A Peek in the Paddock - First Look

One great thing about being a journalist at a MotoGP race is the opportunity to see technology and hardware I’d never get to see otherwise. So when Ducati’s J.P. Canton stuck his head in the media tent and asked if I wanted to see the garage of the Pramac D’antin Ducati raceteam, I rounded up photographer Chris Cantle and web producer (‘cuz you never know when you’ll need a producer) Chris Worden and headed to the garage.

There, resident English speaker and Spare Parts/Logistics Manager Liam Shubert (famous in various online forums as MotoLiam) gave us the nickel tour. When we entered the carpeted, spotlessly clean (if slightly cramped) garage, the two racebikes—ridden by Brazilian Alex Barros and AMA rider Chaz Davies substituting for an injured Alex Hoffman—were partially disassembled, so we had to wait for photography until the mechanics were done. In the meantime, Shubert told us about the bikes.

“We get the same hardware as the factory bikes, but the software is different. We check the entire bike out after sessions; the new bikes put stresses on components that we didn’t see before.” As he spoke, technicians swarmed over the bikes, checking, adjusting and then replacing bodywork with practiced skill and precision. When asked if he was ever caught without a spare part—and the new 800cc bikes require lots of spares, as the new engine configuration stresses things that weren’t stressed before—he told us, “Yes, every weekend. When it’s a crisis, we get parts from the factory Ducati team, and we loan them parts too. We have a three month lead time for parts from Ducati, so I’m already planning for next year.”

They were busy preparing for the next qualifying practice, so we were ushered out, but the impression of clean, orderly competence and incredible high technology was firmly impressed on us during our brief visit.