MotoGP has become increasingly reliant on aerodynamics since Ducati introduced winglets to its Desmosedici in 2015, and it has now become a key battleground in the race to build the fastest bike.
Although aero development has already been a subject of criticism from various quarters, some manufacturers appeared to take things up a notch this year after trialling various new devices in Malaysia.
Aprilia debuted a unique rear wing shape as part of its overhauled RS-GP, Honda was sporting an upgraded version of its ‘stegosaurus’ design at the back of its bike, while Ducati tested new fairings on the sides of the Desmosedici. KTM and Yamaha also introduced new aero packages at Sepang in order to stay with the competition.
Marquez, who left the factory Honda squad for Ducati squad Gresini over the winter, was unimpressed with what he saw in Malaysia last weekend, saying MotoGP is not doing the right thing by following in the footsteps of Formula 1 and putting too much focus on aero.
“When I see some photos from the shakedown and some new aerodynamics, it looks like Formula 1,” he said.
“For me, I hate that way but it's the way that they are going and the rules allow them, so they will go there.
“But when I see that every time we are going more and more on the aerodynamics, personally speaking I don’t like [it]. But you need to adapt.”
The push to incorporate more aero elements has had a detrimental effect on the quality of racing, which used to be one of the strongest points of the series.
But that hasn’t stopped manufacturers from experimenting with more aero items on their bikes in the race to gain more performance, especially after the success Ducati has enjoyed by being ahead of the competition in this area.
Marquez said MotoGP would be able to put on a better show if manufacturers dedicated resources to developing other areas of the bike, including chassis and engine, and moving away from aerodynamics.
“It's a compromise, but when you are talking aerodynamics it will be more difficult to follow the bikes and to overtake,” he explained.
“This is what has happened to Formula 1. In MotoGP we had the good thing that we were able to fight in a big group but now if you are going more and more on aerodynamics…
“So I will prefer to develop on the chassis area, on tyres and engines, than aerodynamics, but it will affect the show that is the main race.
“For the show it doesn't matter if you are three tenths faster or three tenths slower. People want to see overtakes.”
