Molson Kawasaki’s own Sir Alex but blonde and better looking - Part One
June 02, 2008
Aged just 28 Molson Kawasaki’s Lisa Church is one of the youngest team managers in the sport of motocross and most definitely the only female to front a factory team. She’s expertly managed the Church family’s race team for three and a half years now and during that time has implemented changes that have seen the team grow from a Kawasaki supported outfit to a full on factory team for 2008. With the Molson team’s home GP approaching at Mallory Park this weekend we caught up with Lisa at Molson Kawasaki's European base in Belgium to find out more about this enigmatic character and the work she does.
Since you became Molson team manager in 2005 what changes have you seen in the sport and what has
their effect been?
“Well there have been quite a few changes, I mean I started going to GPs in around 2001 when there was
still 125, 250 and 500 GPs held at different venues so it really has come a long way. First of all we went to
triple-headers, then to the one race format and then the arrival of the four-strokes meant the change to
the MX2 and MX1 classes and back to the two-race format, which is something I definitely prefer.
“I think generally since I took over as team manager most of the changes have been positive and the
world championship has become more and more professional and the teams have become bigger – most
teams now have a trailer, if not two - and the outlook of the whole paddock is a lot more professional.”
During that time what changes to the team and its structure have you implemented?
“In 2004 when the team became Molson Kawasaki we actually scaled things right down. We had Tom
Church and Jamie Law riding for us but with only Tom doing GPs we rented a truck from Jan De Groot
and kept it all quite simple, things hadn’t been going well for the team and a lot of mistakes had been
made so we decided that if we took it slowly it would be a lot easier and that seems to have worked for us
long-term.
“Steve Guttridge who was then working for Kawasaki UK ran the team in 2004 but after he got a
promotion at Kawasaki it was decided that I would take over in 2005 and we signed Gareth Swanepoel -
who was my first signing - alongside Tom that year and built a new truck and moved the team to Belgium.
We also ran Tommy Searle in England.
“Each year from there we basically added a bit more to the team and in 2006 Tom’s mechanic Fred took
over as chief mechanic and workshop manager and he got involved a lot more with the development side
of things. Then in 2007 we employed an engine mechanic and in ‘08 we added a suspension technician to
the team and we built a new truck for hospitality. Each year we also made improvements to the workshop
to create what we have now.
“When I started as team manager there were three riders and five staff members - three mechanics,
myself and a truck driver. Now we have four riders and 10 staff - four mechanics, a workshop manager,
an engine technician, a suspension technician, an assistant mechanic, the same truck driver and myself
obviously. Although we’re a huge team, we have great people working together and there’s a good
atmosphere and everything is working well.”
Explain how the transition from support to factory team happened?
“There are a number of factors as to how we got to being the factory team but I think a lot of it comes
down to the fact that we were going to Japan for the GPs. It opened a lot of doors for a lot of the teams
and I think at the same time it opened the Japanese manufacturer’s eyes as to who was doing what in
Europe and it just brought everything a lot closer.
“With us being there they could really see what was happening rather than seeing the results on a piece
of paper on a Monday morning. Another factor was Steve Guttridge who ran the team in 2004 was then
promoted to the position of European Team Green Racing Coordinator for Kawasaki, which meant he
looked after all the GP teams in Europe as part of his job. When he started, his job was to restructure the
Kawasaki set up in Europe. Obviously this takes time so in 2006 we started to get support from Kawasaki
Europe and then that year the Japanese came over and showed a lot more interest, obviously Christophe
Pourcel was winning and at that time there was only one MX2 factory rider so obviously it was Christophe
who got it but in 2007 we started to get some support as well.
“I also have to say that Fred has been a major factor as well because whilst I work on which riders to take
on and budgets he works on the technical side. So for 2008 it was decided that we would become the
official MX2 team. It’s quite amazing really how far it has all come since 2005. The support has been
fantastic and it also meant we changed to Showa suspension and Tom and Gautier got to go Japan in
October last year to test.”
What does your job entail on a week-to-week basis?
“The job is pretty varied really. On a weekly basis I sort all the travel arrangements and this can vary
because some races are easy but a race like South Africa takes quite a lot to organise because we have
to ship the bikes and organise carnets, as well as the flights, hotels etc for the whole team.
“I also speak with sponsors, create orders, organise the food for the races and hospitality and also
organise passes, speak with the riders to make sure they are happy and normally I have a meeting with
Fred and we will also have a team meeting to sort out any problems.
“I also do things like collect all the press information, we get quite a few emails for people requesting
items for charity, people asking about work and just general questions so I try to answer all of those as
well and then I have to do accounts and keep an eye on the budgets and expenses.
“Once the season is underway we generally get back from a race on Monday and leave on Friday so the
weeks are quite short. Around June time we start thinking about next year, so we start talking to riders
and deciding on the structure of the team. The Japanese normally also visit around this time so I will have
meetings with them and they normally also visit the workshop.
“Then once the season is over my work actually gets busier because I have to prepare everything so we
normally have a meeting at Kawasaki in Amsterdam to discuss the media/promotional side of things and
then in October we will go to Japan for testing.
“I also have to prepare contracts, employ any new staff, sometimes I have to terminate contracts, speak
with sponsors and negotiate for the next year. Then once all of that is in place, I work on budgets and see
where we are.
“Then I have to work with graphics companies on bike graphics designs, order and get all the team
clothing ready, organise any work to be done on the trucks or if we have a new trailer like this year, make
sure it’s ready, sprayed and the awning is good to go. I also make sure the riders have all their shirts
printed and ready, do entries for the races and order parts for the season, and all this has to be ready by
the end of January in time for photo shoots. At some point we normally have a team meal when we get
everyone together too and I have to organize that - like I said it’s very varied.”
Lisa has a very tidy desk
PART TWO TOMORROW... Images by Ray Archer
Send this article to a friend
Page 1 of 1 pages
