Serafino Foti, the psychologist manager who whispers to the riders (and helps them win)

In the world of racing, where the difference between victory and defeat is measured in thousandths, there’s a decisive factor that doesn’t show up in telemetry: the human factor.

Serafino Foti, on the occasion of the official presentation of the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team for the WorldSBK 2026 season, explains how his role as team manager goes far beyond sport management in the strict sense. Alongside the organizational and technical-operational dimension, there’s the human one, equally (if not even more) important. The team manager also becomes something of a psychologist.

"There are so many details you can’t underestimate," Foti explains. "Even the seemingly smallest ones can make the difference." While the technical-strategic and development work is obsessively overseen by Marco Zambenedetti and his group, the team manager focuses also—and above all—on the people.

"With the help of the team, I try to work a lot on the human side, especially on the relationship with the riders. Creating chemistry, trust, and mutual respect is essential: these are elements that prove useful in difficult moments, but also in the key stages of the season. It’s important to keep the tension at the right level, but also to be able to ease it when the moment calls for it."

A concept that takes on particular significance when you consider what’s at stake. "We all know the financial and energetic efforts a project like this requires, in a championship like Superbike. When the race starts and the lights go out, everything is in the hands—or rather, in the heads—of our two riders. Everything can change in an instant. A weekend can be winning or disastrous, in a second. It’s constant pressure. That’s why the mental aspect is something you can’t and must never underestimate."

A telling example is Nicolò Bulega, with whom Foti also worked on the emotional front to help him fight for the world title. There’s a genuine bond between the team manager and the vice world champion, one that goes beyond racing.

The same kind of understanding that Foti now aims to build with the newcomer Iker Lecuona: "I love challenges and I look to those coming off difficult years: taking Iker to success after complicated seasons would be wonderful, a great challenge won."