Get Your Motor Going: truck racing at Wakefield Park

Words: Ian Lee · Photography: Ian Lee

Australian Custom Trucks gets a taste of truck racing up close and personal. Ian Lee has the story.

A subject like this is not easy to explain, as the description of the experience can be lost in the translation, but here goes. Imagine 22.5 inch slick tyres scrabbling for grip, as they try to slow six and a half tonnes of metal from 160km/h.

Locker diffs trying their best to put 1200 horsepower into the ground on a turn, while another truck sits less than a foot off the rear chassis rails. Racing seats and V8 Supercar brake setups. This is the Hi-Tec Oils Super Truck Racing Series, and this is racing that involves full force. Taking place over four rounds, the Series’ first round took place at Wakefield Park Raceway on the 17-18th of May, with the racing everyone would expect from such a show of force.

This is no V8 Supercar meet, you can tell that from the moment you walk into the pits. Given the fact you can even walk into the pits, shows what a friendly and laidback atmosphere this series carries with it. The pits awash with pit crew and bystanders alike, drivers chat with interested race goers, while an oxy cutter helps to make some last minute race modifications on one of the big rigs. It’s the racing though that the majority of spectators come for, the movement of the earth as eight fearsome competitors packing over 5000 horsepower tear up the track in the hunt for championship points.

Such is the force of these machines that no one is allowed to stand on the pit wall while the trucks are racing purely for their own safety should something go wrong. The trucks tend to spend the majority of races at the upper end of the gear range, with a limited speed of 160kmh being reached on some of the longer straights in the tracks used in the series.

Taking out the qualifying and the first race on Saturday, Steven Zammit struck bad luck on the warm up on Sunday morning. On the first corner of the track the engine experienced some electrical issues, as a conrod came out of the block and knocked the wiring plug off the engine electrical control unit. After the stricken truck was towed from the track, the first race for the Sunday was taken out by Paul Reyntjes in the fast moving Fleetpro Volvo. Taking up the gauntlet, the next two races were won by Frank Amoroso in the FATE racing Kenworth, the two places scoring him the win for the round as well.

Praising the camaraderie shown by the participants in the race series, the Australian National Truck Racing Association President, Charlie Zammit was happy with the way the weekend turned out. Speaking to Australian Custom Trucks Charlie wanted to show his appreciation to Hi-Tec Oils for their sponsorship and assistance in the running of the series, how much of a difference it makes with Hi-Tec Oils being involved.

A stalwart of the series, Charlie came into the Super Truck Series one year after its inception, and has been part of the scenery since. Hardly an administrative only sort of president, when truck 44 rolled into the pits with a broken rocker shaft, it was Charlie who was under the bonnet with an electric rattle gun, risking skin on the red hot engine as he performed a rocker shaft change out in record time, enabling the truck to continue racing in the round.

Even more impressive is the same truck won the next race, showing the mechanical prowess of the driving force behind this amazing series. It’s not always about the big horsepower trucks either, the smaller Japanese offerings making their mark on the series. Swapping rubber with the big jiggers, the Isuzu trucks still maintain the pace, although down on power compared to their American counterparts in the series.

Running Isuzu six cylinder engines putting out up to 500 horsepower, the Jap trucks run dual circuit braking systems, donated by V8 Supercars. The power these engines make can take a toll on the auxiliary components.

On the Saturday, just in qualifying the Isuzu of Michael Coulter blew a newly rebuilt Detroit 14 litre turbocharger, followed on Sunday by massive blow out in the engine causing a smoky exhaust trail for the little Isuzu.

Finishing up on the Sunday with the acceptance that the engine will need a rebuild, Michael’s spirits weren’t dampened though, describing truck racing as ‘something that can’t be described’. The engine has done nine championships without needing a rebuild, a testament to the skills of Geoff Machin, but the team is willing to admit it’s about time the old girl had a rebuild.

The focus of the Hi-Tec Oils Super Truck racing series is not just the points it’s about getting out with your mates and having a good time, whether as a spectator or a team member. The experience is like nothing else, it is something that can’t be put on paper, it’s something that needs to be experienced in person. With 22.5 slicks, locker diffs and racing bucket seats, where could you go wrong?

Round points

Driver	Team	Points
Frank Amoroso	Fate Racing	57
Paul Reyntjes	Fleet Pro Racing	53
Craig Yardey	Kara Kar Racing	43
Fletcher Christian	Highland Racing	42
Kevin Anderson	Kara Kar Racing	40
Barry Butwell	Butwell Racing	36
Michael Coulter	Coulter Racing	29
Steven Zammit	SRZ Racing	21

Rear Vision: what happened next?

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