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The tech behind MotoGP's controversial 'swinglets'

The furore over Ducati's 'tyre-cooling' winglet at the very beginning of 2019 highlighted a major problem with MotoGP's technical rules. Rival teams are now introducing their own versions, with a variety of approaches

In the wake of Ducati's controversial 'tyre cooler' winglet - or 'swinglet', as it's become affectionately known - being given the thumbs-up by MotoGP technical director Danny Aldridge, the floodgates have cracked open ever-so-slightly. Other manufacturers are creeping in with their own swingarm appendages.

And as Aldridge has been reassured, the important thing to note is that they're definitely not there to create downforce - not at all. There might be an inadvertent by-product of a few Newtons of downforce here and there, but they're actually there to cool tyres, or improve the stiffness of the swingarm. Apparently.

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