Ducati unveils 2018 fairing at Thailand Test

Following new downforce fairings from Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and KTM at the opening Sepang MotoGP test, Ducati unveiled its 2018 prototype on day one in Thailand.

The new design appears to be a more slender evolution of Ducati's 2017 fairing and, once again, is available in two different configurations:

Still outraged at the ban on normal wings, Ducati produced two of the most exotic 'integrated winglet' designs under the first season of the new rules.

The first, most extreme verison, nicknamed the hammerhead, was never raced. But a revised design proved more successful, and almost as eye catching, when it debuted after the summer break in Brno.

Jorge Lorenzo relished the extra front load and spent the remainder of the season using the fairing, the modular design of which meant it could be run as either a bi- or tri-wing set-up.

Team-mate Andrea Dovizioso and Pramac's Danilo Petrucci were more cautious about the drag and agility penalty, swapping back and forth between the standard and 'aero' fairing depending on the circuit.

Aprilia had adopted the Ducati concept late last year, with the 2018 Honda and KTM Sepang fairings also following the 'wings joined by a vertical endplate' design.

But Yamaha morphed that accepted shape into more of a 'rail'; the 'endplate' joining the two wings curving both outwards and backwards for a boomerang type shape.

Suzuki has stuck with its 'moustache' profile, but now enclosing a bigger duct area on either side.

While any fairing can be used in testing, the Sepang designs were all declared as legal to race by Technical Director Danny Aldridge, who is nonetheless preparing stricter regulations for 2019.

Teams will again be allowed only one in-season fairing update.