It’s hard to think that the shape of a MotoGP fairing is crucial for performance, if you consider the technical complexity of the bike inside…
“I looked into the subject and if you look at the aerodynamic evolution of a racing bike, nothing particularly significant happened from the 1960s until the end of the millennium. Even when other brands started fitting fins to bikes, the they were simply bolting to an existing fairing. We now understand much more about how the wings and fairing interact and we don’t think of them as independent, but rather as one body working aerodynamically. We are now trying to put aside this perception of what it should look like. a motorcycle and consider what is best for performance. The other side is that many have an emotional attachment to a motorcycle and the way it looks. When you start applying all these addendums, it tends to lose that appeal. I think at KTM we put an effort a little more than other competitors in terms of aesthetics. We work a lot with KISKA and certainly our bosses want to see a nice bike. There is an emotional attachment and personal opinions in the design and graphics”
Is most of the work done in CAD design? Or do they put 3D molds into practice?
“You have to do tests. You have to show people who have a lot of specific knowledge the results of the simulations. It is also about showing the mechanics and design specialists what we need from them. We have a good working relationship with these groups, but the shape of the bike now has to go beyond the style”.
So how does the collaboration with Red Bull Advanced Technologies work for you? How do you feel about it and what difference has it made?
“Initially we didn’t know how it was going to work, but I was all for it; anything to help the bike go faster on the track. It’s a two-way partnership and, of course, we’ve tried to learn as much as possible from them and they’ve learned from our greater understanding of motorcycle behavior. I think they have underestimated how detailed and complicated it can be. But the advantage of not having ties to the bike is that RBAT engineers can think in alternative ways that could lead to better performance”.
What was the result?
“They have a lot of resources, so they are designing and simulating at a much faster pace. They had our base package from 2022, started working and then took over the 2023 novelties that we had developed in-house. They saw what we were doing and yes they focused on the performance we had found and evolved it faster to create a next generation shape. We took it to Sepang to test it. It’s great for me to see what we’ve done validated and that our methods and understanding are correct because their team has continued in the same vein.”
How do you see the future of aerodynamics in MotoGP?
“I think it could go two ways. With racing we have now seen a trend towards less overtaking and I believe this is partly due to the heavier aerodynamics of the bike and the difficulty of getting out of the slipstream and completing the pass. So the aerodynamics could be banned; hopefully not and how can you ban something that is naturally aerodynamic like a racing bike that pushes the air? They could go the F1 route and allow active aerodynamics like a DRS system, but they are not a big fan of DRS or KERS because of its racing handling. One avenue might be to allow room for creativity and aerodynamic freedom, but without the wake mass and turbulence, which was the problem years ago with the original wings. “Pilots were complaining about eddies and turbulent air. The aerodynamic ‘weight’ is getting bigger and we have to somehow agree on a sensible way to keep it under control.”
