It's a win-win situation when work and personal interests overlap. Employees are motivated and enjoy what they do, the working atmosphere is improved, and both the employee and the company benefit. This is especially true for a passion that has been lived for a long time and that is suddenly translated into everyday work life – as in the case of our colleague Lena Krieger, who in this portrait takes us behind the scenes of MotoGPTM logistics.
Sports Enthusiasm Meets Logistics Expertise
Lena Krieger is only 29 years old – but she has been part of the world of transport logistics for 10 years. Since March 1, 2024, Lena Krieger has been contributing her talents as Project Coordinator Auto-Mobility with DHL Global Event Logistics (GEL) at its Frankfurt location. There, she is part of the GEL team whose tireless logistical efforts in the world of motorsports keep drivers on the move and audiences entertained.
Lena Krieger, an absolute sports fan, is part of this audience herself. As a passionate supporter of the football club Eintracht Frankfurt, she is a regular at the Frankfurt football stadium. But her enthusiasm for sports is not limited to football: Lena Krieger attends sporting events of all kinds, from ice hockey to baseball, American football, rugby, track and field, bobsleigh, and alpine skiing. She is an active sportswoman herself and has been on skis since she was a little girl. And when she is at home after all that sporting activity, her cat from Spain and the tortoise that lives in her garden can count on her full attention.
A Special Fascination with Motorsports
Lena Krieger has a special predilection for motorsports: Formula 1®, the World Endurance Championship (WEC) or the World Rally Championship (WRC) – when things get fast and exciting, she likes to be right in the front row. One of her unforgettable experiences was the Formula 1® Grand Prix in Silverstone, which she attended on her own in 2014.
“MotoGPTM has conquered my heart!“
As diverse as her motorsport interests may be, Lena Krieger’s heart is definitely in motorcycling and MotoGPTM. She may not be holding the handlebars herself, but that does not dampen her enthusiasm: “Even though I don’t have my own motorcycle license (YET), I’ve been riding with my dad or friends as a pillion for years, and it’s a lot of fun.“ Lena Krieger has already attended several races in Europe in her private life – and now officially as part of the DHL GEL team. For the first time in March 2024 at the Grand Prix race in Portimão in the Portuguese Algarve. For Lena Krieger, this is the fulfillment of a long-cherished wish: “Getting behind the scenes of a MotoGP™ race has always been a dream of mine.“
DHL Global Event Logistics and Motorsports
Be it Formula 1®, Formula E or the WEC, in each case there is no racing excitement without the logistics support of DHL’s experts. Customers of GEL’s Auto Mobility team also receive an all-round carefree package beyond the racetrack. Lena Krieger explains what this means: “Our main task is to organize and schedule the transportation of vehicles (cars and motorcycles), hypercars, mockups, and prototypes. In addition, we handle the transport of automotive parts, equipment, communication technology, and all kinds of shipments and goods from the entire automotive and motorcycle sector. We also support our partners with formalities and prepare customs documents, such as ATA Carnet.“
A personal highlight for Lena Krieger is her professional support of GEL’s MotoGPTM team in addition to her work with the automobile team. DHL has been the official logistics partner of MotoGP™ since 2015. GEL manages the logistics for the motorcycle racing series in close cooperation with the organizer, ensuring that a total of 350 tons of equipment arrives safely and on time at each of the 20 championship races across five continents in the 2024 season.
And now DHL is doing it with the help of Lena Krieger. “For the MotoGPTM races, I organize the transport of the racing fuel from the DHL site in Erlensee to the respective racetrack. I prepare the invoice and packing list, communicate with the customer, the customs service provider for the respective country and our colleagues at the DHL Freight Terminal Erlensee who handle the pre-carriages.“
In Erlensee, the racing fuel is stored in a bonded warehouse. This implies that the fuel has the status of a third country good, which means it is not subject to import duties or other charges. The special warehouse in Erlensee, with its 10,500 square meters and 13,000 pallet spaces, is state-of-the-art in terms of technology and complies with the highest safety class for dangerous goods and highly flammable substances and liquids, such as racing fuel. It is equipped with an automatic CO2 fire suppression system, video surveillance, an alarm system, and access control.
Into the Heart of the MotoGPTM Action with DHL
Organizing the smooth running of races from the DHL Control Center is one thing – breathing the pit air yourself is quite another. Lena Krieger was able to do just that while working for GEL in Portimão. “I‘m a big Ducati fan. In Portimão, thanks to my colleague Sascha, I was allowed into the Ducati pit. I was speechless. I could see the bikes and three-time World Champion Pecco Bagnaia while he was preparing for the race.“
In Portimão, however, it was not only Lena Krieger’s enthusiasm that was in demand, but also her expertise. “Sunday after the race, my work began.“ The first task was to collect batteries and other dangerous goods that must not be loaded, transported or flown with the other team equipment. Then the GEL experts went straight to the pit lane and the paddocks. Here the teams were handed their “empties”: empty special transport boxes into which each racing team puts the goods to be transported. Lena Krieger and her team supervised this process and made sure that the empty boxes arrived safely in the correct pit box. Once all the teams have left the site, the logistics professionals begin loading the boxes onto trucks.
„My first night shift was waiting for me.“
Accuracy is essential in Portimão. “The PMC pallets for the air charter are not assembled at the race track, but at the airport in Zaragoza. We directed the trucks to their positions and then we were ready to go: we had to comply with the charter plan for loading the boxes containing the equipment and motorcycles. The charter plan determines the order in which the goods are loaded onto the trucks.“ If, for example, the Ducati and KTM teams are on Charter 1, their equipment must be loaded on the first trucks. Lena Krieger and three other GEL team members coordinated and supervised the loading process in cooperation with the loading staff and employees of Dorna Sports, the sports management company that organizes MotoGPTM. The number of boxes loaded per truck was then documented on the CMR waybill. Lena Krieger later compiled all the relevant data into an Excel spreadsheet and sent it to Dorna.
All in all, it was an exciting but demanding job: “We worked until four in the morning.” And still, not everything was done yet: on Monday and Tuesday, Lena Krieger and her team were in charge of the outbound work on the racetrack, which involved loading more boxes onto the trucks.
A Desire for More
Despite all the hard work, there was plenty of time for fascinating experiences. Lena Krieger particularly remembers the Red Bull Energy Station: a three-storey mobile wooden house for MotoGPTM hospitality that is set up at some European circuits. “It was gigantic and impressive that it was assembled and disassembled in about two days. The entire building is then shipped in about 14 truckloads and a kitchen trailer.” Great challenges and unique experiences like these leave you wanting more. So when is your next MotoGPTM assignment? “I don't know yet, but in general I would be happy to support my colleagues one or two more times.” All of us at DHL Freight Connections are keeping our fingers crossed!
