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< 2002 Road Racing Grand Championships home A woman's work...
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 Krystal Aldrich, one of four women mechanics for Annandale Racing. |
July 23, 2002 - You wouldn't expect to find a woman mechanic wrenching on bikes at the AMA Road Race Grand Championship that finishes up today at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.
But there is one. In fact, there are four. And they all wrench for the same team.
You'll find them under the orange Annandale Racing canopy next to the team's 48-foot trailer, checking tires, changing gears or bleeding brakes. Among their many duties, the mechanics — Anna Johnston, Krystal Aldrich, Allison Pedigo and Allison Martin — prep the bikes to be sure they're ready to go when the green flag drops.
Annandale Racing is based in Fort Worth, Texas. And while the team is running in the the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship, the racers are also part of an eight-rider contingent from Texas running in today's AMA Grand Championship with the hope that one of them will capture the prestigious AMA Horizon Award.
That award will be handed out late today to the road-racer that shows the most promise for a successful racing career. The award is the highest honor in club level road racing, and the winner draws the attention of sponsors and others.
Kevin Pate, part of the Texas team, says he has the utmost confidence in his women mechanics.
"A lot of the girls have more knowledge about motorcycles than I have," Pate says. "They do the checklist on the bike before practice or a race, and they're more meticulous than the racers. They're very well organized."
Johnston,
28, said she started racing a few years ago but decided she wanted to
get into the technical side of the sport. So she started watching the
mechanics and what they do.
From there, she started helping out. She cleaned bikes and parts, and learned about them. Then, she progressed to changing tires, then oil, then gears, then doing brake jobs, up to tearing down motors.
She's been a mechanic for two years now.
"It's a blast," she says. "It's a challenge and I learn something new at every race."
Other racers and mechanics have been very helpful, and friendly, she adds.
The only downside to being a woman mechanic?
"Strength is needed when dropping a motor," she says. "But the guys help out."
Krystal
Aldrich, 23, another full-time mechanic on the team, says head mechanic
James Compton is her neighbor, and she mentioned to him one day that
she wanted to try something different for a job.
"James said to try being a mechanic," Aldrich says. "I didn't want to be a grease monkey and wear coveralls, but I tried it and now I'm having fun.
"This is fun because I get to travel and see a lot of different places," she says. "I'm also learning to drive this 48-foot trailer. If I can drive this, I can drive anything."
Compton
holds classes to teach the women what they need to know, and says they're
great mechanics because they're so meticulous.
"If you tell them they need to clean parts before you assemble a motor, they'll clean so much they'll almost wear holes in the cases," he laughs.
"Women are great because they're so detail oriented," he says.
© 2002, American Motorcyclist Association