Featured in the October issue of Road Racing World
Enzo Ferrari is said to have once said, “Aerodynamics is for people who can’t build an engine.” Physics says Ferrari is wrong, because drag increases with speed squared, so the faster you go, the more important aerodynamics become. So in the early days nobody thought about reducing drag by making the motorcycle and rider more streamlined, because the bikes weren’t fast enough. In the year It wasn’t until the 1920s that racers and record-breakers began to think about how to make their motorcycles simply glide through the air.
When World War I fighter Owen Baldwin set a new motorcycle land-speed record in 1928, his 60-horsepower Zenith-Jap was equipped with small, padded fairings on either side of the front wheel. He copied these from Sopt’s Camel from Flight of the War.
Baldwin improved his aerodynamics by wrapping a car inner tube and duct tape to stop the suit from swinging around. Another competitor also wore women’s stockings for the same reason. Baldwin’s rudimentary aero concept set the record at 124.55 mph. And that was the beginning. Within 10 years the record had been pushed to 173mph, the fastest machines dressed in full livery like wingless fighter jets. Rapid engine development during World War II increased demand for drag as the race continued. In the 1950s it changed the shape of Grand Prix racing, but crosswinds were considered particularly dangerous, so they were banned. Aerodynamics in MotoGP Low power aerodynamics became a bit of a science in motorcycle racing until recently. It’s a different science, not reducing traction for improved straight line speed, but turning the tires into grip by pushing them into the pavement…
“The History of the Aerodynamic Glider”, by Matt Oxley
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