Source: Cycle World
Manuel Poggiali is the rider coach for Ducati’s factory team. He is a critical link between engineers, data, and the racers. (Ducati/)We live in a world dominated by data. Everywhere we look we see statistics, dashboards, graphics, and charts. MotoGP is no exception in this digital and data-rich world. As the pinnacle of motorsports on two wheels, innovation is always a step ahead. Data is crucial, but there is a human element, which is fundamental—feeling is as important as the data.As the rider enters the garage, the chief mechanic and the engineers look at the data, the well-known telemetry—the bible in the box, but then the racer comments: “I have no feeling with the front…” How can this feeling be measured? How can you turn sensation into data?The “rider coach” is a new position inside MotoGP teams that responds to this question in order to help the riders to improve their performance in very specific areas related to that particular track.Each factory MotoGP team has one—usually a former racer. Manuel Poggiali for the factory Ducati squad, Julian Simon for Yamaha, Matteo Baiocchi for Aprilia, Mika Kallio for KTM, Fonsi Nieto and Max Sabbatani for Ducati Pramac, Andrea Migno and Idalo Gavira for VR46. In a way, Valentino Rossi was a pioneer in this, introducing Luca Cadalora as his personal coach on track in 2016.We spoke with two-time world champion Manuel Poggiali to explain this important role. A role that is officially recognized by Dorna, the MotoGP organizer, allowing riders’ coaches to take photos and videos from the service road during the practices to use them internally.What is a rider’s coach?“My tasks include all aspects related to the rider: the analysis of the posture on the bike, the lines and the trajectories on track, the riding style, and so on. In every practice I follow the action from the service road equipped with a camera. I observe and document.”When did you begin this role on the Ducati team?“I joined the team at the beginning of 2014, and I have to say with great satisfaction as we can see [it is working] from the riders’ results: 1-2 and 1-3 In Mugello and Assen.”Poggiali films the action so the team can sync up the data with what the rider is doing on the track. (Ducati/)What’s the target of your work?“The goal is to improve the rider’s performance. To be more specific: to point out the riders’ critical points at a circuit and understand exactly what is happening.”What does your race week look like?“We start from a database, and even before Friday’s morning session, we highlight the critical points on that track for each of our riders. In my case I work with Pecco (Bagnaia), Enea (Bastianini)—and we support the Gresini Team. During the FP1 and FP2 I follow the action on track, and I document it with photos and videos. These are very useful to understand what happens with the rider when he is on the bike in the different phases of the track and also of the race. These materials add extra information.”How does the team combine the telemetry data with your photos and videos?“Telemetry is for sure very important and useful. Regarding the riding style, with the telemetry you cannot see the position of the rider on the bike and the exact position of the bike on the track, because according to the rules, in MotoGP the GPS is not allowed. The idea is to have a clear and objective picture of what is happening out there so that the rider can understand and then improve that particular sector or maneuver.”Who do you report to?“The briefing is with the team and the rider. The engineers and the crew chief look at the data, but they miss watching the action from the track. I’m the bridge—making a clear and objective analysis speeds up the process.”Poggiali says he is the bridge between the engineers and crew and the rider. (Ducati/)How difficult is it to change a rider’s style?“Changing a riding style requires time because you deal with habits. We work on priorities and specific critical points for that particular track.”Can you give us some examples?“We work on every single aspect of the race. The start, for example, from the grid to the first turn can be from 5 to 10 seconds. Ten seconds out of the race distance (around 40 minutes) is very important; imagine [that amount of time] for the sprint. So it is crucial to optimize this phase.“Another aspect is the wind. If it’s windy, we analyze this aspect and its characteristics. Is it consistent or are there gusts? What is the direction and so on. And then the tires—another key factor.”The idea is to have everything under control.“Exactly, and to find the margin for potential passes. Managing the race at the best pace without always being at the limit or beyond. If we lose a tenth per lap in a sector, for example, and this is repeatable, we aim at identifying in which curve this happens, then we try to correct it and to understand where we can have a margin. It’s a different scenario when in a lap we lose one-tenth, the following lap three-tenths. Here something is not clear because the loss is not consistent, so we really have to look at it. “What is the No. 1 rule in your job?“Never take anything for granted, because in such an extreme sport where only the stopwatch counts, every little detail counts. “And No. 2?“Always listen to the rider.”“Never take anything for granted… and always listen to the rider.” (Ducati/)What is the rider’s feedback?“It is usually very positive, because they are the first ones that want to improve. We discuss the points to work on. The rider often speaks about how he feels, so our job is to understand why he doesn’t have the feeling, where this issue comes from. It’s a lot of work usually related to several factors.“Our work is to try to translate this ‘lack of feeling’ into something objective in order to identify the issue and try to correct it.“As a former racer, I also have my perception and understating, and I think this is a plus. What we look for is a smooth and consistent riding, a flow. Session after session we can see the improvement. Sometimes it takes longer.”How do you see Pecco and Enea?“It’s a very good momentum. They are both fast and consistent. What really makes the difference is when you are able to repeat a performance. This is the key factor for the team.”What is Bagnaia’s main strength?“Braking. He is one of, if not the strongest rider on the grid. This is crucial when it’s about overtaking.”And his weak point?“Everyone can improve, we are working on some aspects, but I won’t say which ones.”What about Enea?“His strengths are corner entry tire management. In the long race he is very good at extracting the maximum out of the tires, you can see this in the second part of the race.Working closely with the rider and knowing their strengths and weaknesses is important. (Ducati/)“In the first part of the season we worked with him to improve braking, and in Mugello and Assen he has been phenomenal in optimizing the job of the whole team, being competitive, while he is suffering more in qualifying.In the first part of the season, on the contrary, Enea was strong in qualifying and less in the race. In the last two races, the situation is the other way around. Enea made two incredible comebacks, so we will work on the time attack because starting more in front in the grid allows you to fight for the win with more margin.”And Marc Márquez?“He is one of the most complete riders on the grid. I think the limit in some races has been his euphoria that has pushed him to make more mistakes!“Regarding his way of riding, the incident he had to his right arm affects some movements that in the past he used to do easily. We are working to understand how to make them more smooth in order to gain some margin and not always be at the limit.”
Full Text:
Manuel Poggiali is the rider coach for Ducati’s factory team. He is a critical link between engineers, data, and the racers. (Ducati/)
We live in a world dominated by data. Everywhere we look we see statistics, dashboards, graphics, and charts. MotoGP is no exception in this digital and data-rich world. As the pinnacle of motorsports on two wheels, innovation is always a step ahead. Data is crucial, but there is a human element, which is fundamental—feeling is as important as the data.
As the rider enters the garage, the chief mechanic and the engineers look at the data, the well-known telemetry—the bible in the box, but then the racer comments: “I have no feeling with the front…” How can this feeling be measured? How can you turn sensation into data?
The “rider coach” is a new position inside MotoGP teams that responds to this question in order to help the riders to improve their performance in very specific areas related to that particular track.
Each factory MotoGP team has one—usually a former racer. Manuel Poggiali for the factory Ducati squad, Julian Simon for Yamaha, Matteo Baiocchi for Aprilia, Mika Kallio for KTM, Fonsi Nieto and Max Sabbatani for Ducati Pramac, Andrea Migno and Idalo Gavira for VR46. In a way, Valentino Rossi was a pioneer in this, introducing Luca Cadalora as his personal coach on track in 2016.
We spoke with two-time world champion Manuel Poggiali to explain this important role. A role that is officially recognized by Dorna, the MotoGP organizer, allowing riders’ coaches to take photos and videos from the service road during the practices to use them internally.
What is a rider’s coach?
“My tasks include all aspects related to the rider: the analysis of the posture on the bike, the lines and the trajectories on track, the riding style, and so on. In every practice I follow the action from the service road equipped with a camera. I observe and document.”
When did you begin this role on the Ducati team?
“I joined the team at the beginning of 2014, and I have to say with great satisfaction as we can see [it is working] from the riders’ results: 1-2 and 1-3 In Mugello and Assen.”
Poggiali films the action so the team can sync up the data with what the rider is doing on the track. (Ducati/)
What’s the target of your work?
“The goal is to improve the rider’s performance. To be more specific: to point out the riders’ critical points at a circuit and understand exactly what is happening.”
What does your race week look like?
“We start from a database, and even before Friday’s morning session, we highlight the critical points on that track for each of our riders. In my case I work with Pecco (Bagnaia), Enea (Bastianini)—and we support the Gresini Team. During the FP1 and FP2 I follow the action on track, and I document it with photos and videos. These are very useful to understand what happens with the rider when he is on the bike in the different phases of the track and also of the race. These materials add extra information.”
How does the team combine the telemetry data with your photos and videos?
“Telemetry is for sure very important and useful. Regarding the riding style, with the telemetry you cannot see the position of the rider on the bike and the exact position of the bike on the track, because according to the rules, in MotoGP the GPS is not allowed. The idea is to have a clear and objective picture of what is happening out there so that the rider can understand and then improve that particular sector or maneuver.”
Who do you report to?
“The briefing is with the team and the rider. The engineers and the crew chief look at the data, but they miss watching the action from the track. I’m the bridge—making a clear and objective analysis speeds up the process.”
Poggiali says he is the bridge between the engineers and crew and the rider. (Ducati/)
How difficult is it to change a rider’s style?
“Changing a riding style requires time because you deal with habits. We work on priorities and specific critical points for that particular track.”
Can you give us some examples?
“We work on every single aspect of the race. The start, for example, from the grid to the first turn can be from 5 to 10 seconds. Ten seconds out of the race distance (around 40 minutes) is very important; imagine [that amount of time] for the sprint. So it is crucial to optimize this phase.
“Another aspect is the wind. If it’s windy, we analyze this aspect and its characteristics. Is it consistent or are there gusts? What is the direction and so on. And then the tires—another key factor.”
The idea is to have everything under control.
“Exactly, and to find the margin for potential passes. Managing the race at the best pace without always being at the limit or beyond. If we lose a tenth per lap in a sector, for example, and this is repeatable, we aim at identifying in which curve this happens, then we try to correct it and to understand where we can have a margin. It’s a different scenario when in a lap we lose one-tenth, the following lap three-tenths. Here something is not clear because the loss is not consistent, so we really have to look at it. “
What is the No. 1 rule in your job?
“Never take anything for granted, because in such an extreme sport where only the stopwatch counts, every little detail counts. “
And No. 2?
“Always listen to the rider.”
“Never take anything for granted… and always listen to the rider.” (Ducati/)
What is the rider’s feedback?
“It is usually very positive, because they are the first ones that want to improve. We discuss the points to work on. The rider often speaks about how he feels, so our job is to understand why he doesn’t have the feeling, where this issue comes from. It’s a lot of work usually related to several factors.
“Our work is to try to translate this ‘lack of feeling’ into something objective in order to identify the issue and try to correct it.
“As a former racer, I also have my perception and understating, and I think this is a plus. What we look for is a smooth and consistent riding, a flow. Session after session we can see the improvement. Sometimes it takes longer.”
How do you see Pecco and Enea?
“It’s a very good momentum. They are both fast and consistent. What really makes the difference is when you are able to repeat a performance. This is the key factor for the team.”
What is Bagnaia’s main strength?
“Braking. He is one of, if not the strongest rider on the grid. This is crucial when it’s about overtaking.”
And his weak point?
“Everyone can improve, we are working on some aspects, but I won’t say which ones.”
What about Enea?
“His strengths are corner entry tire management. In the long race he is very good at extracting the maximum out of the tires, you can see this in the second part of the race.
Working closely with the rider and knowing their strengths and weaknesses is important. (Ducati/)
“In the first part of the season we worked with him to improve braking, and in Mugello and Assen he has been phenomenal in optimizing the job of the whole team, being competitive, while he is suffering more in qualifying.
In the first part of the season, on the contrary, Enea was strong in qualifying and less in the race. In the last two races, the situation is the other way around. Enea made two incredible comebacks, so we will work on the time attack because starting more in front in the grid allows you to fight for the win with more margin.”
And Marc Márquez?
“He is one of the most complete riders on the grid. I think the limit in some races has been his euphoria that has pushed him to make more mistakes!
“Regarding his way of riding, the incident he had to his right arm affects some movements that in the past he used to do easily. We are working to understand how to make them more smooth in order to gain some margin and not always be at the limit.”
