What it takes to run a race team: crew, clutch and the 4am rebuild

From the grandstand, a drag race lasts a few seconds. From the pits, a meeting lasts a weekend and a season lasts a year, and most of the work happens where the crowd cannot see it. This piece is a general look at how a quick drag bike team is organised. It describes roles, not any real team.

The rider is the smallest part of the job

That is an exaggeration, but not by as much as you would think. The rider's job is demanding: stage cleanly, react to the tree, keep the bike in the groove at speeds where a twitch matters, and shut it down safely. It takes nerve and a great deal of practice.

But a rider can only work with what the crew gives them. And the crew's work starts days before the meeting and finishes, often, in the small hours after it.

The roles

Small teams double up on everything. Bigger ones split the work roughly like this:

• Crew chief or tuner. Decides the setup for each run: the fuel delivery, ignition timing, clutch settings, tyre pressure. Reads the slip and any logged data afterwards and decides what to change.
• Clutch hand. On bikes with a multi-stage slipping clutch, someone is responsible for measuring, setting and replacing the clutch plates. Clutch wear is one of the biggest variables in how a fuel bike leaves the line.
• Engine hands. Strip, inspect and rebuild. On a nitro engine, inspection between rounds is routine rather than a sign of trouble.
• Fuel and fluids. Mixing and measuring fuel, checking for leaks, handling oil and coolant. Nitro and methanol both need careful storage and handling.
• Start-line crew. Help with the burnout, back the bike up, check for leaks and loose fittings, and give the rider a last look over before staging.
• Logistics. Trailer, tow vehicle, ferry or flight bookings, entries, parts orders, the budget. Often the least glamorous job and the one that decides whether the team gets to the meeting at all.

Most of these people are volunteers: friends, family, workmates. At club level that is true of almost every team in the pits.

Before the meeting

Preparation starts long before the trailer is loaded. The bike is rebuilt or checked from the previous meeting. Parts that wear out quickly, from clutch plates to bearings, are counted and topped up. The tow vehicle gets serviced. Entries are lodged with the organiser. The bike's paperwork, including any technical certification the rule book requires, is checked.

Then there is the travel. A New Zealand team going from the top of the North Island to a South Island meeting has a ferry crossing to plan around; the NZDRA's racer information pages even list ferry details for that reason. A team racing in Australia has to ship or fly the bike and spares across the Tasman.

At the meeting

The basic rhythm of a meeting is the same at every level:

1. Scrutineering. Officials check the bike and the rider's gear against the rules. Nothing races until it has passed.
2. Qualifying. Timed runs set the order for eliminations. The crew learns how the track is behaving that day.
3. Eliminations. Head-to-head rounds. Lose and you are out; win and you have to turn the bike around in time for the next round.
4. Pack-down. Load everything, often in the dark, often in the rain.

The middle part is where the pressure lives. Between rounds the crew has a fixed window to service the bike, make any setup changes, and get back to the lanes. The time available depends on the size of the field and the event schedule, and missing your call to the lanes can cost you the round. Our piece on what happens between rounds goes through that window in detail.

The 4am rebuild

Every crew has the story. Something lets go on the last run of Saturday. There is a round on Sunday morning. The spares are in the trailer, the light is a head torch, the coffee is instant, and the bike has to be in the lanes by nine.

It is a cliché because it is true. Fuel engines are built to run close to the limit and some failures are part of the deal. What separates a good crew from an average one is not that things never break; it is how calmly and methodically they put it back together.

Rules and paperwork

Every class has a technical rule book: what is allowed on the bike, what safety equipment is required, what the rider must wear. In New Zealand the NZDRA publishes its rule book and handles licensing. Teams that race in Australia also work under ANDRA's rules there.

Crew members who work on the start line or handle fuel may also need to meet requirements of their own, such as wearing particular protective clothing in certain areas. The current rule book is the only place to check.

The money

There is no polite way to put it: quick drag bikes cost money, and very little of it comes back as prize money. Teams fund themselves through the owners' pockets, small business support, the odd raffle and a great deal of goodwill. A lot of what makes the pits work is unpaid labour and parts lent between rival teams.

Why people do it

Ask a crew member why they give up their weekends and you will hear the same few answers: the people, the problem-solving, and the moment a bike they have rebuilt by hand goes down the track straight and quick. It is a team sport with one person on the bike.

If you want to find out what it is like, the best way is to offer to help. Turn up early, ask what needs doing, carry things, listen. Every rider on the strip has a crew, and every crew was once a group of people who just wanted to be closer to the action.