Audi's Biker
RaceWatch
THE VIEW FROM INSIDE THE PADDOCK
WOLFGANG DÜRHEIMER DUCATI MOTOGP LAB BIKE BERNHARD GOBMEIER NICKY HAYDEN
WOLFGANG DV RH ElMER
AUDI'S BIKER
DUCATI
Neil Spalding
FORBES HAS called Wolfgang Dürheimer Volkswagen's rising star." This isn't the sort of eadline you'd expect to read in a motorcycle magazine, but Dürheimer is in charge of motorsport at the Volkswagen Group. Plus, he leads R&D at Audi, which now owns Ducati.
Wolfgang Dürheimer began his career in speedway, was a Paris-Dakar Rally mechanic and is now overseeing Ducati's renaissance in MotoGP.
WhenAudi began to show interest in Ducati, Dürheimer was completing his first year as managing director at Bentley and Bugatti. The Volkswagen Group had recruited him from Porsche (where he'd led the 911 project, then engineered the entire range). As the Ducati deal took shape, VW moved Dürheimer to the top of Audi R&D-an engineer in an engineer's dream job. As head of competition, Dürheimer oversees motorsports for nine of the 12 brands. When those brands go racing, Dürheimer has to explain why, without bias toward one or another.
What matters to the two-wheel fraternity is that Dürheimer is one of two men within Audi to whom Ducati's top brass report, and he has more than a passing interest in the Italian company's success, both on and off the racetrack. That's because Dürheimer's journey to the top of the automotive-technology world has a two wheel foundation, including 12 years at BMW Motorrad.
" I BECAME THE GRANDFATHER OFTHE PARALEVER IT MADE MEA DECENT REPUTATION AT BMW! "
YOU CAME TO RACING AT A YOUNG AGE AS PART OF WORLD CHAMPION MANFRED POSCHENRIEDER'S SPEEDWAYTEAM.
We were using 500CC single-cylinder engines in speedway. Don Godden had started making his version, and Weslake and Jawa had brought out their four-valve heads. I learned a lot from working on the test bench with those engines and getting the right settings for different tracks. I didn't have a driver's license, so I started to compete in trials. I went on to study motor-vehicle engineering and also motorcycle technology.
HOW DID YOU ARRIVE AT BMW?
I read in a German motorcycle magazine about some problems BMW was having while competing in the ISDT. The riders were complaining about the bikes' handling in the motocross special stages; over the bumps, the shaft drive was making the suspension rigid. So, I wrote to the test department at BMW giving them a little background on my experience and asked them if I could do my thesis on this problem. They interviewed me, and I got the chance to help. I became the grandfather of the Paralever. It made me a decent reputation at BMW!
DID YOU DISCUSS THE DUCATI MOTOGP PROGRAM WITH VALENTINO ROSSI AT MUGELLO LASTYEAR?
Yes. At that time, I'd left Bentley but I had not taken my new position with Audi. My predecessor asked to continue until August 31, so I had some spare time. We didn't know if vaient i no was leaving or staying, so during the weekend, I spent three and a half hours with him. I also talked to Nicky Hayden and Filippo Preziosi.
I tried to find out what was going on. I watched the race, and I thought there might be something I could doafter all, I am from the outside, with a "helicopter" perspective. I didn't know what they had tried so far; I just knew the bike wasn't quick enough.
(Clockwise from far left) Will this development mule be the gateway to future MotoGP success for Ducati? Lab bikes await evaluation in Jerez, Spain. Audi's Wolfgang Dürheimer makes mental notes in the team garage last fall in Valencia.
WERE YOU RESPONSIBLE FOR THE "LABORATORY BIKE"?
I just passed on some ideas. I try to follow an integrated approach to racing; maybe this is due to how I grew up. I started as a motorcycle mechanic, and I was still a motorcycle mechanic in the BMW Paris-Dakar teams after I finished my engineering degrees.
I was Gaston Rahier's mechanic in two Paris-Dakar races. I remember Gaston asking for a 3mm change in the standard handlebar twistgrip position, just to make it exactly the same both sides. The other guys thought he was crazy. It was something you had to do often as he crashed several times per day, but he just needed to be 100 percent happy, so I did it. I did everything to keep him happy, and he liked it. It was important to his confidence and personality for him to have the bike 100 percent right, and he won twice.
I've worked with a lot of very good riders and racers, and if you don't listen to what they are saying, you are excluding possibly one-third of the equation.
MAYBE MORE THAN ONE-THIRD ON A MOTORCYCLE?
Yes, maybe more than one-third. For a long time, Valentino tried to tell the Ducatisti what he was looking for, but maybe they didn't understand him. I don't really know what happened. But after this three-and-a-half-hour talk with him, I had a clear indication of where the problem was. It was a lack of confidence in the front wheel. If you are racing an R18 [Audi's hybrid Le Mans prototype], you need to make it as rigid as possible, then you have adjustable suspension at each corner. But if a bike has a really rigid frame, it is unrideable. This is what I learned in speedway.
-> VOLKSWAGEN SHARES TECHNOLOGY WITHIN THE GROUP. HOW WILL DUCATI FIT INTO THIS SYSTEM?
Ducati is a new acquisition, and things need time to develop. Ducati has a lot of strengths: They are profitable; they make beautiful bikes; they take part in the leading racing series, although not as successfully as I would like. We try to leave brands that join the VW Group fairly independent in their spirit. We don't want to take over in the classical sense. Lamborghini, for example, still has its own design, its own engine character. It is our policy to push each brand to its individual limit.
-> DID YOU HIRE BERNHARD GOBMEIER?
Ducati decided to hire Gobmeier, but when it comes to motorsports responsibility, the CEOs of the various groups usually contact me for advice. I also might interview top candidates.
While we were in the process of buying Ducati, I realized Gobmeier might soon need
a new job. BMW was terminating its World Superbike project, which I regret very much. I had been watching him run the program, and I liked his style. Once I knew he might be available, I called him to suggest we should keep in touch. Later, I gave his name to [former Ducati CEO] Gabriele Del Torchio.
I didn't actually work with Gobmeier at BMW—when I was in motorcycles, he was in the M division—but I absolutely trust him, and he is a friend. We speak the same language, and we have joined forces to make a big success for Ducati.
When we took over Ducati, it was more or less the end of the season, and I could see that some advice and help would be accepted. Bernhard wasn't there at this time, and I needed to get things running.
I went to Borgo Panigale frequently. We got several ideas and improvements going. As soon as Gobmeier got there in January, I was able to transfer the ideas to him. He is in charge now.
