[kropotkin thinks...] - The Brains Behind The Bikes, Part 1: Andrea Zugna On Furusawa

[Ninjette Newsbot]

If you enjoyed reading this article, please click here to view it on Kropotkin's site, MotoGP Matters.

-----------------

Developing a racing motorcycle is a complex process. Information flows continuously from rider to engineers to factory and back again, along with a steady stream of parts, some of which improve the bike, some of which don't.

There are a few key people in this design process. The head engineer in the racing department, who oversees the entire process. The crew chief, who interprets what the rider says, and combines it with data to turn it into information the engineers can use. The rider, who not only has to ride the bike to the limit of its performance, but also explain where that limit is and why it is stopping them from going faster to crew chiefs and engineers.

As journalists, we are in the privileged position of being able to talk to most of these people, and try to learn about the process from what they are willing to tell us. Given what is at stake, that is far from the complete picture, the factories jealously guarding information to prevent other manufacturers from figuring out what they are working on, and losing any advantage they might have.

There are some people we don't get to talk to, however. Many of the key engineers involved in leading the development of the bike are kept away from the media. These are the people doing the hands on – and brains on – work of finding ways to make the bike better, to improve its strengths and negate its weaknesses.