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sense and be both optimist and prudent. A
small company like ours must be really
careful. In this case, nobody can tell you how
many cars you will need. We started with 30
cars. We took a risk but not an massive one
as we also based ourself on the general feeling
among the team. Sometimes you get it wrong,
and luckily we do it because we plan too little
cars. In 2015, we built 100 cars, but nobody
expected it. In Germany, they talked about 16
to 20 cars, and the number got up to 45. We
are lucky to rely on suppliers that can keep
up with unforeseen orders».
Last but not least, there must be a
collaboration with the teams…
Gianfranco De Bellis:
«From a technical
standpoint, Corrado is the man in charge of
the relationship with the teams. Together
with Eugenio, Luca and other colleagues, he
creates the technical manuals. Every day we
offer more and more information to the
teams so they can optimize the cars and
prevent malfunctions. Electrical schemes, the
gearbox mechanics, the engine, etc. We are
always ready to help. We answer phone calls
24:7. In case of emergency on Saturday and
Sunday, we try to find a solution. It sure takes
a lot of passion and flexibility!»
Let’s imagine that everything could be
sent via files, not paper manuals.
Corrado Casiraghi: «They are Word files,
but still files nonetheless. At the start there
are frequent updates so the teams
have the chance to download the new
information in real time. Sometimes you take
certain aspects for granted, but then, for
example, two or three teams ask the same
question, maybe because they come from a
different racing culture, so you understand
that you have to integrate the manuals so
everybody can operate independently. We
also create the spare parts catalogue because
the teams need to repair their cars quickly in
case of crashes, right from the start. It’s
something that proceeds alongside the
delivery of the cars».
It all starts with a sketch. But it takes a lot
of attention to detail in order to turn that
sketch into reality…
Gianfranco De Bellis:
««Definitely.
There are so many aspects behind the birth of
a racecar that the general public can’t even
imagine. In order to make the project usable
by everybody there must be a complete
production chain. Working with many
international entities, also outside of Europe,
showed us that you always need to facilitate
things. For example, we created order
modules for spare parts that already
indicate the total cost. Un America, they use
different names for the same parts, so we use
codes so there is no chance to make mistakes.
As said, this means you need a lot of work at
the start and a lot of commitment from the
,warehouse personnel. For the Formula 4,
we created more than 100 pages of technical
schemes and illustrations. It’s an aspect that,
for example, Toyota really appreciate.
On the other hand, Palmer was surprised by
the professionalism and openness here at
Tatuus. And every year there is an
improvement».