IF , errari has just completed what is probably the most
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successful season in the history of Grand Prix racing. Drivers Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barichello played their part, of course, but there's more to a winning team than the stars.
From the design team who create the initial spark to the engineers who make it work at the track, all are essential components. Their efforts are for nought, however, unless all their equipment is in the right place at the right time.
Miodrag Kotur is the man responsible for ensuring that it happens. As logistics manager, his responsibilities obviously include ensuring that the race cars, all their spares and fuel arrive at the appropriate circuit on time, but there is much more besides. He's been with Ferrari since 1993, when he arrived with team boss, Jean Todt, whom he'd worked with previously. The 75-80 team members who attend each race need food, hotel, clothing and transportation, and these are all Kotur's responsibility. He now has a brand new logistics unit at his disposal, where everything needed for a race is gathered, packed and dispatched. The 3,00 orre. building, built from scratch in under six months, is situated mid-way between the famous Maranello Ferrari road car factory and the equally famous Fiorano test track. The scale of the operation can be gathered by the fact it even includes an on-site Europcar branch office.
The nature of the logistics operation depends on the race venue. For 'fly-away' races (those outside of Europe) the process starts co days before the race. On the Thursday, the three cars are given a final shakedown at Fiorano, and the following day, 120 boxes containing 37 tonnes of kit are finally packed up. A handling agent then transfers the equipment boxes to Malpense airport, while the team's own truck carries the cars. At Malpense, everything is loaded aboard a Boeing 747 cargo plane, shared with Minardi and Sauber. Team personnel follow on Sunday, ready to be fully operational on Tuesday. For those lastminute hitches, where the truly unexpected happens, Ferrari books a tonne of air cargo space each day in
the week prior to every race, together with enough seats for baggage.
Things are slightly more relaxed for European races, with the shakedown taking place on the Monday before the race. The size of the inventory is greater, though. The main convoy consists of five artics with high-cube trailers, and one smaller rigid support truck. With Ferrari and Iveco being fellow members of the Fiat Group, the favoured truck brand comes as no surprise. For the 2003 season, all of the old Euro Stars (see box) will be replaced by the new Stralis. The only non-Ivecos are on the 3.5-tonne fleet, where the Daily is joined by the Fiat Ducat°. Although plated at 40 tonnes, the artics run at nowhere near that weight, but no self-respecting team would dream of operating at anything less than 400hp—power-to-weight ratios of 2ohp/tonne are not uncommon with some teams running 53ohp artics at 26 tonnes. Every truck has a two-man driving crew, and every driver has another job. Some will look after the tyres, others the fuel or brakes. Likewise, once unloaded, every truck has a secondary purpose. One will be an engine laboratory, another the body repair facility and yet another, a technical meeting room. As well as the trucks, there are three motor homes for team, press and sponsors.
Unlike most logistics operations, money is no object—cost is secondary to ensuring that the job is done. Kotur's brief is quite simply to ensure that no one has to worry about anything other than their own job. Oh, and a Ferrari taking the chequered flag, of course...
Efforts are for nought however, unless all their equipment is in the right place at the right time.