The Ducati Lenovo Team has unveiled an innovative robot at the 2025 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, designed to map racetrack profiles and generate highly detailed 3D representations of all MotoGP circuits.
The newest member of the Bologna factory team will provide teams, engineers, and riders with an initial track overview before they even get on the bike.
The machine was first tested at Mugello in 2024 and is set to be used more regularly from 2025 onwards.
The robot takes center stage on Thursdays, coinciding with the traditional track walks.
As riders explore the circuit on foot, the robot follows them, tracing the racing lines they would take on their MotoGP rockets. While doing so, it collects data to create a precise track profile.
Andrea Gorfer, an electronics designer at Ducati Lenovo, explained that the robot “creates a track map and extracts around six million data points per second” via its 3D Lidar scanner.
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“It’s the perfect way to digitally reconstruct the racing environment, capturing data for later analysis and reproduction,” the Italian added.
Chiara Degradi, Senior Sponsorships Specialist at Lenovo, highlighted that the 3D representation of the track “includes gradients, inclinations, asphalt characteristics, and more.”
The data is primarily meant to serve as an initial reference. “It can also be compared with last year’s data to detect any changes to the circuit.”
This means that Ducati’s factory team, as well as its satellite outfits, will have a clear understanding of track conditions even before their bikes touch the tarmac for the first time on Practice Fridays.
Typically, teams gather such insights during the opening laps of FP1, processing them on the fly in the garage.
With this robot, engineers face less pressure, gaining nearly 24 hours to integrate the information.
“The robot is specifically calibrated for Marc Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia,” Degradi stated. Other Ducati riders will also have access to the data.
