Unsung hero - Ron Meadows.

Lucky Strike B.A.R Honda's Team Manager Ron Meadows co-ordinates a team of over 90 people that includes a 50-strong race crew and a test team of over 30.

Both home and away from the team's Brackley base, Meadows has the important task of ensuring that the team always runs like clockwork.

Living near Oulton Park in the UK, Meadows caught the motorsport bug early - as a kid, he'd sneak along to watch the on-track action each weekend. From then it was only a matter of time before he entered the industry.

"I started off as a mechanic when I was 16 or 17, worked my way up to chief mechanic, then I ran Formula 3000 team for 6 or 7 years", explains Meadows. "Then I moved to America and ran an Indy car team as Team Manager for 3 years. I came back to the UK because I was sick of travelling and got a nice opportunity to come and be factory manager at B.A.R.

"After a few months of doing that they realised that they wanted me to do the Team Manager job. I wasn't so keen, but after 2 or 3 races I realised I been missing it and I'm very happy to stay Team Manager as long as they want me to do it".

The season's long-haul start means Meadows and his team have barely drawn breath since the kick-off in Australia at the beginning of March. The start to the European season comes as a welcome relief then, as Ron explains: "It's good because you get back into a routine. You know you're going to fly out on Wednesday and you know you're going to come back Sunday evening. Also, there are more car parts available because you've had more time to make them. Going back to Europe is normally a bit easier than the first three "flyaways".

"The first three are hard, but then it does get easier. By the time you get to Montr?al and then the US and Japan you've got more than enough components and the team knows exactly what to do at any given time."

In terms of logistics, the shorter distances and return of the trucks and motorhomes means in Europe makes organising the team easier too.

"The freight is easy to organise in Europe because we always test in Europe the week before the race. For instance after Brazil we had to ship maybe two or three tonnes back quickly because we were testing at Paul Ricard in France. In Europe though, we'll have a van on standby at the end of an event so we'll just fill it up and it can go straight to the test."

Europe also allows Meadows and his hard working crew the chance to get back into a slightly more stable routine.

"The short hauls normally a shorter working week because we know we fly out two days later and we get back a day earlier, so there's more opportunity to see your family and have a life."

For the Team Manager though, a shorter working week is still far removed from the nine-to-five many people enjoy. At the track and back at Brackley, it's an intense schedule of working towards the next race and beyond.

"My main job here at the track is to look after the sporting regulations for the team to make sure that we don't drop ourselves in it with the FIA! I also co-ordinate with the guys to make sure they know what they're doing over a race weekend. Back at the factory I plan the next event with my team co-ordinator and my team secretary, so that we have a plan four weeks in advance at any given moment".

For Meadows though, his job is far from a one-man effort. Team-work is paramount: "It's all about having good people around you and in the last four or five years we've honed a good crew and I think we've got a good race team, so they'll know exactly what to do at any given time and they know what they're responsible for."