News
AOTech - 12/09/2024
MEET THE TEAM
[MEET THE TEAM] AOTech is pleased to introduce a new member of its team, @YannCoudouret. After graduating from the ESTACA as an automotive engineer, Yann has been working as a race engineer ever since. Motorsport felt like evidence to him. As a real petrol head since childhood, Yann followed various motorsport series and it only felt natural for him to steer his career towards this field. Yann has been working at AOTech since 2015 and is now responsible for long term development and global overview of the DiL (Driver in Loop) activities & customers. His role at AOTech is to be aware of the newest simulator technologies to make sure AOTech stays one of the best simulators available for motorsport customers. Yann also follows the long-term customers and makes sure their needs are perfectly fulfilled. Finally, he steers the AOTech company into constant improvement on all aspects such as DiL operations, DiL updates or customer needs. Thanks to his past experiences, Yann can make the most out of a DiL operation day as he’s used to working on-track. As a manager, his daily tasks are mainly to stay aware of what is going on and to interfere only if things are getting out of control. He also has other projects to manage daily with ART Grand Prix. When asked about key moments and challenges, Yann mentions a high stakes contract between AOTech and an important tyre manufacturer which led to an huge simulator upgrade. The biggest challenges at AOTech are to always make sure to follow the industry evolution and keep your network well maintained. What are the keys to success? To succeed in his role, you have to be a sensible manager and ensure everyone is working to his full potential. You need to make sure your team meets the high level of commitment and strictness motorsport requires. Motorsport is a challenging but rewarding environment. As a young engineer, you need to make sure your technical knowledge is excellent. Human relationship is also an important part of the job as you need to extract the most out of a driver in every condition. And last but not least : don’t be afraid of small companies! That’s where you’ll learn the most by doing a bit of everything.
AOTech - 03/09/2024
MEET THE TEAM
[MEET THE TEAM] The AOTech simulator would not be what it is without its people! Let’s meet our simulator engineer and project manager Vincent Gontier. After two years of prep class, Vincent integrated the famous ESTACA and did his last year of study in Cranfield, UK to study motorsport. He then integrated AOTech as an intern, working on his end of studies thesis. Freshly graduated, he then started working at AOTech full time as simulator engineer and now simulator project manager since last year. When asked why motorsport, he said that the passion was driving him. He was also highly interested in the technical and technological aspect of the sport. The engineering sharpness was what he was looking after. As simulator project manager, Vincent is fully in charge of the simulator sessions schedule, working closely with our clients to be aligned schedule wise and goals wise. He is also in charge of the simulator maintenance. In parallel, Vincent keeps developing models and softwares for the simulator. On a daily basis, Vincent is a DiL system engineer helping teams and clients making the link between the sim and the teams’ tools, to ensure they can work as if they were on track. He also oversees every sim sessions and makes sure everything is going as planned. For two years now, Vincent has been working on a major project : updating the sim software environment. In order to stay aligned with our clients’ goals and to stay at the top of what can be done, our project manager works on graphism, models fluidity and realism, and on keeping each track up to date and even more realistic. Working with teams like Michelin, Alpine and McLaren has been keeping the job interesting for Vincent. With different ways of working and highly structured sim sessions, the level of requirement increases drastically and makes the work more challenging but also way more rewarding. You want to become a simulator engineer? For Vincent, the most important thing is to have technical knowledge on how a car works in terms of chassis, dampers, engine, aero, etc. IT is also a huge part of the job. Vincent highlights that you don’t need to be an expert ; being skilful and resourceful will help you get there. Moreover, always take advice from the race team. What a better way to recreate a track than with the help of the people working on-track?
CKP x Michelin x AOTech - 30/07/2024
We tested SDS on our simulator!
Together, Michelin and CKP Engineering have written a new page in the history of motorsports through innovation, expertise, a culture of excellence, passion and daring. As part of their numerous development sessions, Michelin wanted to test SDS on our simulator. The objective in this 1st phase was to confirm that SDS fulfilled its role perfectly as a safety device without changing the rider’s tyre feeling. As CKP’s Technical Director Patrick BIZON, enthusiastically said, « We’ve done it! »!
Formula 2, Formula 3, FRECA, F1 Academy - 18/06/2024
Break is over.
The championships have finally resumed after a few weeks of break. After several sim sessions, our F2, F3 and F1 Academy customers are ready to get back in the cars. We wish them the best of luck!
LE MANS 2024 - 17/06/2024
The training sessions for Le Mans 2024 are now over.
This year, we provided training for 56 LMH, LMDH, LMP2 and LMGT3 rookie drivers, including Valentino ROSSI, Romain GROSJEAN and Mick SCHUMACHER. They could apply all these procedures during last weekend’s Le Mans 24H race. Well done to all of them!
