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With 2D I know where to look for the information I need: you can’t necessarily say that for other data logging systems.

  

Go Racing Developments was started by owner Mark Sadler in 2003. The company specialises in the construction and development of all aspects of on or off road racing motorcycles. Mark originally trained in the aerospace industry, but was obliged to pursue his other passion for motorcycles following the downturn in the aircraft industry. He started working for Alfs Motorcycles in West Sussex and was instrumental in helping them win the KRC Motorcycle Racing Endurance Championship. Mark then worked for Ricardo where he specialised in prototype manufacturing and assembly. His final destination before establishing Go Racing Developments was working with Tom Walkinsham (of the Orange Arrows F1 team) in Indy Car technology in the race engine arm of the business. Mark specialises in preparing race bikes for meetings and for this he relies heavily on data acquisition systems like the 2D system. Datron was fortunate to catch up with Mark earlier this week and talk to him about data logging, the 2D system and what the future holds for his company and Datron.

Why do you choose to use the 2D system in preference to other data acquisition systems?
"Being able to analyse and understand what the rider and the machine are experiencing is a crucial part of motorcycle racing. I've been using telemetry for a number of years now to help with machine set-up and rider development, and it's made a huge difference. However, I find the 2D datalogging system the best to work with personally. There are maybe other systems available that could possibly give you more information, but the 2D system is the best all round performer in my opinion. It's not just the quality of the components: it's the interaction of the software that makes it special. Some other data logging systems will show you a lot more information, but interpreting that data can be a bit of a nightmare. With 2D I know where to look for the information I need: you can't necessarily say that for other systems."

What's so special about the software then?
"All data loggers will give you vast amounts of information, but the problem for most of them is in how they display and present the information. It can be very hard to read and process all the data. 2D, however, is much more straightforward. You can tell that the developers have put an awful lot of effort into developing this software, and that means that interpreting information is far easier to do. It's intuitive I suppose. From my point of view, it's proved to be a godsend. I've used other systems but it can take 2 or 3 times as long to try and find the information I want. With 2D I can access this data instantly. That's why when riders come in to me with bikes that aren't performing like they should, even though some other person's used a data logger on the bike, I can get to the root of the problem quickly and fix it. Information's great, but not if you don't know how to use it."

Have you got any future plans in the pipleline?
"I'm hoping to be working with Datron, in collaboration with a UK-based suspension manufacturer called Nitron in the next year. They're based down in Whitney like me. They've had a large presence in car suspension sector for some years, and have tried to break into the motorcycle shock absorber market. Unfortunately it didn't really work out. From my point of view their products just weren't suitable for racing bikes. We had a meeting with the company and now I'm helping them to develop a new set of shocks and fork kit suitable for motorcycles."

"To be able to do this, we'll need a large amount of data to show us how the shocks and the forks are performing. That's where 2D comes into the equation. It impossible to develop a new product unless you have a reliable and accurate data system that can tell you how the changes you make to the product are improving or altering it. John Grist's keen on working with us on this, and we think we can really make it work. If we achieve what we set out to do, it'll be good for Nitron, good for Go Racing and good for Datron. What's more it'll be good to get another British product out there."