THE BIG READ session has gone really badly , everybody is quick to try and pick him up . They do instinctively , they do not have to be told to do it . We are just programmed to do that , by the human side of things . In my opinion , that connection between the rider and mechanics is still very important .”
Although the big decisions and debriefs are done via the crew chiefs and data engineers in almost every single team , the riders will quite often say to their mechanics what they think is wrong as they walk back to the garage , long before the riders get to their personalised chairs behind the banks of computer screens to speak to the crew chief - the final arbiter of what to do next . So the mechanics who know their riders well already know at least which area they have to take action in - what to look at and look out for - even after just a few passing words from the person in the leathers .
Changing manufacturers , teams , crew chiefs and mechanics are big steps for any rider to take , and even though Phil went from successful privateer team Kawasaki Puccetti Racing alongside Toprak when he joined the official Yamaha team , there is always a period of transition . In reality , Crew Chiefs often change teams with their riders , but mechanics regularly stay with the same team , with some obvious early acclimatisations to be made when a new rider arrives . With a whole new bunch of mechanics to work with for the rider , and a new rider for the mechanics to understand and engage with , trust and mutual understanding has to be earned by both parties . An example ? Toprak sometimes blew hot and cold when he joined Yamaha , so everybody on the tech side had to find the best match of proven winning machine and proven winning rider consistently enough to be consistent . As Toprak himself said , “ At first when I joined Yamaha ( 2020 ) I was a bit scared because for the first time in WorldSBK I was not in the Puccetti Racing team , and it was my first year in a factory team . I only knew Phil but the other guys I did not know . It was the first time I met them - and in a factory team everything is different .”
The trust that has built up since then took a while to come . “ It was not easy to trust back then , but from 2021 my team trust me , and I also trust them ,” said Toprak . “ You need this because you are a team , all together , not alone . OK … I am winning , I am a world champion , but we do it together . This is a team effort , everybody trusted you and you trusted them . Before the start of the second season I enjoyed it
OFFICIAL PROGRAMME
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