Source: Supplied.

Suzuki and Aprilia unveiled the next steps in their aerodynamic packages at Phillip Island’s MotoGP test on Thursday, making use of internal-type winglets debuted by factory their riders.

At Team Suzuki Ecstar both Alex Rins and Andrea Iannone trialled the updates with positive results. Rins made significant headway and ended up ninth on the time-sheets, ahead of Iannone in 13th overall.

“We tried this new fairing [and] it was the very first time on-track,” explained team manager Davide Brivio. “We only did two runs as the purpose was only to get a first taste and collect preliminary data in order to check if it is truly effective.

“If this is the case, we will have quite a bit of time before Qatar to develop it further. It’s definitely too early to say if it’s race worthy or not – it will require some more in-depth testing and analysis.”

Source: Supplied.

Over at Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, Aleix Espargaro continued development of the 2017 RS-GP with upgraded fairings as ‘the result of aerodynamic studies’. He ended up an impressive sixth overall, just six tenths behind the leader Maverick Viñales.

“We took the 2017 front fairings on their maiden ride with Aleix,” said Aprilia Racing manager Romano Albesiano. “We will definitely be testing them again for further confirmation on the track of the encouraging results obtained in the computer simulations.”

Yamaha was the first to uncover its internal winglets during the first test of 2017 at Sepang, continuing to lap with them at Phillip Island this week. Ducati, Honda and KTM are yet to show their cards ahead of the new season.