To complete our overview of mid-season reports, we called on Guy Coulon who, now that he has decided to abandon his role as team leader at Tech3, but remains present at the Grands Prix, is undoubtedly one of the best placed to have both a global and detailed vision of the world of MotoGP...
The man is passionate about technology, and it is this subject that we have chosen to highlight today.
Guy Coulon : " We saw during the testing days that there was a lot, a lot, a lot of work done by everyone. Lots of things to test and compare, because it's true that the end of last season was so intense, doing 14 races almost in a row, that you were primarily concerned with making your bikes run smoothly. race to the other. Little by little, test options piled up and were not really tested, so there, each time there was an opportunity, there were things in almost everyone to test and to be controlled, which will perhaps be used in the second part of the season for some elements and next year for the rest. »
As journalists are still banned from the paddock and pitlane, we only saw the huge “downwash ducts” of the Ducati, which we think provide more downforce on the rear wheel…
« Yes, this has also been tried at KTM and others. In the wind tunnel but also on the track in Barcelona. Frankly, I can't tell you exactly what it's for: It was Iker (Lecuona) who tried that. He did an aero day and tried lots of stuff. They asked him “are you going with that and doing so many tricks”. They recorded what they had to record and then they analyzed what there was to analyze. We will see if it is used, because at the moment it is so specific and punctual that it is not really the opinion of the pilot that counts. We first analyze the situation, we keep what seems best, then we take into account the driver's impressions to know if he has a good feeling or not. That's how it happens, because when there are too many things at once you can no longer afford to rely only on the feeling of the driver. »
« We also saw the generalization of what we called holeshot devices at the front and rear. Almost everyone is now equipped with it (except Suzuki at the rear but that is planned for the start of the school year) and we realize that it is a very clear advantage at the start, then eventually in several places on the circuit when you can use it elsewhere. You have to analyze this carefully because it is very complicated to use: Indeed, it can be interesting to use it in different places, but be careful of the tires overheating! If it's to put the tire in difficulty, it's not good! For several reasons: On the one hand because you can put more load on it when accelerating, but also because when your ass is dragging on the ground with the V4, you have the exhaust brushing against the tire. And then there, it heats the rind on the surface on one side very strongly, which is very bad! So you have to be careful about all that, especially since all these things are still in their infancy: you have to take it little by little, analyze it carefully, and be careful to use it in a positive way over time. of the race. A tour where the length of the race is not the same thing either! »
« Another area that everyone is working on is how to finish races. In simple analysis, we would say “at the tire level”, but why did you destroy your tire? Did you do a good analysis to use different steps at different times of the race?
We talked about the new chassis at KTM: When the riders try it for a few laps, basically it's the same thing. But if they try it over a race distance... Hey, maybe it's not a bad way to finish the races! So this is where the work is going to fit, and how to finish races efficiently is heavily considered. »
To be continued…
