Arrived at Autosport GP in 2019, Alex supported the development of the team, now called Schumacher GP, whose technical activity he supervises in particular. Without being a pilot himself, this engineer found in motorsport what he was looking for : a technical challenge and a collective adventure. While he has just exceeded the 1 000 runs recorded on RPM, he looks back on his journey and the place taken by the platform in the daily monitoring of cars.
You don’t come from a motorsport background. How did you get there ?
I was convinced that I wanted to work in this universe, but I wanted to check that it suited me before committing completely. I therefore chose a general engineering school rather than specialized training., by directing my internships towards motorsport. This allowed me to discover the sector without closing any doors..
I then had the opportunity to join Autosport GP in 2019, at the end of school, and I'm still there. I had no experience in karting or driving : what interested me, it was above all the technique and the development of the car. I had to learn a lot, but I also arrived with a fresh perspective, trying to bring my own logic into the way of working.
What motivates you in this profession? ?
The reward at the end of the work. Motorsport imposes a lot of constraints, in terms of performance, but also budget, according to the means of the stable. SO, when the result comes, it has a special flavor.
What motivates me, it’s the joy of winning a race with the team, but also to see the structure progress. We move forward together in a project that drives us, with the desire to go as far as possible. This collective dimension is essential for me.
What is your role within the team? ?
I supervise the entire activity, with particular attention paid to the technical part. The team director takes more care of the sales side, relationships with customers and major decisions.
Since my arrival, programs have developed. We started with the Cup programs, before moving to GT4, first in Europe then in France, and then join the Lamborghini Super Trofeo. Today we continue to operate these different cars.
What moments particularly marked you ?
The first Cup titles, in 2020 et 2021. They arrived after a major restructuring of the team and work to bring in many drivers. These were our first great collective moments.
Then there were the first victories in GT4, in 2023, then the arrival of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo program. More recently, the 24 Hours of Spa also left us with strong memories, with a finish at the foot of the podium, less than a second. These are moments that remain, even when the result leaves us very close to what we hoped for.
The team now bears the name Schumacher GP. Why this change of identity ?
We shared a common name with another Lyon team with whom we work regularly. This rapprochement in terms of image responded to a desire to strengthen our visibility.
But this common identity has also created confusion, especially for suppliers, manufacturers and internally : the two structures were no longer sufficiently distinguished. The decision was therefore made to restore a specific identity to each. It is in this context that Autosport GP became Schumacher GP.
How did you discover RPM, and what need did the platform meet ?
Fred contacted us at the start of the project. At the time, tracking car mileage was already a real problem for me. I was working with an Excel file that had become a gas factory : adding a few kilometers and maintaining clear tracking ended up being complicated.
The idea of having a platform with simple access to information immediately interested me. Fred's availability also counted a lot. He was willing, listening, and development was progressing rapidly. We talked a lot from the start, which made it possible to set up a tool adapted to our operation. Today, as soon as a car is moving, we use RPM.
Your feedback notably contributed to the creation of groups in RPM. How was this dialogue constructed? ?
We wanted to integrate RPM into our internal processes : it was therefore necessary for the tool to meet our concrete expectations. I tried to bring up our needs and ideas throughout use.
The advantage, Fred was very available and receptive. The exchanges were simple, and we could quickly use the developments made. For a team looking to implement a new way of working, this responsiveness counts a lot.
Between the first recorded run and the thousandth, what has evolved the most in your use ?
The way you enter runs has evolved a little, but that is not where it is located, In my opinion, the most important change. The real progression concerns the exploitation of the information once the run has been created : mileage added to cars, monitoring of maintenance and servicing.
I rarely come back to the runs themselves. They constitute the database, but what interests me most, this is what we can then learn from it to track the cars. It is on this part that RPM makes the difference in my daily use.
Concretely, how does this translate when returning from a riding session ?
I very often keep the car mileage tracking page open. Each time you return from driving, I rely on the information present in RPM to prepare lists of work to be done.
I use the revision notes in particular to add interventions. When an operation must be repeated regularly, I create maintenance to ensure follow-up.
On the other hand, mechanics still work on paper : I send them their intervention lists in this form. Today, the information entered in RPM is therefore mainly used for my own monitoring and the preparation of the workshop work.
What would be, for you, the next step ?
The most successful use would be to have tablets in the workshop, connected to RPM, so that mechanics can consult and enter their work lists directly in the platform.
We already use driving data to determine what to do on cars. The next step would be for the work carried out in the workshop to also be entered directly into the tool..