Tech Firm Developing Flexible LCD Screens For MotoGP Bikes And Suits

Could the ad-based tech threaten rider safety?

Dustin Wheelen

By: Dustin Wheelen

Dec 13, 2022 at 4:01pm ET

Add RideApart as a preferred source in Google

Comment

MotoGP isn’t just expensive, it’s exorbitant. Suzuki fled the Grand Prix paddock following the 2022 season due, in part, to the costly development budgets and team salaries. In order to meet the ever-rising expenses, teams turn to sponsors as a means to fund the yearly campaigns. However, there’s only so much real estate for advertisers to leverage on a MotoGP machine.

As a result, nearly all MotoGP teams reserve the bike’s side panels for a title sponsor while smaller logos pepper everything from the front fairing to the tail unit. What if manufacturers could earn more sponsorship deals by offering more advertisement space, though? That’s exactly what U.K. tech firm Seamless Digital wants to know, as it develops flexible LCD screens for MotoGP bikes and race suits.

The technology made its debut at Formula One’s 2022 United States Grand Prix. Fittingly, the McLaren team introduced the mini digital billboards, with two units installed at the starboard and port sides of MCL36’s cockpit. Throughout the weekend, the screens cycled through several monochromatic company logos, proving the technology’s worth to advertisers.

Seamless Digital hopes to build on this concept and its parent brand, Silverstone Design Limited, recently filed a patent to develop the same tech for motorcycle racing. Unlike F1, where the drivers tuck into the vehicle, MotoGP riders cover portions of the bike while mounted. For that reason, the company also hopes to integrate its flexible LCD into rider race suits.

What do you think?

View

Comments

While adding the devices to race machines seems like a no-brainer, how Seamless Digital implements its technology within track suits could become a sticking point for riders. To maximize safety, many gear manufacturers keep hard bits on the exterior and soft materials on the interior.

Each LCD unit utilized by McLaren also includes control circuits and a battery. If the tech firm can find a way to safely incorporate the hardware into leathers, it could go a long way to convince the rider ranks. Of course, crash testing is the only true barometer for this type of integration, but if Seamless Digital can pull it off, the tech could go a long way to easing the burdensome budgets of MotoGP teams.