Lukas Tulovic on his role as Ducati’s wrist-operated rev limiter

Lukas Tulovic has now been racing in Assen for two days at the fifth round of the Euro Moto Superbike season. However, as has already been reported on several occasions, due to his outstanding success in recent races, he is not racing at a maximum revs of 16,100 rpm, but rather, in accordance with the Balance of Performance (BoP) regulations, at a maximum of 15,600 rpm. As reducing the maximum revs on the Ducati Panigale V4R fielded by Team Triple M Ducati Frankfurt unlike with other manufacturers, cannot be easily achieved through a last-minute adjustment to the electronics, the team – and ultimately the rider – were required to ensure compliance with the new maximum rev limit themselves. Failure to do so would result in disqualification.

This has apparently worked well over the two days of individual practice sessions; at any rate, no complaints have been raised as yet. But how does this high-stakes gamble play out in practice? Lukas Tulovic explained this in an interview with SPEEDWEEK.com: “Well, I’ve had to adapt my riding style and adjust my gear changes. I think we’ve coped very well with this new situation so far. We have to make the best of it.”

Next challenge: the races

Now, practice is one thing and races are another. That means that when you’re more or less on your own on the track, without any pressure, you can still manage it reasonably well. But when you’re caught up in battles for position, it’s certainly a different story. On this, he says: “Exactly. We’ll see how it works out in the races. I can see on my dashboard what my revs are so I don’t go over the limit. During the practice sessions, that was fine and I was able to adjust to it. In the races, however, there’ll be different situations. I can’t say much about that yet; we’ll have to wait and see.”

When asked how many times per lap he looked at the dashboard, he replied rather vaguely: “Quite a lot. But we also have a few tools to help us. We can analyse the data and see at which point on the track I’m driving in which gear and at what revs. There are a few critical spots. But that’s also indicated to me by coloured lights. There are some red, orange and green sections. Green indicates that there’s no danger; the others mean I need to be a bit more careful or take great care. By analysing the data, we know where caution is required and where we’re safe.”

Tulovic remains professional

Racing under these conditions can’t exactly be the height of bliss. With his expression still somewhat stern, he explained: “You can’t ride the way you’re used to, because you can’t focus purely on the riding itself. You have to manage the revs, which isn’t much fun. But I’ll make the best of the situation.”

The question remains as to whether the extra work – to put it another way, the distraction from the essentials – creates additional moments of danger? “I don’t know,” is the terse reply from the humanoid rev-limiter, delivered via the position of his wrist – though as an observer, one might interpret a certain degree of concern into it. He concluded laconically: “It’s a shame I can’t show my true potential this weekend.”