Since last season, the MotoGP Safety Commission has been using the full version of software developed by the University of Padua specifically for the championship to study and improve the run-off areas of its circuits.
If there is one place in the world where motion and its effects dominate, it is Padua. Nicolaus Copernicus and Galileo Galilei, two of the most important figures of the Renaissance, passed through the prestigious university of the northern Italian city.
For this reason, and because of the more than five centuries of experience that followed these two scientists, it was clear to those in charge of MotoGP that the University of Padua could become the best possible partner to improve circuit safety. From this alliance, a computer programme was born that five years ago began to be developed and was implemented last season, which has become the best ally of those who certify whether a track is safe.
Technological advances mean that bikes are getting faster every year, and this has a direct impact on the safety level of the tracks. "The straights seem to get shorter and shorter, and the walls seem to get closer and closer," is a phrase that is widely heard on the grid in the premier class.
One of the most dangerous junctures in a crash comes from hitting an obstacle. The riders have also seen how the increased speed of the bikes has meant that certain spots are no longer perceived as safe as they were a few years ago.
This concern did not go unnoticed by those in charge, so Carlos Ezpeleta, the MotoGP sporting director, and Corrado Cecchinelli, the director of technology, got in touch with the 'disciples' of Galileo. The answer is this software, created in Padua and fed with data from the archives of Dorna, the championship promoter, the FIM, various suppliers, the teams and the riders themselves.
"We were looking for a tool that would allow us to insert a track profile into AutoCAD, and give us back the ideal dimensions of the run-offs, or show us if the existing ones were adequate," explains Ezpeleta, in a conversation with Autosport alongside Cecchinelli and Tome Alfonso, safety officer for the FIM. "We discussed it with Corrado, and he got in touch with the people in Padua who are the best in the field of motion studies."
The starting point was to create a line that simulates, as closely as possible, the bikes on the track. At the same time, maximum performance in terms of speed was sought. Then came a second optimisation, which offered a significant qualitative leap, since it anticipated the trajectory a rider would follow after hitting the ground, at what speed they would slide and where they would end up.
"The important thing is that, from that moment on, the programme was already discriminating between the movement of the bike and that of the rider," says Cecchinelli.
"Based on what we got back from the tool, we perfected the drawing until we achieved an optimal design, depending on the space we had available"
Carlos Ezpeleta
All these predictions or simulations are made based on accumulated experience. Adds Ezpeleta: "We transferred the data from countless crashes over the last 10 years to the technicians in Padua."
As with most programmes, this as yet unnamed one works on statistical models and is consequently subject to a margin of error. With the evolution of the software, this margin is becoming increasingly smaller, but is never non-existent. And, logically, there are times when an electronic brain's interpretation of all the information does not quite match what actually happens afterwards.
"For example: a rider does not slide in the same way on a bed of gravel, caked by the rain that has fallen all night, as they do on the same gravel that is completely dry," says Alfonso. "Or in certain accidents, which are very similar, the programme may not understand that the rider is projected in a specific direction."
In this area, the programme has been a major step forward.
"The circuits are still homologated by people, but this software is a great help when it comes to making decisions," adds Alfonso, who already used the software during MotoGP's visit to India. "When you base it on mathematics, on a scientific basis, everything is easier. It made our job much easier because we already knew what we were going to look for, so we were able to corroborate and confirm many things."
This refers to the new tracks, but Cecchinelli also highlights the advantage it offers for those already on the calendar: "This system allows us to import the data of the real trajectories and speeds, and that reduces the margin of error in any simulation."
Another recent modification that was made following suggestions from the new tool was the variant that was introduced after the first corner of the Red Bull Ring, to avoid a repetition of an accident as spectacular as the one that Johann Zarco and Franco Morbidelli had in 2020. Their out-of-control bikes almost ran over Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales.
"It worked very well there because we had multiple limitations at track level and also because it was essential not to change the Formula 1 layout," Ezpeleta explains. "Based on what we got back from the tool, we perfected the drawing until we achieved an optimal design, depending on the space we had available. All these versions were introduced into the software until we came up with the final proposal."
GPS adds a new dimension
While it is true that the current bikes already incorporate GPS transmitters, the arrival of more complete systems with the new regulations that will come into force in 2027 will offer a multitude of possibilities, not only in terms of speed and precision both to the teams and to those in charge of the television department but also for those who manage this programme.
Until now, the information that has been fed into the crash history programme has come from calculations based on the observation of these crashes, using television images.
"GPS will give us real data on slippage, speed, trajectory and so on," concludes Ezpeleta. "That's why we've been working hard to get it accepted in the 2027 regulations."
