‘Stretching the rules’: how racing design may drive the evolution of the technological and legal environment.

Abstract

Andrea Dovizioso’s victory in the opening race of the 2019 Moto GP season at Qatar has been subjected to appeal. Dovizioso raced in Qatar using the new aerodynamic components and he won a thrilling close race by a margin of only 0,023 seconds from Marc Màrquez; the top five finished within six tenths of a second. The new aero parts prompted four factories (Aprilia, Honda, KTM, and Suzuki) to lodge a protest with the FIM Stewards, claiming that the aerodynamic device attached to the swingarm was illegal. ‘The Spoon’ developed by Ducati Moto GP team led to significant technical improvement of the Ducati GP19 motorcycle and its legal debate, involving the FIM, had a huge media impact. According to Ducati the discussed component had a function of cooling the rear tire by directing airflow directly onto its surface. However, exploration into its exact effect had thrown up a number of theories to its main function, one being that it helped the bike in becoming more slippery through the air, improving its aerodynamics and therefore reducing drag. Drag reduction or tyre cooling? On 22nd March 2019, the Moto GP Court of Appeal ruled that Ducati’s aero spoiler was legal.