Since drag racing began in the UK there have been a few innovators on the drag bike scene, designing and constructing frames and parts for engines and transmissions etc. Names like Dave Branch, John Clift, Ray Baskerville, Pete Miller, Pete Davies and Bob Brookes to name a few. In recent years a new generation is coming to the forefront Martin Newbury and Stuart Crane.
Stuart left Sheringham High School at the age of 16 with one GCSE in metalwork. He then went to Paston College, studied in Micro-Electronics, Electronics, Computer Programming, Motor Vehicle Engineering, Maths and English as a sixth former. He passed all his subjects with the exception of Electronics were he got a distinction. Due to that he had designed an electronic turbo-charger for controlled cars.
Stuart’s first job was an engineer at Migatronic in Southreeps. He worked there for several years as a service engineer, working on welding equipment. He gained a lot of experience on the welding equipment, due to the repairs he did on the printed circuit boards etc.
Stuart decided to start his own company (Design Weld) in 1995 and left Migatronic. But he had to shutdown the company 18 months later, due to lack off work. He then went to work for Crane Fruehauf who manufactured trailers for articulated lorries, but two years later the company went bust.
With no local work Stuart looked overseas and secured a job in Holland working for Caterpillar. He spent several years there working in the process of manufacturing buckets for diggers.
He returned to the UK and went to work for a local company called Heatrae Sadia, who manufactured immersion tanks for residential properties and office blocks. Within one year Stuart had worked his way up the ladder and became a cell leader, in charge of 27 welders, who worked for him.
In 2001 Stuart once again started his own company called Warpspeed Racing. In was a this period of time that Stuart started to dream about drag racing. He had a friend Martin Clitheroe who raced in the Straightliner Series. So in he built a GSXR1100 with a turbo-charged with a nitrous system. He made his debut in 2002 at a RWYB meeting at Santa Pod Raceway. The following year he competed at the Easter Thunderball meeting in the 9.90 bike class.
Stuart fell off the bike due to oil coming out of the breather tank and dropping onto his rear tyre. He still managed to record a time of 10.50 at 113mph on his backside. He did one more meeting on that bike and realised it was the big rear tyre dragbikes that he was interested in as these looked mental. So he set about building one. First he purchased a rolling chassis from the late Paul Rose and built his own engine. Stuart made his debut in 2004 in Comp Bike and Glenn Tooke was his crewman. Between 2005 and 2007 Stuart finished in the top ten of the ACU Comp Bike championships. Then he debut a new Comp bike for 2010 and he and Glenn and Martin Hewitt started to challenge for the championship and they were up against Ivan Birch who went on to win the Comp Bike title three years in a row (2008-2010). Stuart finished in the top three during that period.
At this period of Stuart’s life a lot of racers were asking him where he got his parts from, because they wanted some similar. That’s when Design Weld and Warpspeedracing took off and today he builds chassis and also does chassis mods. As well as manufacturing parts not just in the UK but around Europe and the USA.
Stuart debut a new bike in 2010 it also was the year he won his first ACU event in Comp Bike at the Open Sports Nationals at Shakespeare County. The following year Stuart won three events en-route to his first ACU Championship in Comp Bike. 2012 Stuart took a year out to focus on his business and family with Melissa. He returned to racing in 2013 with a four-bike team sponsored by MPM Oil. Stuart and Dale Leeks were competing in Funnybike. Mark Smith was in Pro Stock Bike and Mark Green in 9.50 bike. It was a very good year for the team, which saw both Stuart winning the ACU Funnybike Championship, APIRA Funnybike Championship and the SPRC Funnybike Championship. Mark Smith winning the ACU Pro Stock Bike Championship and SPRC Pro Stock Bike Championship.
Stuart says he couldn’t have done it without the help Melissa and of his superb crew Glenn and Martin for keeping the bike in top form. Also his father for his support in doing what Stuart had dreamt about.
Report by Steven Moxley.