In WorldSBK the focus of paddock life is on the track itself and the pit garages . But the hub of paddock life in general is undoubtedly each of the teams ’ hospitality units . We look at the different ideas of what makes an ideal hospitality , which means explaining why they can often be so different from each other .
EXCITING CONTENT
In WorldSBK the biggest ‘ buildings ’ are sometimes temporary . They take the form of teams ’ and manufacturers ’ hospitality units . From the gigantic glass and steel ‘ ziggurat ’ like Yamaha ’ s ‘ group ’ hospitality hall to what was a covidreduced 40 person Aruba . it Ducati ‘ team restaurant ’ at Donington Park , there are many ways to keep your troops , sponsors and guests fed and watered . With only the WorldSBK and Yamaha bLU cRU championships in town at Donington Park we at least got to see the contrast between the biggest and smallest hospitalities . Ducati , with no great numbers of guests to take care of in the UK did not need their usual 150 person ‘ double-truck ’ set-up ( similar to Yamaha ’ s but maybe not quite so big ) with a large central area spanning two full sized HGV trailers . Yamaha , on the other hand , brought their interpretation of this large central dining area to the UK , and will do so at every non-flyaway race in 2021 . They have to , given the philosophy behind their latest hospitality until . “ Since four years we have decided to invest in the Yamaha Motor Europe hospitality and offer the services to our teams ,” said Yamaha Europe Racing Manager Andrea Dosoli of his manufacturers ’ contemporary grey and blue mothership . “ Especially this year , with the restrictions on having guests in the paddock , we have decided to extend the services to more teams . It ’ s a place not only where they can feed their rider , but where our guys can get a nice experience , feeling part of the Yamaha family . It ’ s a place where the riders can speak with each other , the team can speak with each other , building up relationships that are really important in our racing world .” However big or small they are , this is an important function of everyone ’ s travelling bases . In a practical sense , the design of Yamaha ’ s unit is described by hospitality contractor from HR Sport , Luca DiSanto and Stefano Calsavarra from the Yamaha Racing side . Said Luca , “ We need the two truck to build the unit and one more for transporting other things . It is a big investment . We started with the intention of using it last season but with Covid-19 it was impossible to build . This year we had the ability to build the structure and Yamaha used the opportunity for all the teams that do not have their own hospitality .” Stefano explained why such a big space had so few seats when I visited by saying , “ The capacity is reduced to 50 % of what is possible because of Covid-19 .” Many people around the world can relate to that kind of current regulatory distancing in a hospitality sector ! Purely for hospitality there are ten people working in the grey and blue , all from Luca ’ s company , who hold a contract from Yamaha for the hospitality and the service . He ’ s worked with his old mate Massimo and some others “ forever ” and been in the paddock in this game in one way or another for 18 years … To build the big Yamaha hospitality , from wheels stopped to ready to cook and serve , it takes between 36 hours and 48 hours . To remove , 24 hours . “ Normally we start to build on Monday night before a race , from 19.00hrs onwards , and normally we finish on Wednesday night ,” said Luca . In terms of meals , the Yamaha guys have had their busiest race so far - even through Covid-19 , at Misano , “ We had all four race classes , including the bLU cRU cup and we reached the number of 1,200 meals . That started with Lunch on Wednesday , and ending on Sunday night . They all did quite some work !” On a much quieter weekend like Donington Park as an example , where
In WorldSBK the biggest ‘ buildings ’ are sometimes temporary . They take the form of teams ’ and manufacturers ’ hospitality units .
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