MotoGP, Scorching Sepang...and at the end of Day 1 Aprilia debuts the 'rake'

Aerodynamic research needs data and to be validated, because often the rider's sensations from this point of view risk being less than precise. Here the working methodology is refined.

We had already seen this contraption in F1 - it's called an aero-rake – and it’s positioned behind the front wheels of a single-seater. An accessory that is useful when it comes to having a three-dimensional representation of air flows. Disturbed air means resistance to forward movement and, in the case of single-seaters, less air channelled into the radiators.

We can imagine that for motorbikes the situation is similar because the rider influences the aerodynamics a lot with his body and trying to 'clean' the flow in that area is very important. The Aprilia RS-GP 24 is very different from the previous one in terms of aerodynamics and for this reason at Noale, after having imagined it in the wind-tunnel and on the computer, they are studying it on the track.