third part
After a nice lunch is the time for Liam to return to work. Motogp class has their 2 free training coming up. He shows me around in Alice's pit, and let me take pictures of the motorcycles, and mechanics that are busy with preparations. Then he allows me to come up and see the trailer, where I meet one of the other employees, a specialist for the suspension of the motorcycles. Liam invites me to see the free training from the pit. I went into the pit again, where I must stand behind a large screen, so I do not come in the way of mechanics. There are already 5 others who are standing there.
The mood in the pit is a bit hectic, but seems very organized. The Mechanics are working with great calm and concentration. They do not say much to each other, everyone knows what their function is, and they have an almost telepathic cooperation. They almost work as a small army, everything is carried out with great thoroughness. The riders provide them with information and immediately they go to work with the changes which they believe will be an advantage.
There are many people in the pit all the time, there are at least 2 photographers who rushed to take pictures of the riders and mechanics. But they are never in the way of mechanics. We others would be as an elephant in a glassshop, but they managed at least to keep distance while close enough.
After a while, I must move on, there are others who need the paddock pass. I thank Liam, who invites me back the following day, if I have more questions.
Saturday, it was impossible for me to get paddock pass for more than 1 hour, so I had to wait until Sunday after the race, to go back and talk with Liam.
I meet a very happy Liam, who had celebrated Tony Elias beautiful 2. place.
We go up in Alice's trailer, where there is a little more peace and quiet.
How are you preparing for a race, for example. by the sudden switch from dry to wet race?
"At the start of the race, we have always 2 motorcycles ready with the same setup. Usually, it's always a setup for a dry race. If it starts to rain, there is always an employee who keeps track of where the rider is, if he will come into the pit, so we can begin to change the setup of the second motorcycle. We put soft tyres on when it rains; they give a more in touch in front of the motorcycle. We are not changing so much based on the temperature, sometimes we turn off the radiator in the motorcycle so the heat is stable. "
Do you use of data from other races in your preparations?
"Yes we do. We hold a close eye on the data about the gasoline and how the motorcycle exploit this. The Cylinders have different consumption, so it is also something we keep an eye on, and how we can make the petrol last longer. "
How many people are employed at the Alice team?
"With hospitality, press and mechanics, we are a total of 12. Each team has 6 employees, of which some of them are working directly for Ducati Corse. "
How long does it take to set up your equipment, when you are arriving at a track?
"As a rule, we use about 4 hours, it depends on where in the world we find ourselves. Are we outside Europe, it takes a little shorter time, as we have less equipment. The longest we use is 6 hours, not more than that. When our equipment is set up, the mechanics start to discard the motorcycles and work on them. Usually it is around 6 pm. Wednesday, where they have time for this. "
Have an individual budget by. rider?
"We have a large common budget, it is clear that some riders are more expensive than others and that they or the rider who is best placed, has first priority in terms of spare parts and other accessories. They are called A-riders, and they will always be the first to get the latest equipment before the B-riders. "
What is the most expensive part on the motorcycle?
"It is clearly the engine. We have a special machine at the factory, which measure and analyse the engine by laser, so that all small errors or irregularities are discovered quickly. And is assures that the parts are identical. Everything is specially formulated and we have a very large budget that goes to research and development of the engine. "
Are there special customs regulations or agreements for this sport?
"We have no specific agreements. So it is important that things go as easy as possible, for instance, if we only have one week to travel from Europe to USA. There are 4 Boeing 747 aircraft to carry our equipment around to the different continents. In China, we have had problems with the customs, where they held back our stuff, and they wanted to have us to give them money under the table. There were some riders who had said some bad things about China, which they probably should have kept for themselves. When we had to go to Laguna Seca our equipment was sent to the airport at 12 am, at 3 am it was on the way, and on Monday 3 pm it was at the airport in USA. It is limited how much we can take. The teams which have the most success is allowed to take more equipment than we are. Fiat Yamaha, for example, is allowed to have twice the amount of equipment with then, then what we have. So we have to plan well and anticipate what will be needed for the race. Or make friends and acquaintances to bring some things into their suitcase. Once we are in USA or Asia, we cannot obtain spare parts, the factory is located in Italy, so we must be satisfied with what we have. "
Is it predetermined how many laps a rider will run under the free practice?
"They always start by going 5 laps, sometimes less or more. It depends on the data we get when they are out on the track, or what the rider feel themselves. If we believe that there is a need for them to return to the pit, we'll give them the message through their board. "
What do you think the future holds in relation to the improvement of the motorcycles?
"Quite clearly a development of better tires. It is very important that the motorcycles have some good tyres, so they can go faster. Otherwise, I cannot just come to anything, much has happened in recent years, so it is actually only the tyres, which lacks the major revolutionary development. "
During the interview, there has been a lot of people that has come to talk to Liam. The team are still busy, so I finish the interview and leave them to work. I say goodbye and a big thanks to Liam. I’m leaving the paddock full of joy from a fantastic weekend, while the sun lowers over the track and the empty auditorium. Cannot wait until the next time I will be going to a race.
The mood in the pit is a bit hectic, but seems very organized. The Mechanics are working with great calm and concentration. They do not say much to each other, everyone knows what their function is, and they have an almost telepathic cooperation. They almost work as a small army, everything is carried out with great thoroughness. The riders provide them with information and immediately they go to work with the changes which they believe will be an advantage.
There are many people in the pit all the time, there are at least 2 photographers who rushed to take pictures of the riders and mechanics. But they are never in the way of mechanics. We others would be as an elephant in a glassshop, but they managed at least to keep distance while close enough.
After a while, I must move on, there are others who need the paddock pass. I thank Liam, who invites me back the following day, if I have more questions.
Saturday, it was impossible for me to get paddock pass for more than 1 hour, so I had to wait until Sunday after the race, to go back and talk with Liam.
I meet a very happy Liam, who had celebrated Tony Elias beautiful 2. place.
We go up in Alice's trailer, where there is a little more peace and quiet.
How are you preparing for a race, for example. by the sudden switch from dry to wet race?
"At the start of the race, we have always 2 motorcycles ready with the same setup. Usually, it's always a setup for a dry race. If it starts to rain, there is always an employee who keeps track of where the rider is, if he will come into the pit, so we can begin to change the setup of the second motorcycle. We put soft tyres on when it rains; they give a more in touch in front of the motorcycle. We are not changing so much based on the temperature, sometimes we turn off the radiator in the motorcycle so the heat is stable. "
Do you use of data from other races in your preparations?
"Yes we do. We hold a close eye on the data about the gasoline and how the motorcycle exploit this. The Cylinders have different consumption, so it is also something we keep an eye on, and how we can make the petrol last longer. "
How many people are employed at the Alice team?
"With hospitality, press and mechanics, we are a total of 12. Each team has 6 employees, of which some of them are working directly for Ducati Corse. "
How long does it take to set up your equipment, when you are arriving at a track?
"As a rule, we use about 4 hours, it depends on where in the world we find ourselves. Are we outside Europe, it takes a little shorter time, as we have less equipment. The longest we use is 6 hours, not more than that. When our equipment is set up, the mechanics start to discard the motorcycles and work on them. Usually it is around 6 pm. Wednesday, where they have time for this. "
Have an individual budget by. rider?
"We have a large common budget, it is clear that some riders are more expensive than others and that they or the rider who is best placed, has first priority in terms of spare parts and other accessories. They are called A-riders, and they will always be the first to get the latest equipment before the B-riders. "
What is the most expensive part on the motorcycle?
"It is clearly the engine. We have a special machine at the factory, which measure and analyse the engine by laser, so that all small errors or irregularities are discovered quickly. And is assures that the parts are identical. Everything is specially formulated and we have a very large budget that goes to research and development of the engine. "
Are there special customs regulations or agreements for this sport?
"We have no specific agreements. So it is important that things go as easy as possible, for instance, if we only have one week to travel from Europe to USA. There are 4 Boeing 747 aircraft to carry our equipment around to the different continents. In China, we have had problems with the customs, where they held back our stuff, and they wanted to have us to give them money under the table. There were some riders who had said some bad things about China, which they probably should have kept for themselves. When we had to go to Laguna Seca our equipment was sent to the airport at 12 am, at 3 am it was on the way, and on Monday 3 pm it was at the airport in USA. It is limited how much we can take. The teams which have the most success is allowed to take more equipment than we are. Fiat Yamaha, for example, is allowed to have twice the amount of equipment with then, then what we have. So we have to plan well and anticipate what will be needed for the race. Or make friends and acquaintances to bring some things into their suitcase. Once we are in USA or Asia, we cannot obtain spare parts, the factory is located in Italy, so we must be satisfied with what we have. "
Is it predetermined how many laps a rider will run under the free practice?
"They always start by going 5 laps, sometimes less or more. It depends on the data we get when they are out on the track, or what the rider feel themselves. If we believe that there is a need for them to return to the pit, we'll give them the message through their board. "
What do you think the future holds in relation to the improvement of the motorcycles?
"Quite clearly a development of better tires. It is very important that the motorcycles have some good tyres, so they can go faster. Otherwise, I cannot just come to anything, much has happened in recent years, so it is actually only the tyres, which lacks the major revolutionary development. "
During the interview, there has been a lot of people that has come to talk to Liam. The team are still busy, so I finish the interview and leave them to work. I say goodbye and a big thanks to Liam. I’m leaving the paddock full of joy from a fantastic weekend, while the sun lowers over the track and the empty auditorium. Cannot wait until the next time I will be going to a race.
Total Comments 7
Comments
 |  Thank you for sharing all this with us Dani,i hope your country will get a lot more interest for MotoGP now!!! |
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| | Thats a good write up and an interesting interview! Thanks for sharing with us. |
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| |  enjoy the reading a lot, nice interview; you good this job, hope u write like those articles for the next years.. |
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| |  wow!! what a read!!! really awesome! it was as if we were at the race track! GREAT! |
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| |  It's a scoop Daniela....first time I've ever had such in-depth insight into the goings on behind the scenes in a MotoGP garage. You did really well getting so much information out of Liam....you obviously have a knack for journalism...& long may it continue. For now you have reported on one race....soon it will be 18 races in the year hopefully!! Well done Daniela for a very well written and interesting article. |
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| |  Dani Valentino said "journilist? Some are brilliant, some are rubbish. I give them a 5 out of 10 on average" But I this that valentino will give you a 10 out of 10 :D well done it is very good |
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| |  awww thank you so much for the kind words Trudi  It means a great deal to me that people like what i wrote  |
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Recent Blog Entries by Tjuggi
- And the interview with our very own Simone (04.11.2008)
- My interview with Mika at Valencia (04.11.2008)
- third part (21.08.2008)
- And second half (21.08.2008)
- First half of my article in brno (21.08.2008)
