This is how the preparation of a MotoGP rider works

Good preparation is the key to success, and it’s no different in MotoGP. But a race weekend in the premier class doesn’t just start on Friday with the first free practice session. Even before that, a lot of work awaits the pilots and their crews. For some drivers, a Grand Prix starts a year earlier.

How is that meant? “We’re starting off a bit with last year’s bike,” says Alex Rins, pointing out that he starts the weekend with the settings from a year ago. “We look at each other [dann] on the computer the settings that we will use. As new parts arrive, we discuss when is best to test them.”

Vice World Champion Fabio Quartararo also uses “the basis from the previous year at the beginning of a race weekend. In principle, you start with what you ended the Grand Prix the year before.” The Yamaha factory pilot discusses everything else with his team in meetings. These include the tire strategy and electronic settings.

Video Study: Fresh Memories at Aleix Espargaro

And: “Of course I often look at the training sessions from the previous year.” This is also on the agenda for Aprilia driver Aleix Espargaro. The Spaniard starts studying video a week before a Grand Prix. Espargaro continues: “Then on Thursday we will analyze all my comments with the team, the technical changes to the bike, the tires.”

“So on Thursday we have a long meeting about the previous year,” reveals the Spaniard that at Aprilia the day before the first free practice session is already very busy. But that is also necessary, because: “This is how you start the first free practice session with fresh memories.” Fresh memories are also what counts in the Ducati factory team.

However, one does not use the MotoGP race of the previous year for this, but the previous Grand Prix. Francesco Bagnaia explains: “I usually watch a few

data, and then we decide for each race which basic setting we start with. This is not the setting from last year, but from the last Grand Prix.”

Ducati uses previous MotoGP race as basis

An example of this: Ducati starts at the French GP in Le Mans with the configuration and settings from the race in Jerez and then works out a new set-up. Jack Miller explains the reason for this approach: “We go over what we learned from the previous weekend. Because the bike changes so often.”

For the Australian himself, however, something else is at the top of the list: “Generally, the main thing I look at is the sheet of paper that has all the gears and turns because I can never remember it. I just need to understand how often I have to shift.” Once Miller has internalized that, he already feels “pretty well prepared”.

And something else is part of every preparation, as Rins explains: “We all do a lap around the track with the scooter, [zum Beispiel] to see if there are new bumps or not.” Because not only the motorcycles, but also the racetracks and the demands on them are constantly evolving.

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