Photo: MotoGP.com
Lombard Street, the windy San Francisco road with the line of cars and gaping socks-in-sandals tourists, isn?t the twistiest road in the city (that title belongs to Vermont Street), but it?s a sunny stage that?s ideal for public stunts. And MotoGP racer Stefan Bradl wended his way down the street on his racing-spec motorcycle four times for a Red Bull promotional video.
Bradl is the 2011 Moto2 Champion and, at 22 years old, competing in this weekend?s MotoGP race at Laguna Seca. Think of Lombard as a warm up for the course?s infamous Corkscrew.?Besides the curves, which 2011 Moto2 champion Bradl is used to, the street is made of bricks that have been polished slick after decades of traffic. Even after using tire warmers, he kept his speed low, but the exhaust broadcast all 1,000cc of the engine in his Honda RC 213V.
After the ride on Tuesday morning, Bradl and team owner?Lucio Cecchinello went down to Stanford University?s Automotive Innovation Facility to talk risk and safety in motorcycle racing?with moderator and IDEO partner Diego Rodriguez. Bradl and Cecchinello rapped about how they get the fastest lap times while keeping the rider on the bike with everything from rest and a strict diet, to tire warmers and braking points. As Cecchinello said, ?We need to approach the limit, but not overtake it.?
The race weekend started on Wednesday when Bradl arrives and eats a special diet. He keeps fit, plans his braking strategy for the first turn when his carbon stoppers are still cold, and then, when time nears to the green flag, he moves around to get blood flowing. ?I need to warm up my body before getting on the bike, just like the tires,? he said.
Preparation, after all technical measures have been made, becomes a matter of mental acuity. ?You need to feel like it?s coming from up there,? he said, gesturing skyward. When audience members persisted and asked about his mental prep, he replied with the same vibe: When you?re the son of a racing legend, and have been riding motorcycles since toddlerhood, it all becomes ineffable instinct.
Still, the electronics help. Cecchinello?s team gets data from on-board accelerometers, suspension sensors, and a myriad of other devices that give actionable metrics. Along with other teams, they?ve been focusing recently on biological factors that affect lap times. After learning that after 45 minutes of exposure to 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit), which is exactly what happens to MotoGP riders, cognitive performance drops off. The team is now intent on developing a helmet that can regulate temperature without adding extra weight or drag.
The biggest story in the last several years of motorcycle safety has been the rider-mounted airbag. Once the rider leaves the bike in a crash, the bag inflates into something like football shoulder pads. Once deployed, the bag braces the rider?s arms, chest, neck, and back, preventing serious or fatal falls. Bradl said that knowing the airbag was there if he needed it made him feel calm and confident.
Race technology ends up in consumer goods, like the back braces now found in high-end motorcycle jackets. And while riders might not need temperature-regulating helmets, the proliferation of bike-friendly airbags are already here and gaining traction.
Source: http://z4webhosting.com/blog/23138/slaloming-lombard-street-in-a-racing-spec-motorcycle/
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