{"id":595981,"date":"2026-04-09T16:11:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T16:11:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/595981\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T16:11:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T16:11:16","slug":"ducati-takes-inspiration-from-rivals-in-motogp-rear-aero-battle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/595981\/","title":{"rendered":"Ducati takes inspiration from rivals in MotoGP rear aero battle"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Ducati ushered in MotoGP\u2019s modern aerodynamics era when its Desmosedici sprouted winglets during 2015 pre-season testing.<\/p>\n<p>The Bologna factory then kept its rivals in aerodynamic \u2018dirty air\u2019 for much of the following decade, as development accelerated across the grid.<\/p>\n<p>But while Ducati\u2019s concepts were widely copied, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crash.net\/motogp\/teams\/aprilia-racing\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Aprilia<\/a> emerged as a key innovator, notably introducing a ground-effect fairing in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>With homologation rules now limiting front fairing updates, smaller details separate the manufacturers.<\/p>\n<p>Rear aero, meanwhile, remains unrestricted and has become something of a battleground, with many teams now offering multiple configurations to suit rider choice or circuit characteristics.<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>Aprilia again led the way with seat-mounted wings positioned behind the rider\u2019s legs, an area outside of the current homologation limits.<\/p>\n<p>Honda, KTM and &#8211; from the recent COTA round &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crash.net\/motogp\/teams\/ducati-lenovo-team\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ducati<\/a> now also have &#8216;leg wings&#8217; available.<\/p>\n<p>Ducati\u2019s version, modest in size compared to Aprilia, made its debut alongside a revised rear wing, similar to a current design at Aprilia, KTM and Yamaha.<\/p>\n<p>These seem to combine the vertical side vanes of the \u2018stegosaurus\u2019 aero with the downforce benefits of a conventional \u2018F1-style\u2019 wing profile.<\/p>\n<p>Honda has also experimented with rear wings in the past, but is currently using only vanes.<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/gng_1302159_hires.jpg\"   type=\"image\/jpeg\" alt=\"Marc Marquez, new rear aero, 2026 US MotoGP.\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.67\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Marc Marquez, new rear aero, 2026 US MotoGP.<\/p>\n<p> \u00a9\u00a0Gold and Goose<\/p>\n<p>      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/aprilia.jpg\"   type=\"image\/jpeg\" alt=\"Aprilia rear aero and leg wings, MotoGP 2026.\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.64\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Aprilia rear aero and leg wings, MotoGP 2026.<\/p>\n<p> \u00a9\u00a0Gold and Goose<\/p>\n<p>      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ktm.jpg\"   type=\"image\/jpeg\" alt=\"KTM rear aero and leg wings, MotoGP 2026.\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.61\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>KTM rear aero and leg wings, MotoGP 2026.<\/p>\n<p> \u00a9\u00a0Gold and Goose<\/p>\n<p>      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/yamaha.jpg\"   type=\"image\/jpeg\" alt=\"Yamaha rear aero, 2026 US MotoGP.\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.66\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Yamaha rear aero, 2026 US MotoGP.<\/p>\n<p> \u00a9\u00a0Gold and Goose<\/p>\n<p>      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/honda.jpg\"   type=\"image\/jpeg\" alt=\"Honda rear aero, 2026 US MotoGP.\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.72\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Honda rear aero, 2026 US MotoGP.<\/p>\n<p> \u00a9\u00a0Gold and Goose<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;More stability in the fast corners&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Asked if Aprilia had been an inspiration for its latest aero, Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crash.net\/motogp\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">MotoGP<\/a> pitlane reporter Jack Appleyard:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s obvious that you have to always look at who is leading, and it seems like Aprilia in this moment is performing very well, so why not have a look\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ducati\u2019s aero seemed to work, with factory riders Marc Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia keeping it for the remainder of the US MotoGP weekend.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel that you have more stability in the fast corners,\u201d Bagnaia explained. \u201cExiting from the fast corners, I feel more comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bagnaia then got to within half a lap of winning the COTA Sprint but was overtaken by Aprilia&#8217;s Jorge Martin, on the medium rear tyre.<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>All riders then used the medium for the grand prix, but Bagnaia again suffered a big tyre drop and faded from fifth to tenth.<\/p>\n<p>Marquez took over fifth place after fighting back from a long lap penalty.<\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/di-giannantonio.jpg\"   type=\"image\/jpeg\" alt=\"Fabio di Giannantonio, 2026 US MotoGP.\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.57\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Fabio di Giannantonio, 2026 US MotoGP.<\/p>\n<p> \u00a9\u00a0Gold and Goose<\/p>\n<p>However, VR46&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crash.net\/motogp\/racer\/995149\/fabio-di-giannantonio\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Fabio di Giannantonio<\/a> finished as the leading Ducati rider in fourth &#8211; without the new aero.<\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/bezzecchi-damage.jpg\"   type=\"image\/jpeg\" alt=\"Marco Bezzecchi's damaged rear aero, 2026 US MotoGP.\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.55\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Marco Bezzecchi&#8217;s damaged rear aero, 2026 US MotoGP.<\/p>\n<p> \u00a9\u00a0Gold and Goose<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>Seven seconds ahead of di Giannantonio, Aprilia&#8217;s title leader <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crash.net\/motogp\/racer\/995158\/marco-bezzecchi\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Marco Bezzecchi<\/a> won his fifth consecutive grand prix despite damage to the back of his RS-GP, with Martin in second.<\/p>\n<p>When discussing the damage, Aprilia Racing CEO Massimo Rivola identified where the wing is most effective:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Marco&#8217;s pace was penalised by the lack of a rear wing, especially under hard braking, and there are a lot of those here.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The rear of the bike was definitely lighter, more unstable, and therefore more difficult to control.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He did a great job at adapting&#8230; If others think aerodynamics don&#8217;t matter, let them think that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>Subscribe to our MotoGP Newsletter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ducati ushered in MotoGP\u2019s modern aerodynamics era when its Desmosedici sprouted winglets during 2015 pre-season testing. The Bologna&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":595982,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[18009,64,63,17197,8456,7607,245659,6399,4280,806,805,803,804,85,3561],"class_list":{"0":"post-595981","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-motosport","8":"tag-aprilia","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-ducati","12":"tag-ducati-lenovo-team","13":"tag-francesco-bagnaia","14":"tag-honda-hrc-motogp","15":"tag-ktm","16":"tag-marc-marquez","17":"tag-motor","18":"tag-motor-sports","19":"tag-motosport","20":"tag-motosports","21":"tag-sports","22":"tag-yamaha"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=595981"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595981\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/595982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=595981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=595981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=595981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}