INSIDE STORY ALPINESTARS RACE SERVICE
MCN goes behind the scenes with Alpinestars’ Race Service team during aMotoGP weekend
It’s Friday morning in Valencia at the 2023 MotoGP season finale, and the Alpinestars Race Service truck is a hive of activity. Riders or their assistants are visiting with feedback and requests, meanwhile the suits of riders unfortunate enough to have crashed in FP1 have been delivered for essential repair work.
There’s not a second to spare – as I found out over the course of the weekend, having been granted exclusive behind-the-scenes access to every department within Alpinestars’ in-paddock operation.
Race suits galore
Eleven riders in the premier class use Alpinestars suits, with a further two in Moto2 and seven in Moto3. With each rider having at least four suits with them at the circuit, it’s a massive job to service and keep them in working order.
Walking into the back of the truck alongside Alpinestars’ media relations manager, Chris Hillard, the first thing we come across are the dryers, with Moto3 rider Joel Kelso’s suit currently being dried after FP1. Each drying cycle lasts about 45 minutes.
“It’s blowing warm air, but it has to be gentle,” Hillard explains. “Leather is such a delicate fabric that if you go too heavy and blast hot air into there, it’ll make the leather tighter and/or harder. You could do it in 10-15 minutes but a 45-minute cycle, if there’s time, is more delicate.
“Leather is durable, a great fabric for crashes; but you must manage it really well. Even what we use to clean the suits is water-based with few chemicals in there. It’s very particular work.”
Riders have their own routines; some like to head over to the truck themselves, while others send their assistants or prefer to catch-up with a technician inside the garage at the end of the day.
As we were discussing the drying process, Aprilia’s Raul Fernandez popped his head into the truck to discuss the Velcro on his suit. Meanwhile, Marc Marquez’s suit arrived and was undergoing some work to enlarge the forearms in order to release some pressure.
“There’s a special fluid that softens leather, which gets applied inside and outside. We have a tube that goes inside that enables us to enlarge the area. It’s a well-tested solution just to enlarge the arm.”
The fixing process
The work that Alpinestars are able to do inside the paddock is quite remarkable. Prior to our visit to the service truck, Alex Marquez crashed his Gresini Racing Ducati. His damaged suit arrived back at the truck to be analysed by pattern maker Veronica Reginato. Each damaged suit that requires attention will first be inspected by Reginato or fellow pattern maker Antonietta Secco.
If it can be fixed, it’ll
