MotoGP | KTM asks for the freezing of the fins, Honda and Suzuki are in favor, Ducati is against

MotoGP Aerodynamics – During the weekend of the Argentine Grand Prix, the first meeting of the MSMA, the manufacturers' association, was held, during which some regulatory innovations were discussed, in particular: electronics and fins.

Although there were two main topics to discuss, the focus was on aerodynamics. According to what was reported by the German website SpeedWeek.com, KTM would have proposed a freeze in the development of winged fairings to limit costs. The Austrian company would have turned to the "sister" sponsor of Formula 1, RedBul, to ask for advice, from which it would have emerged that the development possibilities are infinite and consequently the budget required would also be very high.

Already two years ago, when the wings were banned, one of the main reasons for the decision was to limit expenses. However, despite the ban, all teams continued research and development in this sector, effectively making the ban useless.

At the moment all the teams have winged fairings, but KTM would like more stringent rules, but not an absolute ban. The Austrian manufacturer proposes freezing the hulls, in order to avoid further investments and limit the budget and, at the same time, give greater freedom by removing the constraint of the fins integrated into the hull. At the moment, however, it is not clear whether freezing means "the final form", because there had already been discussions in Qatar about the possibility of making the regulation more stringent. Currently, in fact, once a hull has been approved the teams cannot add components, but only remove them. For example, the Ducati essentially has three fairings, a high load one with three horizontal deflectors, a medium load one and a "smooth" one.

In Argentina no agreement was reached, KTM's proposal was liked by Honda and Suzuki, while Aprilia and Yamaha said they were uncertain. Only Ducati strongly opposed it, declaring that it had already made huge investments and was therefore not willing to take a step back.

Since every MSMA decision must be made unanimously, another meeting is scheduled for the US GP this weekend.

Photos: Alex Farinelli