Pedro Acosta: KTM fender wing not only about downforce
“Also, it's maybe taking a bit of temperature out of the tyre..."
After racing the front wing fender on his KTM for the first time at the penultimate MotoGP round in Malaysia, Pedro Acosta revealed an interesting side-effect.
While the main purpose of the extra aero - first seen in pre-season testing at the same track in February - is to provide more, or at least a different application of downforce, it also cools the front tyre.
After fighting from 13th to fifth place in Malaysia, Acosta, who fell more than any other rider with 28 accidents this year, explained that he raced the mini-wing at Sepang to try and avoid further front-end spills.
“[It puts] different forces onto the tyre,” he said. “We have many problems with locking and front closing like we saw in Misano, Japan, Indonesia.
“I crashed also from losing the front and then a highside in Phillip Island. Thailand also. This [wing] helps to make the forces in another way.”
But he added: “Also, it's maybe taking a bit of temperature out of the tyre, for this it’s quite okay.”
While cooling the front tyre was a welcome bonus in the sweltering heat of Malaysia, especially when following other bikes closely in dirty air, it could also be a hazard at colder events.
“It’s going to be difficult because we cannot use it in all the tracks,” Acosta said, citing the French Grand Prix as an example.
“We have tracks like Le Mans where we have a lot of wheelie, but it's cold.
“At the moment, everything is positive for this [tyre cooling], let's see if any negatives arrive.”
The Barcelona season finale provided a good chance to test whether the tyre cooling might prove problematic.
Despite the autumn temperatures, below 20 degrees even in the afternoon, Acosta kept the fender wing fitted for the Sprint and Grand Prix, clearly feeling the benefits continued to outweigh any negatives.
Unfortunately for Acosta, he went on to lose fifth in the world championship to future factory KTM team-mate Brad Binder on the very final lap of the season, due to braking issues.
Binder, Jack Miller and Augusto Fernandez did not race with the fender wing in Barcelona. However, Acosta’s preference was clear by sticking with it during his Red Bull KTM debut at the Tuesday test.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
