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Ducati, Lenovo Partner For MotoGP
February 8, 2021
After a 2021 ended with the victory of the MotoGP Constructors’ World
Title for the second year in a row, Ducati Lenovo Team is ready for a new
season, in which technology will play an increasingly crucial role. Since 2018,
Lenovo’s technology partnership with Ducati has helped the team innovate and
improve on-track performance. Innovation, speed and security is at heart of this
evolution. Enabled by a wide range of smarter solutions, Lenovo’s data
analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and smart collaboration continue to
drive improvements and help the team to accelerate simulations and real-time
data analysis, constantly transferring technology between the racing world and
Ducati’s street bikes.
The first goal for the 2022 season is to complete the Remote Garage project,
which allows engineers to receive data in real time and to interact with the
garage and bikes while working remotely. Moreover, Ducati and Lenovo are
committed to improving video conferencing both in the headquarters and in the
garage. The aim is to better connect the virtual teams for successful
collaboration, even from miles away.
“2021 was an important year for the Ducati Lenovo Team. We have strengthened our
technology partnership – paving the way for bolder innovation in the new hybrid
working world. We are proud to collaborate with Ducati, who share our core
values of speed, dedication, team spirit and a focus on results. In line with
our mission to enable intelligent transformation, we will continue to invest and
innovate with Ducati to achieve increasingly ambitious goals in the
fast-evolving industry of motorsports,” commented Luca Rossi, President of
Intelligent Devices Group at Lenovo.
“To be competitive and achieve the best results, on and off the track, it is
essential to have a clear idea of the central role of digital innovation and
to rely on the support of the best partners. Thanks to the collaboration with
Lenovo, we have accomplished important goals, such as accelerating data
collection and analysis, thus speeding up the decision-making process. This is
how we brought to circuits worldwide the bike that won the MotoGP Constructors’
World Title last season for the second year in a row,” said Claudio Domenicali,
Ducati CEO. “Thanks to a passion for technological innovation that we share with
Lenovo, we will continue moving forward in this direction, exploring tech
solutions that will achieve even better results on the track, in serial
production, and in corporate infrastructures.”
Computing power at anytime, anywhere
Lenovo has supported Ducati’s engineers and designers in the innovation of
racing and street bikes since 2018, helping the company to reach maximum
performance and enhanced levels of security.
Using High Performance Computing technology, based on Lenovo ThinkSystem SD530,
SR630 and SR650 servers, Ducati has been able to simplify and accelerate data
analysis concerning aerodynamics, fluid dynamics and stress tests. The improved
computing power has allowed the company to obtain data and information in a
third of the computation time and run almost twice as many simulations at the
same time – making it easier for engineers to understand how the bikes will
react to various weather conditions and continuously improve on track
performance. In addition, Lenovo infrastructure grants high standards of data
protection and has allowed Ducati to minimize the risk of dangerous and
expensive downtimes.
Ducati has adopted the ThinkSystem SE350 edge server to boost connectivity and
advanced real-time analytics, even in the most challenging environments.
Lenovo’s server boasts a high computing power in an extremely small, versatile
and easily portable device, bringing compute capabilities and AI features
wherever you need them. Designed and built with the unique requirements of the
Edge in mind, ThinkSystem SE350 can operate effectively in any location, even in
extreme environments: from the Malaysian humidity, which could reach 90%, to the
dry heat and the sand of Qatar. ThinkSystem SE350 allows engineers to manage in
real time, wherever they are, about 15GB of data for each bike, and to produce
customized insights for each rider that can be leveraged to take fast,
well-informed decisions. Finally, the security tools integrated in the device
allow automatic data encryption in case of tampering, helping to protect
Ducati’s intellectual property and prevent data leaks.
Collaboration, productivity and mobility at its core
 Ducati
has deployed a new virtual desktop infrastructure, built in partnership with
Lenovo. Over 250 2D and 3D virtual desktops are used across the organization
from the R&D department to the garage. Ducati is benefiting from increased
productivity as users can connect to their workstation whenever they want,
wherever they are and from any device. Virtual desktops also help to simplify IT
management and maintenance, to improve data protection and business continuity,
as well as to optimize resources and allow professionals to focus on higher
value-added tasks. Furthermore, thanks to the possibility of working on the
move, Ducati designers can remotely collaborate in real time with the
development team and the test rider during test phases, making changes to the
design of the bike or of a single component based on the feedback received,
reducing production times.
Everyone across the Ducati team – from managers, engineers, and riders – rely on
Lenovo tablets, PCs and workstations to achieve the highest levels of
collaboration, power and speed. Technicians use the Lenovo ThinkPad P1 mobile
workstation, to analyze data coming from the bikes’ sensors in minutes and to
study the lap statistics, compare them and optimize the bike setup.
Top management, on the other hand, rely on the innovative ThinkPad X1 Fold
foldable PC to enjoy maximum productivity and mobility, whereas designers can
count on the power of Lenovo workstations, including the ThinkPad P Series, for
design and development using CAD software.
Driving towards an augmented future
Together, Ducati and Lenovo have big plans for the future. The two companies are
already looking at how they can harness AI, machine learning and augmented
reality to drive even greater levels of innovation in MotoGP. Reproducing the
bike and its components virtually, in full size in a real context, will
represent a differentiating factor accelerating future R&D, testing and
maintenance, as well as of after-sales support for street bikes. |
