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When former WorldSBK factory rider Davide GIUGLIANO started to work alongside Motul in the Italian CEV Championship some three years ago it was more than just a case of a sponsor supplying product to an ambitious team .
As fourteen times a podium scorer - and 2011 Superstock 1000 champion - Giugliano said in the run up to a very busy home round in Misano , “ We made a lot of work on the product in terms of development , and we grew up together with Motul .”
Growing , and growing fast , it appears .
Now competing inside the WorldSSP paddock every weekend with Oli Bayliss , and at the European WorldSSP rounds with Maxmilian Kofler , the D34G team do important work not only on the racetrack with Motul , but at their home base , where they test new products as well as preparing their Panigale V2 race spec machines .
“ In the week before Misano we were testing two new products for Motul and we made one day on the dyno to stress the engine and the lubricant , for many reasons ,” said Davide . “ At the end of the day we had a really good idea of the product and its development .”
So why did Motul choose to work so closely with D34G , Davide ? “ For sure Motul is a really big company , in WorldSBK and worldwide ,” he stated . “ When I started with the team my idea was to use the best products on the market . I spoke with Motul and after my request it was possible to have a close relationship . Good relationships in racing are really important not only for sponsorship . It is important for development and to have the best product for the engine and all the other parts of the bike . This is a really important point . But the relationship between the lubricant producer and our team is important so that we can grow up together . Motul want their products to be at the top of the market - the best . The relationship with our team helps to improve their best products , and test them so that they can put them in the market and be sure that they have the best products in their product line .”
The feedback supplied by D34G , after races or dyno test sessions , is an integral part of the overall Motul development , and a way to check final quality control in the most extreme conditions possible - on the racetrack . “ Our engineers send back reports back about the products , so the Motul engineers can check this , and maybe find a different oil for different conditions ,” said Giugliano . “ As you know , in WorldSSP the regulations say that you cannot change so many things in the engine , so to work around this with oil and other things , can make some difference . To have this working relationship and support from a factory like Motul , is important . It is not just ordering product and giving some general feedback .”
Davide also stressed that Motul ’ s customers end up being the final beneficiaries of all this hard work . “ This product will finally end up on the market for the final end user , the rider on the street . OK , the oil is for the extreme conditions of racing , but it is possible for the end user to have the same lubricant as Oli Bayliss uses on our bike . The oil , the engine lubricant , is the main product but our team in the box , in the pit garage , use many Motul products . Chain lube , brake cleaner etc , all these things are important , even the products to wash the bike . All of these products are available to buy on the market .”
Another nice aspect of the Motul and D34G relationship this season is that they are working with another generation of the name Bayliss . “ Troy is a legend . Oli , his son , is starting in the World Championship and he is one of the fast guys . This image is wonderful . For me as an exrider , in the main part of my career I stayed with Ducati . So to have Oli , the some of a legend , is a wonderful story for us on a Ducati machine .”
From Motul ’ s point of view , their high regard for the D34G team ’ s approach and professionalism in the Italian championship made it a logical decision to partner with Davide in the WorldSSP championship . And the fact that Motul had supported Troy Bayliss ’ s Ducati team in the Australian championship , via Motul Asia-Pacific , made for a happy and continuing tale when Motul decided to follow Oli Bayliss in his new experience inside the Supersport World Championship .
Davide Giugliano has the last word … “ Finally I just want to say ‘ Grazie ’ to Motul . Sponsors are really , really important for us but the relationship and the involvement and the product is 100 % important for me . In this moment with Motul I have both important things . A good partner and a good technical partner . Both are very important .”
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