P136
CN
III IN THE PADDOCK
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
W
ho says racing lacks
humor? Dorna has a
way of addressing any
such perception. Each year at
Brno, after the summer break,
they lay on a very subtle exercise
in comedy, a show for connois-
seurs of understated wit.
It is the "group technical
briefing," where each MotoGP
manufacturer sends a delegate to
face probing questions from an
unwisely optimistic press.
As if any one of them is go-
ing to voluntarily reveal technical
secrets, let alone when sitting
alongside all his rivals.
Once there was a time when
race engineers were proud
of their innovations and ideas
and they happily talked about
them. Especially with the old
two-strokes, which would often
respond better to the input of a
lone eccentric in a shed than a
whole open-plan roomful of draw-
ing boards and fresh university
students (the late Helmut Fath a
prime example). These days, like
the two-strokes, are gone.
The Japanese companies have
long been famous for secrecy
beyond the call of duty, often
achieved by pretended incom-
prehension. Nothing defeats
curiosity like a well-constructed
language barrier. There is much
to be lost in miss-translation.
But Ducati has taken it to new
SILENCE IS GOLDEN, EVEN
WHEN YOU'RE TALKING
