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The transfer of high-lift wing design methodology from the aerospace industry to race-car application faces certain difficulties due to differences in the operating conditions. Three typical examples are used to demonstrate these different operating conditions; the first of which is the extreme ground effect experienced by the front wings of various open wheel race cars. The following examples focus on the strong interaction between wings and the vehicle's body and on the unique features of certain small-aspect ratio, high-downforce rear wings. Consequently, a well designed airplane airfoil cannot be used automatically on a race car. However, when accounting for these different operating conditions, traditional aeronautical tools can be used to develop an equally successful race car wing. The approach then is to define a desirable target pressure distribution which may be borrowed from airplane applications.

The aerodynamic drag and lift of a sport-motorcycle was investigated in a full-scale and in a 1/6th scale wind tunnel tests. The results show the large vertical load transfer to the rear wheel as vehicle’s speed increases. Consequently, several simple dive and splitter-plates were tested to balance the motorcycle and primarily increase the front axle aerodynamic downforce. These devices were added at a relatively low position on the bodywork in order to avoid adverse handling effects while leaning in turns. This study shows the level of downforce that can be generated by simple add-ons without major alterations to the bodywork. Consequently, for higher levels of aerodynamic downforce, larger underbody surfaces or wings are needed.