One of the most important jobs in a MotoGP team is undoubtedly the crew chief, second only to the rider. He (or she) will have his (or her) finger in all the different pies in the MotoGP pit box and is the first person the superstar rider will speak to after a session. So when we were offered the chance to have a chat with Jose Manuel Cazeaux, Alex Rins’ crew chief, we grabbed it by the balls, because if anyone knows what?s going on in Rins? side of the Suzuki MotoGP garage, it?s him.

44T – First of all, can you describe what role you play in the Suzuki MotoGP team? what does ?Crew Chief? mean"

JMC – The crew chief position is a bit different. It?s about being wholly responsible for one rider and all of his crew. So you take care of all of the technical aspects that are related to the bike of your rider. So suspension set up, geometry, tyres, electronics. And we also talk about tyre strategy and how we manage them over the weekend.
Another important part of the crew chief job is to give technical feedback to the factory, because you are the link between what the rider says and the engineers in Japan.

44T – How much of the data from Alex and the team at the circuit goes back to Japan, and what development  does that lead to"

JMC – A lot, because the rider is like another sensor on the bike. In fact you could say he is the most important and the most sensitive sensor. He can see, he can feel, and he can hear ever...