Ducati Corse general manager- Gigi Dall'Igna has thrashed the argument that the ‘Winglets are dangerous’. It is Ducati that has introduced the winglets to the MotoGP for better aerodynamics; however, despite of accepting the technology by other manufacturers it is being more criticized rather than appreciated. Teams like Movistar Yamaha, Repsol Honda and Suzuki all have tried Winglets on their machines and team Movistar Yamaha had also received success in winning one race with winglets onboard. Since the beginning of the 2016 MotoGP season, lots of voices have been raised against the use of winglets not because it is unfair to use but they are considered by many as dangerous. To add to the drama the close encounter between Factory Ducati rider Iannone and Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez at the Argentina GP, where the left winglet of Iannone’s Ducati broke off after brushing with Marquez’s Honda.
*** Iannone riding Ducati with broken left winglet
Dorna has already banned the winglets for Moto2 and Moto3 and now it is also under consideration for MotoGP. Responding to the situation where it is called that the ‘Winglets are Dangerous’ the General Manager at Ducati Corse said:
There is a lot of talk about winglet safety but to be honest I don't think anything has happened that can bring us to say that the winglets are dangerous.
In the case of Iannone's and Marquez's clash at the first corner of the Argentina GP, the left winglet of our bike broke off and Marquez didn't suffer any damage or a different problem to what could have happened in a normal contact of this kind. And there are certainly other parts of a bike (the bars and the foot-pegs for example) that can cause problems in case of contact.
It is also true however that everything can be improved and for this reason we will put forward our proposal for a ruling on the winglets, with a view to further improving the safety of the bikes.
Source: Crash.Net
By: Farhan Kashif