoGP rider dilemma
OPINION: The French Grand Prix looks to have made Ducati’s decision on its factory team line-up simpler, as Enea Bastianini stormed to his third win of the campaign and Jorge Martin crashed out for a fifth time in 2022. But, as Ducati suggests to Autosport, it remains in the strongest position in a wild rider market
The seismic aftershock left by Suzuki's decision to leave MotoGP
Suzuki's sudden decision to leave the MotoGP World Championship at the end of the season has acted as a stirring element in a market that had already erupted. Autosport analyses what this means for the grid going into 2023
How the real Ducati began to emerge in MotoGP’s Spanish GP
Ducati’s 2022 MotoGP bike has had a tough start to life and the expected early-season title charge from Francesco Bagnaia did not materialise. But the Spanish Grand Prix signalled a turning point for both the GP22 and Bagnaia, as the 2021 runner-up belatedly got his season underway after a straight fight with Fabio Quartararo
How Honda's praise for its 2022 MotoGP bike has turned into doubt
In a little over two months, Honda has gone from setting the pace in MotoGP testing with its new RC213V prototype to being at a crossroads - caused by the discrepancy in its riders' feedback. After a Portuguese GP that underwhelmed, serious questions are now being asked of Honda in 2022