SuperBike Magazine June 2020

76 DUCATI MOTOGP
make the best decisions to help a rider
win a race.
Ducati as a motorcycle manufacturer
has invested a lot of time in thinking of
the new ideas that can help the team win
races such as the holeshot device or being
the first team to implement winglets.
The best thing to do to in order to win is
to invest in new ideas, new technologies,
and new solutions.
There is one element of racing we
can’t alter. This is the emotional connection
between bike and rider. At the end
of the day, it is not tech alone that wins
races, but the skill, expertise and intuition
of the human piloting the machine.
Although technology cannot lose this
element it can be enhanced as Ducati
and Lenovo continue to push the limits
of their respective crafts. In times gone
by racers relied solely on intuition and
guesswork, now with their crew chief
they can track the precise details of their
vehicle and its surroundings to optimize
each race and practice. Over a race
weekend track time is very limited and
a change in track conditions means the
bike gets a tweaking, It’s all analysed by
dozens of Lenovo devices computing at a
rate faster than any human can think.
During these bizarre times where
we are anxiously waiting for the season
to start the MotoGP teams are hard at
work. The riders are required to keep fit
by cycling, doing gym and riding motocross,
they also need to keep their mind
sharp and be ready for the season to get
underway. On the other hand the crew
members are having to work flat out,
they use the data gathered from previous
events to help them for the upcoming
races; Engineers and designers use
information collected from sensors to
inform and shape the designs of new
parts and models and even go as far as
getting parts printed in 3D from the comfort
of their home during lockdown. In
order to design such intricate parts one
needs some very impressive skills and
an even more impressive computer able
to run this software, upload and send you
designs.
Away from the track the team are
able to simulate races. MotoGP simulation
is far different to that of Formula 1,
it is very complicated. One cannot build
a robot or simulator for bike racing as
you can for car racing. The rider weighs
up to 50% of the weight of the bike and
they move around on the bike which is
constantly changing the centre of gravity
of the bike, no two riders are the same
and no two riders move on the bike in
the exact same way. These computer
simulated races, will show them how
certain changes in parts or geometry will
affect the characteristics of a bike going in
speeds in excess of 350km/h. This is only
possible with the right data and enough
computer processing speed. The more
accurate the simulations are, the quicker
Alberto and Daniele can make decisions
for their riders and get them towards the
top step of the podium.
Where do the crew chiefs see the
future going?
MotoGP is getting faster every year,
therefore you need new technology. At
MotoGP we are still different to other
forms of racing. For instance in Formula 1
you can make changes to the car from the
‘box’ and communicate to the driver, our
communications with the rider are still via
pit boards and more recently messages
to their dashboards, but they still need
to make changes to the maps, traction
control and engine braking themselves.
We are happy with this for now as there is
a nice human element and it adds to the
most exciting racing series in the world.
Will Moto-E change the way we race
bikes?
It is great to have Moto-E join the paddock
from the 2019 season but we are still a
long way away from having electric bikes
in the premier class. The technology is
still far behind, the bikes are heavy and
the performance is noticeably slower than