Fabiano SterlacchiniAprilia's technical director, elaborates on his role within the Italian team, demonstrating that in MotoGP, nothing happens by chance.
De Manuel Pecino / Motosan.es
In this interview, Fabiano Sterlacchini He looks back on his career and his role as technical director of Aprilia, which he assumed at the end of 2024. The season was not easy for the Noale team, but Marco Bezzecchi managed to bring a little joy to the Italian factory, which is already looking ahead to the seasons to come.
Fabiano, it's a pleasure to be with you… The first thing I wanted to know concerns a little bit about your academic background: what type of engineer are you?
"Mechanics."
Unbelievable !
"And that's why I later came into contact with Ducati, when I worked there for 18 years, because the motorcycle was an official Ducati motorcycle. That's where I met Cecchinelli, who worked at Ducati, Marinelli, Farnè, all those who worked there."
Farnè too?
« Yes yes. "
Wow, that's old school, really, really old school.
" Yes. »
Eighteen years at Ducati… And why did you leave? Did you have other goals? Had you reached your peak at Ducati?
“Well, you know, I’ve always thought that in life, you have to find a balance between the reasons for doing something and the reasons for not doing it. And at a certain point, the reason to leave outweighed the reason to stay. And partly, yes, I might have reached my limits, because within the company, there was Gigi [Dall’Igna], an extremely competent and high-performing person, and he was there. And then, when I left Ducati, I didn’t join another team, but I completely left that environment. My goal was to do a kind of detox, you see? Because this world, even today, demands many hours, many days, and you have to be able to say, ‘I’m ready.’ And at that point, after so many years, it was time to say, ‘I’m going to stop for a while and think about what I want.’ And by stepping away, I realized that I wanted to come back.”
So you were almost all passionate about competition?
" Exactly. "
So you lived through the Preziosi era.
“Yes, yes… From 2002 to 2014, when Gigi arrived, I worked with Preziosi. I then spent 8 or 9 months with Bernard Gobmayer, but let’s say that the two people I collaborated with most at Ducati, on a project, with a development plan, were first Filippo, then Gigi.”
You had two excellent teachers.
“Yes, although I don’t want to take anything away from anyone, Filippo, perhaps also because I was more receptive, younger. I arrived before I was 30. But there is no doubt that Filippo possesses an exceptional mind, and many of the things that have been accomplished are the result of that.”
Was your time at KTM brief in your professional career or did it bring you something deeper?
"Well, no, it was really something I believed in a lot. I was fully committed to it for three years. Then, at some point, it became clear that there were differences of opinion on how the company should be organized, and then things changed and we decided to leave."
Is it true that you are very Italian, that you love living in Italy and that it would be difficult for you to work abroad?
“Ultimately, Manuel, it’s a bit like what I was saying, a question of balance. Living in Italy undoubtedly played a role, but it wasn’t a determining factor, because living in Italy isn’t necessarily an obligation, and living abroad is also an opportunity, isn’t it?”
It is true.
"So no, more than ever in my opinion, races must be run in a certain way. And if I'm at the helm, I decide which direction to take. If someone tells me to change course, I say: take the helm and I'll go... That's how it works."
Sterlacchini's arrival at Aprilia
It became very clear… Let's talk about your arrival at Aprilia. I told Antonio it seemed like an impossible mission. The head of MotoGP design had left, as well as both riders and both track engineers. You were left with only one rider who knew the bike, Raúl. How many hours of sleep did you lose?
“No, because I must tell you that this profession teaches you that everything you believe is impossible can become possible. You just have to put your mind to it. I was perfectly aware that everything would be very difficult. But when we spoke with Massimo, I understood… Because talent in our profession, and I think in general, doesn't lie in seeing what you see, but in the intuition of what could happen from what you see. And I must say that I perceived great qualities, enormous potential. I wasn't sure, no, but I perceived great potential in the drivers, the company staff, the various departments… and that gave me a lot of confidence. We have now reached a very good level, because we had a respectable championship, but that's not enough, because in racing, there's only one result to aim for. So we must continue to work and improve.” Without a doubt, the last race told us: "They are good, but they still need to improve."
In a MotoGP project, four departments are typically distinguished: engine, chassis, aerodynamics, and electronics. Upon your arrival at Aprilia, which of these four areas did you focus on first?
Ultimately, Manuel, we're always wrong, partly out of respect but also because it's true that there's no single key area in this project. Currently, in my opinion, aerodynamics plays a very important role, not because it's more important than the engine or the chassis, but because it hasn't been developed as such for years. If I were to give you an example, imagine that at the end of the races, if you look at who finished first, or perhaps fifth, ten seconds behind, and you note the difference in average speed, the winner might have an average speed of 160 km/h, and the fifth-place finisher, with that ten-second difference, 159,7 km/h. So, if you add 0,7 km/h—sorry, 0,3 km/h—on exiting the corner, it changes everything. And all of that, if we could fully exploit the potential of the tires and the vehicle as a whole, could allow us to go from fifth place, ten seconds behind the leader, to first. It's not a question of aerodynamics, because the rider brakes, there's engine braking, the bike slides, it has to straighten up when it comes out of the slide, you accelerate, there's the transition between engine braking and traction, and there's always a small phase…
…At a standstill?
“More than in neutral, it’s like… a jolt, which you have to try to control. Then you accelerate; the motorcycle should slide but never pump, otherwise you lose traction. The front wheel then begins to lose contact with the ground.” And at that moment, the front of the motorcycle opens up and begins to make these movements… It's a whole orchestrated process, and that's why you have to work on all these elements. Every part of the motorcycle contributes to making this maneuver as quick and efficient as possible.
Is there competition between the different areas? In other words, does everyone want to be dominant? Or is your role to create harmony?
“Exactly, that’s it, it’s about creating harmony. Ultimately, in my opinion, in this profession, today, in careers, you can no longer be content with just being ‘the inventor.’ Yes, there are inventors, but after having the idea, you have to simulate the part, understand how to optimize it, design it, it has to work well, you have to choose the material, it has to have a reasonable cost…”
That's an interesting point…
“Yes, because very often we don’t take it into account… We see this world as: you buy, you manufacture, and that’s it. No. You have a budget. I use this budget to get what I need.”
If I buy something that should cost a thousand and I pay ten thousand for it, I've taken nine thousand away from something else. With that nine thousand, I can perhaps buy computing power and run aerodynamic simulations faster, you understand?
That's why the key skill, especially in a position like mine as technical director, is setting priorities and deciding how to make the whole company work. You mentioned the motorcycle, the electronics, the engine, and the aerodynamics. But there's also a fundamental part, which is the purchasing department.
Because sometimes, for example, a gear might cost one or two. If the purchasing department goes where it costs two, I lose computing power.
To be continued tomorrow…
Read the original article on Motoasan.es
Manuel Pecino
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