Looking at all the pics, as a proud Ducati owner (Multistrada 2012) must openly say the new Ducati MotoGP bike looks ridiculous with the wings and needs more red ~ less white.... nuff said'..... 2016 Ducati Desmosedici GP16 = 2016 Ducati Desmosedici GP - AKA, The Desmo 16 GP and http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2016/02/23/ducati-reveal-2016-livery/193310
So. Ducati fugly has now come to their race bikes. Disappointing. Let's be honest: it's hideous and we would be laughing our heads off if it was some other manufacturer. Ducati left in the dirt by Honda in the style stakes.... Not good, is it?
The BT Sport commentators never stopped banging on about them all last year. These should keep them busy for a while. :Wideyed:
Personally i couldn't care what it looks like. Ducati are playing a game within the rules to try and get wins/results. That's what racing is about, not a style exercise.
Most people talk about anti wheelie downforce, but I read something about the wings perhaps being used to have an effect on cornering. I thought that was fascinating. Personally I think it's the next step to Pod racing a la Star Wars so can't be a bad thing!
I think I read it is to aid cornering too, when you lean into a corner the down force only acts on the inside wings or some such thing.
Won't there be zero downforce caused by the wings as they will be at the wrong angle when leant over? Think plane flying at 90 degrees, they need speed to do it and the wings do bugger all to help. aerodynamics - Can you fly an airplane at a 90° roll angle without losing altitude? - Aviation Stack Exchange
I'm not going to second guess the Ducati engineers. They must have reams of data from wind tunnel testing and computer modelling and the like. But yes, the wings look hideous and either Ducati know something that the other manufacturers don't, or else they are barking up the wrong tree. Of course, it's the results that count, but you'd prefer Ducati to win on a gorgeous bike rather than a minger.
If another rider were to "accidentally" brush up against it and damage or knock off a wing, they will be instantly black flagged. Sure fire way of winning a duel when you're battling against a faster machine
To wing it or not, that is the question - MotoGP - Motor Sport Magazine Good article by Mat Oxley about them.