The encyclopedia · Engineering & Operations · Technical decision · 2012
A MotoGP team picked its gear ratios with binary optimization
TEAM ASPAR used a binary integer program to choose gearbox combos per track and rider, replacing garage guesswork with an optimizer.
TEAM ASPAR (Aspar Racing Team)
the move
Motorcycle racing teams choose a fixed set of gear ratios before each race. The right combination depends on the track's corners and straights and on the rider's style, and testing every combination on track is impossible.
TEAM ASPAR worked with researchers to model the problem as a binary integer linear program: which gears to install so the motorcycle's speed at every point on the circuit meets the rider's and track's requirements. The output is an optimal gearbox for each circuit and rider.
The model was applied for a rider in the World Motorcycling Racing Championship and published in INFORMS' Interfaces journal as an example of optimization entering motorsport engineering.
why it works
- Binary programming naturally encodes choose-or-not decisions like which gear to install.
- The model evaluates the whole lap at once, so corners don't get optimized at the expense of straights.
- Published, reproducible models let teams refine setups without burning track time.
what transfers
When a setup is finite combinations plus a measurable goal, an optimizer finds what track testing never could — a wrong gearbox costs tenths of a second per lap.
what came after
The gearbox selection model was reported for a World Motorcycling Racing Championship rider and published as a practice paper in Interfaces, showing how binary optimization can support race-week setup decisions.
references
- TEAM ASPAR Uses Binary Optimization to Obtain Optimal Gearbox Ratios in Motorcycle Racing
- TEAM ASPAR Uses Binary Optimization to Obtain Optimal Gearbox Ratios in Motorcycle Racing
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