Winglets Banned From 2017 Season on All Three MotoGP Class Bikes
Sameer Contractor
1 min read
Jun 26, 2016, 11:21 PM
Key Highlights
- Winglets have been completely banned in all 3 MotoGP classes
- Ducati introduced winglets on its bikes late last year
- Bikes with winglets will continue to race for the remainder of the season
Clearing the long standing debate, the Grand Prix Commission has confirmed that Winglets will be banned in all three MotoGP classes from the 2017 season. The commission met at Assen, Netherlands and decided to impose an outright ban on the use of the aerodynamics wings located just below the front fairing. The ban was sought after the manufacturer's association MSMA failed to reach an agreement among all manufacturers with respect to a joint proposal.
Safety has been one of the major reasons for the ban of winglets on MotoGP bikes with concerns over the effect in case of an impact during a crash. With the introduction of common ECU software for all teams, a decision on winglets was impending. The aerodynamic wings are instrumental in reducing the amount of wheelie that a MotoGP bike had, and over time, teams especially Ducati managed to gain more experience with the same as the winglets grew larger.
Management and organisers comprising of FIM, Dorna and team's association IRTA presented MSMA manufacturers an ultimatum to produce a common proposal to jointly regulate and restrict the size of winglets. If a conclusion wasn't sought, winglets would be banned. With factory teams split over the use of winglets, a joint proposal could not be made to the commission and the latter had to issue a ban. That said, the commission did confirm that winglets which comply with the current technical regulations may continue to be used for the remainder of the 2016 season.
The winglets concept was introduced by Ducati late last year, but have been subject to a lot of criticism by other team riders. Dani Pedrosa has been one of the more vocal voices against winglets asking them to be banned, after his collision with Andrea Dovizioso earlier this year, whereas Bradley Smith also mentioned about brake problems caused by winglet turbulence. With winglets out of the picture, the 2017 season will see some major changes to fairing of MotoGP bikes.
Safety has been one of the major reasons for the ban of winglets on MotoGP bikes with concerns over the effect in case of an impact during a crash. With the introduction of common ECU software for all teams, a decision on winglets was impending. The aerodynamic wings are instrumental in reducing the amount of wheelie that a MotoGP bike had, and over time, teams especially Ducati managed to gain more experience with the same as the winglets grew larger.
Management and organisers comprising of FIM, Dorna and team's association IRTA presented MSMA manufacturers an ultimatum to produce a common proposal to jointly regulate and restrict the size of winglets. If a conclusion wasn't sought, winglets would be banned. With factory teams split over the use of winglets, a joint proposal could not be made to the commission and the latter had to issue a ban. That said, the commission did confirm that winglets which comply with the current technical regulations may continue to be used for the remainder of the 2016 season.
The winglets concept was introduced by Ducati late last year, but have been subject to a lot of criticism by other team riders. Dani Pedrosa has been one of the more vocal voices against winglets asking them to be banned, after his collision with Andrea Dovizioso earlier this year, whereas Bradley Smith also mentioned about brake problems caused by winglet turbulence. With winglets out of the picture, the 2017 season will see some major changes to fairing of MotoGP bikes.
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