The Undefeated Pro Stock Bike
studio pics by Wall to Wall; additional pics and story by Chris Nilsson
BRETT STEVENS has taken Australian drag racing to the next level. The Brett Stevens Racing Team lays claim to the envious titles of ‘The World’s Biggest Drag Racing Team’ and ‘Australia’s Biggest Motorsport Team’ with seven Group 1 vehicles. Brett is also the only person in the world to compete in three professional brackets simultaneously at the one race meet, meaning at times after having completed a run, he is immediately mounting another vehicle for the next event.
So talented is the man he also lays claim to being the only person in the world who has won both car and bike pro bracket at the same event. He has almost done the unimaginable at a meet and pulled off the hat-trick after making three finals and winning two of them, only to be delegated to second in his last run by the hair split of less than 600ths of a second. Brett acknowledges it would be nice to win the three at an event, but in the same breath, he also says how much sweeter it would be to raise the bar and win the Championship in all three brackets.
Originally from Townsville, North Queensland, the Stevens family decided to move to the big smoke, BrisVegas (Brisbane). Brett has always been a revhead. At an early age he would test his skills and guts jumping 44 gallon (205 litre) drums on motorbikes. Brett takes the time to reflect and makes the comment, “Looking back, doing dumb shit like that all the time knowing you were going to get hurt, it’s amazing I got this far and still alive.”
Brett then did his time and got his trade as a mechanic, but he didn’t like was working for a boss and it was this that drove Brett to have a go at doing it on his own.
Even though we can lay claim to being our own Aussie superstar, we can’t take the credit for getting the big fella into the game, that was the work of a yank named Jim McClure. Brett first met Jim, who was a 19 time Top Fuel Bike champion (riding a Harley-Davidson), at a drag meet at Willowbank Raceway back in 1989. Three months after meeting Jim, Brett packed up and left for the USA to buy some second-hand Harleys to bring back to Brisbane to open up a bike shop. Brett hooked up with Jim at a trade show in the States and got to go to a couple of race meets and was instantly hooked! As Brett put it, “I jumped into the deep end,” and he bought himself a Top Fuel Harley off Jim. At the time people would be forgiven for thinking Brett was a little fool hardy or even mad, but how many of today’s top drag racers can say their first experience down the quarter mile was on a rocket? Many would lack the balls! I would! The rest is history!
After many years competing at the top of the sport, Brett got to a stage with the bikes where the team couldn’t achieve what they wanted to achieve with bikes alone and they ventured into uncharted waters and took on car racing in 2000 in the Top Doorslammer bracket with the help of his sponsors.
Brett likes to refer to all sponsors and crew as extended family. Winning an Australian Championship is a great thing but it’s not all about the driver, it’s a team effort and more of a reward for the crew and sponsors who back him. He is proud of the fact that many of his sponsors he has had for a long time. One of Brett’s major sponsors is Kitten Car Care Products (CRC Industries) who has sponsored Brett for the past 12—13 years, starting with the bike, and Manager Ian Maidens also regards the relationship between CRC/Kitten and Brett as family. He is quick to point out the new jewel in the Kitten crown is the Brett Stevens Racing Top Alcohol Funny Car. Ian is of the opinion it’s money well spent and goes on to say, “There isn’t another motorsport team in Australia that gives us the exposure and support that Brett Stevens Racing gives us. We are going to be there for the foreseeable future.”
This year Brett Stevens Racing is leading three out of four championship brackets it competes in, and is coming second in the 4th one. Brett is over the moon with the success, and in particular the success of his Race Shop that constructs all of the team’s vehicles in-house, giving the credit to his crew pointing out, “It wouldn’t be possible without them.”
The team hasn’t only built fast and competitive vehicles for itself, many other competitors have Brett Stevens Racing take care of the servicing and maintenance of their vehicle as well. Brett says the reason for the demand for his bikes and cars is two fold. One, they want to be quick. Two, they want it to be reliable. With a Brett Stevens Racing bike you should only need to top up the nitro and oil and hit the track. The boys have also developed a tune-up for all conditions and every track in Australia. Brett experiments with his bike and nothing is put into the customer’s bike until it’s correct.
Brett’s goals for his nitro Harley is doing a 6.30 second run travelling over 220 mph down the quarter. He knows it’s going to happen and when he does, he’ll be doing around these times constantly. Brett’s times as they stand at this time, 6.49 seconds at 215—218mph, are equal to anyone in the world.
Brett describes the feeling of riding the ‘controlled bombs’ as nothing short of awesome, the sound and the feel. If you could imagine the standard Harley off the showroom floor is 70 hp, now imagine yourself on a Top Bike, the sound and feel of 800 hp burning a phenomenal 12 litres of nitro fuel in 6 seconds. Brett suggests the best way of tackling the beast as, “Open up the throttle and just hang on!”
Brett has developed a long and fruitful relationship with legendary V-twin motor builder and sponsor S&S, with his team racing the only S&S-powered Pro Stock Bike in the Southern Hemisphere. Brett has a close relationship with their racing and development department, in particular with S&S Senior Manager of Racing, Charlie Hadayia. So close are these blokes if Charlie isn’t at a meet Brett doesn’t think twice about ringing him even if it’s 2 am in the morning. Giving Brett the confidence if on the odd occasion he needs to know something it’s only a phone call away. This year Brett hopes to pay Charlie back by taking him buffalo shooting in the Northern Territory. Brett has nothing but good things to say about S&S, not having any major components at all fail this season. This has meant the majority of the work undertaken between runs has been a simple clutch adjustment and fuel.
The Brett Stevens Racing Top Bikes have been running 6.5—6.6 second runs down the quarter mile consistently this year and if something does go wrong it has been rider error. With a lot of development under the bridge since first hitting the scene some 18 years ago, Brett has taken on a lot of the development. Brett Stevens Racing builds everything in-house including engines, frames, bodywork and machining cases.
The Pro Stock Bike is a 160 cubic inch billet S&S powered Buell. Introduced to Australia in 2007, it won the National Championship in its very first year going through the season undefeated.
With the 2008 drag racing season now on the home straight, both Brett Stevens Racing Top Bike rider Troy McLean and Pro Bike rider Pete ‘The Punisher’ Cochrane are again leading their respective championships.
Brett is proud of the fact he has many friends in every town with a lot of fans coming to see the crew. Brett has gone about providing a race experience with fans having the opportunity not only to buy memorabilia but also to see behind the scenes, talk to the crew, drivers and riders in a specially constructed pit area. Unlike other motorsports, the spectator can get up and personal within two meters of the vehicles whilst they are being worked on. Brett is of the belief that the sport of drag racing is all about the people who come to watch. “Everywhere we go we have a great fan base; it’s like going from one family to the next be it Brisbane, Perth or Sydney.”
Brett still resides in his beloved Brisbane but doesn’t spend much time at home with his racing and show commitments. But if he hasn’t enough on his plate with the team, Brett also owns and operates a staggering five companies employing 62 full-time staff. He owns everything from a Transport Company, Charter Boat Company, Employment Agency, as well as a Tattoo studio. Modestly Brett likes to think himself as fairly successful!
You might be thinking ‘when does the bloke find time for his own family?’ That’s easy! Take them with you! Brett possesses one of those very rare commodities—a missus who shares his passion for fast vehicles. Kath Stevens (a legend in her own right who was once nominated for Young Australian of the Year) also drives in the Top Doorslammer bracket and Brett’s dad George and brother Corey crew on Top Fuel Bikes. Then there’s beautiful 2-year-old daughter Skye who lends her support up on the hill at every meet cheering mum and dad on. Brett is confident Skye is going to race and describes the angelic little doll as, “A revhead out of control.” I couldn’t imagine where she gets that from.
Future goals for Brett and Brett Stevens Racing are to develop what they are doing at the moment, make the team even more professional, and with the aid of TV coverage, improve the overall image of drag racing. With drag racing growing at a huge rate, Brett wants to grow with the times, and most importantly, not lose sight of what it’s all about—the people who come to watch and support the teams!
Whilst completing this story the Stevens family pulled another one out of the bag with the beautiful and talented Kath breaking the world record in her 3000 hp Top Doorslammer Ford Falcon. This gives Kath the title of the first female to drive a ‘doored’ car down the quarter mile strip in 5 seconds at the Western Sydney International Dragway. This happened on Kath’s 31st birthday, beating Brett to the magical 5-second club. In true Stevens fashion, Kath was quoted to have said, “This is the ultimate birthday present; we will be celebrating hard tonight!”
Brett also bagged the fastest Top Alcohol Funny Car pass in the Southern Hemisphere, a blistering 263.15 mph (423.50 km/h) in 5.55 sec for the quarter mile.