MotoGP: On The Road Again

MotoGP Report

England, Holland, Spain and Germany will host, over the next five weeks, four MotoGP World Championship races. A long journey that will take the Continental Circus across half of Europe, travelling 5,500 kilometres in just five weeks.

A meeting place for Spanish and foreign journalists, as well as guests of the Spanish company, Hospitality Repsol at all the races held in Europe must execute an authentic logistics operation to offer the best service in the paddock.

After fourteen years in the MotoGP World Championship, Hospitality Repsol, managed by Ginés Guirado, is a true benchmark in the exclusive MotoGP paddock. It is a genuine restaurant on wheels that can boast of offering the best dishes in the circuit, which is visited by around one hundred guests every day, including journalists, members of the team and the company’s guests.

These figures multiply in the Spanish races, where the service staff, which usually consists of seven people, must be reinforced with another five pair of hands in order to keep up with the pace. Captained by Ginés Guirado, Carlos, César and John are the public faces and Marc, Carlos and Tino the hidden faces, the artists in charge of the stoves.

Two trailers, one that is part of the structure of the marquee once it has been erected and another for cargo, almost 60,000 KG are transported by road for each race, give shape and spirit to a space measuring over eighty square metres divided into two areas: a dining room and a bar. The dining room serves up to forty two diners in shifts that can be repeated up to four times every lunchtime, as well as another fifty guests standing at the bar.

Almost one hundred days away from home, half of them travelling the roads across Europe, Hospitality Repsol travels to all of the Grand Prix races held in the continent.

However, it is during long journeys like those of the next five weeks when it must optimise its performance. After the Italian Grand Prix, the trailers returned from Mugello by road, but other years, when the Catalonia race was held after the Italian event, they travelled by sea.

They boarded in Geneva on Monday night and instead of driving 2,000 kilometres, they arrived rested and ready to set up at the Circuit de Catalunya.

From Italy to Great Britain, stopping off at Barcelona

This time, after stocking up at the company’s headquarters in Granollers (Barcelona), the trailers travelled to Calais, where a Ferry took them to Dover and from there by road to Silverstone.

On the Tuesday before each race, at eight o’clock in the morning, all of the teams’ trailers enter the circuit where the Grand Prix is to going to be held and after two and a half days setting up, in the case of Hospitality Repsol, first thing on Friday morning everything is ready to serve the first breakfasts.

This year, the marathon of races will start after the British event; on Monday afternoon, the trailers must take another ferry in Harwich to go to Rotterdam and from there to the Assen Circuit.

As the race will be held on Saturday, everything must be set up a day earlier than usual; one day less that will be used, when the race finishes, to cross Europe to reach Spain in time, where, without time to rest, the second of the four Grand Prix races that will be held in Spain this year will take place: the Catalunya Grand Prix.

To tackle so many races in such a short time, good planning is essential, although there are factors that in this case that are on our side. Events like Silverstone or Assen are not usually attended by the largest number of guests.

However, the cargo loaded before leaving Spain must allow twice as many dishes as usual to be served. To do this, one of the trailers includes a refrigerated container and large capacity freezer, which allows everything that needs more cooking to be transported pre-cooked and things to be prepared in advance, such as sauces.

Even so, at every race, fresh produce is bought at the destination in order for it to reach the table in optimum conditions.

Years of experience and thorough control of all details make Hospitality Repsol standout. A roaming restaurant that, circuit after circuit, opens its doors to become a meeting point for journalists, guests, riders and the company’s friends.

Calendar:

20 June: Great Britain GP, Silverstone Circuit

26 June: Netherlands GP, Assen Circuit

4 July: Catalunya GP, Circuit de Catalunya

18 July: Germany GP, Sachsenring Circuit

Statistics:

-1997: year of the first Repsol Hospitality

-7 people working per GP

-5 extra people in the Spanish races

-2 trailers

-hospitality trailer: 22,000 KG

-cargo trailer: 35,000 KG

-one motor home

-one support car

-35 litres per 100 KM. Average consumption of a trailer

-12 GPs per season

-8 days away from Spain per Grand Prix

-96 days a year away from home

-4 days on the road per race

-48 days driving

-10.5 x 8 metre dimensions of the hospitality trailer

-Capacity 42 diners

-50 guests standing at the bar

-6 services: Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Breakfast and lunch

-180: maximum number of services in a single lunch (Saturday of the Jerez GP)

-4 lunch shifts in highest turnout races

-100 services per lunch in races outside of Spain

-1 refrigerated container and 1 freezer in the trailer