Race after race, when the red lights go out and Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso squeeze the last drop out of their bikes on the way to the first turn, they leave behind 48 hours of intense work, both on the track and in the garage. Two days of practices, data analysis, assembling and disassembling the bikes, meetings and methodical work in the Repsol Honda Team garage. Around 40 specialists will have thrown themselves into Dovizioso and Pedrosa’s four Honda RC212Vs, to line up two competitive bikes on Sunday’s grid.
All of this takes place in a limited space in which mechanics, engineers, tyre, suspension and telemetric technicians and team managers work in coordination to fine tune Pedrosa and Dovizioso’s bikes. A space that is dimensioned and designed so that everything is in its place and each member of the team can do their job as efficiently as possible. From the position of the bikes, the tool bench or the area in which the rider meets with his technicians, everything is carefully organised, making up what it the true working office of the Repsol Honda Team.
The circuit, the country and even the continent can change from one week to the next but in a matter of hours the Repsol Honda Team garage is ready to host a new weekend of racing. Every Wednesday before a race, the day after the 6 team trailers arrive at the paddock, everything is set up so that can work can begin on the bikes on Thursday.
The garage occupies a space of between 7 and 11 metres wide – depending on the facilities of each circuit – by 11 metres long and is the first thing that is assembled and the last thing that is returned to the trailer, as it is the nerve centre of the team during the four days that a Grand Prix lasts (the three practice days and race day, plus the previous Thursday, the day on which the bikes are checked and the team meets to see how the race is question is looking).
The first day at the circuits – Wednesday –, the team needs the six lorry drivers and another four people to unload, set up and clean everything – including the trailers–; a six or eight-hour day that can last longer depending on the difficulties that could arise at each circuit. At 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, the carpet is unload and installed, which takes around two hours.
Then the side panels are assembled, which takes another two, the workbenches and tool boxes, the pit lane cabin (the small control post located opposite the garage, next to the wall alongside the track, where the team gives the riders instructions using a board) – 45 minutes –, the monitors (twelve in the garage and another four in the pit lane) – 90 minutes –, and finally, the parts for setting up the four bikes and the spare parts that are most likely to be needed throughout the weekend (enough to completely repair 4 bikes) are unloaded.
