BEYOND SURFACES

Technology & Innovation In motorsports, there is only one goal: to win. Everything else is secondary. Normally, Oerlikon Balzers coatings for the automotive sector are used to reduce friction and extend the service life of engine components — with the aim of making engines run more efficiently. In racing, it’s different, and that difference is measured in tenths of a second. Those fractions rely on more rather than less: the aim is not to reduce friction, but to get even more power — and therefore higher speed — out of the engine thanks to the coating. Marc Hervé, Global Segment Manager Motorsports at Oerlikon Balzers, says: “I am not a coatings salesman, and I don’t have to negotiate the price. When a customer calls me, he either has a problem he wants to solve with our help, or he is convinced that we are the right partner for a new project. In that case, I advise, act as a sparring partner for what-if considerations, and often serve as a coach until we are sure: This will work. Because in On his own time, he takes to the road in a modest family vehicle. But when he advises his customers, everything revolves around Formula 1 racing cars, Moto-GP bikes or Formula E racing cars, and above all the question: Which coating will make them a decisive tenth of a second faster than the competition? Marc Hervé drives performance in a niche and knows the secrets of the big and famous in motorsports. eRRoRS noT Allowed 7