MotoGP Portimao March Testing
Aprilia reveals radical new aero concept for MotoGP at Portugal test
Aprilia has unveiled a radical new aerodynamic concept for MotoGP on its 2023 bike on the opening day of the final pre-season test of the year.
Germán Garcia Casanova
Edited: Mar 12, 2023, 2:43 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
On Saturday at the Algarve International Circuit, Aprilia rolled out an RS-GP fitted with new wings on the front of the bike, as well as a downward wing on the swingarm and a t-wing on the rear of the seat unit.
One of the Noale-based company's top engineering managers Marco de Luca, who is head of Aprilia Racing's vehicle dynamics department, is the father of the idea and the one in charge of taking it forward.
De Luca is now in his fourth year in MotoGP, but began his career in 1990 as an aerodynamicist for the likes of Minardi, Benetton and Ferrari in Formula 1 and in tin-top and GT racing.
"The aerodynamic work on our bike is not directly inspired by cars, aerodynamics is a global concept and we are working on original solutions to achieve what the riders ask us for," de Luca explained to Motorsport.com.
"Whether it's better stability under braking, better cornering, the bike not moving at high speeds, etc, MotoGP bikes are becoming more sophisticated and powerful every day, and they need the right aerodynamics to keep them on the line."
Aprilia Racing Team fork mounted wings
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
The curious aspect to this new aerodynamic package is that it was ready to be used at the Sepang test last month, though Aprilia elected against revealing it to avoid its rivals copying the concept in the month leading up to this weekend's test in Portugal.
"We took it to Sepang and it was all ready to be mounted on the bike," Aleix Espargaro explained on Friday. "But in the end we decided not to take it out so that they wouldn't copy it."
Aprilia's tail unit wing is a departure from the concept Ducati ushered in last year at the British Grand Prix with its 'Stegosaurus' design, with Yamaha set to follow Aprilia's path in this regard.
"We know that Yamaha has made a wing like ours, that lets us know what they are looking for," said an Aprilia engineer.
"The Ducati wing, 'ridge' type, is to improve stability when stopping the bike. The horizontal wing is for better cornering, which is what Yamaha is looking for."
Read Also:
- Aprilia reveals 2023 MotoGP livery ahead of final test
- Yamaha set to test F1-style rear wing in Portugal MotoGP test
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Yamaha set to test F1-style rear wing in Portugal MotoGP test
Next article Portugal MotoGP test: Bagnaia leads Ducati 1-2 on first day
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Germán Garcia Casanova
Marc Marquez will have to perform his "juggling act" in coming MotoGP races, says Alex
MotoGP
MotoGP
Indonesian GP
17 h
Marc Marquez will have to perform his "juggling act" in coming MotoGP races, says Alex
Pedro Acosta: "I'm going to Ducati to learn from Marc Marquez, not to beat him on same bike"
MotoGP
MotoGP
Indonesian GP
Pedro Acosta: "I'm going to Ducati to learn from Marc Marquez, not to beat him on same bike"
More from
Aprilia Racing Team
Jorge Martin: “I don’t feel I will struggle anymore” in MotoGP title run-in
MotoGP
MotoGP
Indonesian GP
Jorge Martin: “I don’t feel I will struggle anymore” in MotoGP title run-in
Why Jorge Martín was not penalised for jump start in Indonesia
MotoGP
MotoGP
Indonesian GP
Why Jorge Martín was not penalised for jump start in Indonesia
Latest news
Kaden Honeycutt wins incident-free Phoenix NASCAR Truck race, extends points lead
NASCAR Truck
NSTR NASCAR Truck
Phoenix
44 min
Kaden Honeycutt wins incident-free Phoenix NASCAR Truck race, extends points lead
GTA VI 'Vice City' blimp to appear at NASCAR championship weekend
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
5 h
GTA VI 'Vice City' blimp to appear at NASCAR championship weekend
Verstappen Racing struggles to 15th as Porsche takes emotional Portimao pole
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
WCEE GT World Challenge Europe Endurance 6 h
Verstappen Racing struggles to 15th as Porsche takes emotional Portimao pole
Franco Colapinto urges fans to stop the abuse: “You’re not helping me or my future”
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
10 h
Franco Colapinto urges fans to stop the abuse: “You’re not helping me or my future”
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe