"Knowing girls see me as a role model fills me with pride"

There are few Telemetry Technicians in the World Championship but thanks to Patricia Pacheco, that will hopefully change in the future

Patricia Pacheco's job inside the box is essential. The Telemetry Technician is the one who analyses the data of the bike and together with their superior, the technician, chooses the strategy to propose to the rider for the race weekend. Patri works with riders who are little more than teenagers, with pressure on their shoulders that they sometimes might struggle to manage. But it is precisely her ability to read data from the computer with the same naturalness as the tensions in the eyes of those young professionals that always finds the right words so that today's talents have the serenity and concentration to become the Champions of tomorrow.

Patricia Pacheco, Sic58 Squadra Corse

Her story begins in Madrid, 1989. As a child, she watched Grand Prix motorcycle racing on television supporting her idol, Sete Gibernau. "I dreamed one day of being the first person the rider talks to as soon as he gets off the bike, the person he turns to, to find a solution to be more competitive,” she says with a smile, thinking back to when his work was only a distant goal, almost unattainable.

Patricia Pacheco, Sic58 Squadra Corse

“I have always been good at math and physics, so I chose to study aerospace engineering and for some years I worked in Madrid in this field. I was doing an internship in line with what I had studied and, once that contract was over, they would hire me. But that wasn't exactly what I wanted.”

Patricia Pacheco, Sic58 Squadra Corse

Her passion has always been motorcycles and that childhood dream deserved to come true, or at least, Patri wanted to be sure she had tried in every way before giving up. "The only way that came to my mind at that time to become telemetry was to move to Barcelona and attend the Monlau school. It was then what I did when I left my family, a safe job to launch myself on a new adventure, towards the unknown."

Patricia Pacheco, Sic58 Squadra Corse

Once in Barcelona, ​​Patri devoted all her energy and every moment of her time to studying and then finding work in FIM CEV Repsol and the Spanish Championship. “In my first year in the Pre-Moto3™ championship, I won the title with Sergio Garcia. We arrived at the last tense race, fully concentrated because that was the appointment in which we were playing for a year's work. At the start of the last lap, our rider was at the bottom of the top 10 group, we were almost resigned, instead he managed to recover six positions and became the champion of that season. I remember when I arrived in parc fermé I felt my heart explode with joy!" A first satisfaction that gave her the push to aim even higher.

Patricia Pacheco, Sic58 Squadra Corse

"The CEV is an excellent league and I felt very comfortable in the team where I was, but I would have liked to work in the World Championship." The opportunity presented itself soon and Patri overcame some of her fears. "I had learned that Paolo Simoncelli was looking for two Telemetry Technicians: one for his team in the CEV and the other for that of the world championship. So, when I met him in the paddock I fought against my shyness to step forward even though I didn't speak Italian. At first, Paolo proposed me the place for the Spanish championship.”

But while not mastering the language well, Patri found a way to make herself understood. It was precisely that determination and that unstoppable being in front of every limit that made it clear, in a few moments, to the owner of the SIC58 Squadra Corse that he had the person he was looking for in front of him.

Patricia Pacheco, Sic58 Squadra Corse

Since 2018, the year of her arrival in the lightweight class of the World Championship, Patri has been alongside Tatsuzi Suzuki and together they have collected 4 pole positions and 4 podiums, including 2 victories. In recent years she has continued to grow and to show that she is really good at what she does to the point that, from 2020, Paolo Simoncelli has entrusted her with the technical management of the SIC58 Squadra Corse in the CEV, accompanying Jose Julian Garcia and Senna Agius to the summit.

Both in the Spanish Championship and in the World Championship, Patri's GPs start on Wednesday mounting the garage, then on Thursday watch the race and analyze the data of the previous year together with the riders and Marco Grana, technical manager of the team engaged in the Moto3™ World Championship. They observe every detail to understand what the rivals' strengths are, who you gained speed at one point on the track, which mistakes you need to avoid and where to then choose the bike set-up. Then on Friday we arrive early at the circuit to start the show.

Patricia Pacheco, Sic58 Squadra Corse

“When Tatsu comes back from the track, I connect the computer to the bike to download all the information. While the rider explains to Marco, our technician, the sensations he had with the bike, I look for a confirmation in the data suggesting to brake first, rather than give the throttle later. Once the session is over, we carefully study all the information and decide the strategy for the next day.”

Having been part of the paddock for some years now, Patri has become a familiar face for MotoGP ™ fans. “When we are at the circuits it often happens that little girls stop and, together with their parents, they ask me which path I have taken to be able to work in the World Championship. It thrills me to see how they listen to my story. In my opinion, if I succeeded then every girl can but knowing that there are girls, as I could have been a few years ago, who see in me a model to inspire me fills me with pride.”

Patricia Pacheco, Sic58 Squadra Corse

To do the Telemetry Technician job well, the riders’ trust is essential. In her case, Patri combines her engineering knowledge with the sensitivity that distinguishes women and thus explains to her riders that it is also legitimate to be afraid or experience moments of despair. It helps them to keep burning the fire that each of them has so that they find within themselves the motivation to react and to find the determination to be the first to cross the finish line. Its history is its strength and Patri shares it with pleasure so that other young motorcycle enthusiasts can also realise that dream of living a racing life.

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