Andrew McLarneyMotoGP Reporter
Andrew McLarney is an accredited MotoGP reporter with four years experience as a professional writer across the sports and video game industries. His experience as a K1 Premier League competitor evolved into a fascination with all forms of combat sport and eventually motorsport — with MotoGP becoming his primary focus. On top of that he is also an avid follower of MXGP and AMA Supercross/Motocross.
Innovation has always been essential in motorsport, but in recent years we have seen the subtlest of adjustments make the biggest of differences - this year, some MotoGP teams are utilizing an old banned trick from Formula 1 to create a rider-powered form of DRS.
It's no secret that Aprilia has been one of the most-improved teams over the last couple of seasons, and this year they seem better placed than ever to challenge Ducati's dominance after a strong showing in the Buriram pre-season test.
One subtle change which was picked up by Simon Patterson of TheRace, in which a new aero trick seems to borrow from an old banned F1 technique.
Back in 2010, the McLaren F1 team trialled a new innovative F-duct device which enabled drivers to manually reduce drag along straights. While the device was banned in 2011 and later made redundant with the introduction of DRS, Aprilia's MotoGP team have managed to find a loophole in the current regulations which allows their riders to similarly reduce drag in a convenient way.
Photo: Red Bull Content Pool
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Since Aprilia typically runs slightly wider sidepods and a low front-fairing to create a stronger ground-effect through corners, it can cost them on the straights in terms of absolute top speed.
This year, the new trick has been to create a form of active aero in which riders can block an aero duct in order to redirect flow down towards the rear of the bike.
In theory, it should help with engine cooling as well as straight-line aerodynamics. If the Buriram test is anything to go by, the trick seems to have worked. Marco Bezzecchi, who recently signed a new multi-year extension with the Italian manufacturers, finished top of the timing sheets and broke the lap record.
Meanwhile Japan's Ai Ogura, who rides for Aprilia's satellite team, Trackhouse Racing, finished second on the final day of testing.
The full video from TheRace can be found below:
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