Previous Editions of Latest News
On the 1st October, 2006, the SuperTruck went to Moonta Oval for the Copper City Haulage Big Rig Show where all proceeds went to the Royal Flying Doctor Service. There had been a convoy of trucks proceed to the oval and a large attending crowd were able to get up close and personal. Every now and then much to the delight of those there, Bobby the Builder would start up the C12 and the NASCAR and would draw numbers around it like honey to a bee. Since the last round the motor sport world would lose two of it’s own, in legendary Peter Brock and kiwi V8 development series driver Mark Porter. Mark was well known to the truck racing category having competed in Adelaide and Perth two years prior. Bob and our kiwi crew attended Mark’s funeral in Hamilton, New Zealand – it was a very sad occasion and well attended. Our sincere condolences go to the close knit Porter family and friends. Bob also attended Bathurst with Caterpillar to support Jason Bright in his pursuits to conquer the mountain. New to our team was Steve Underwood from All Transport Crash, who drove the transporter from Adelaide to Sydney and was kept pretty flat out helping me with promotions and merchandising for the weekend. Steve commented after, he had no idea just how full on it is when you go away racing !! Part of our kiwi crew, Big Al, Jeff and Dave flew in from Auckland on Thursday with Mark and myself flying in Friday. Terry was also due to fly in from Auckland Friday night, however, was delayed until Saturday due to a mishap on his plane. The plane backed out of it’s gate straight into a pole damaging the back of the plane. Air New Zealand put him up at the Grand Chancellor at Auckland Airport for departure on Saturday morning. I guess if you are going to be in a plane crash, one with all wheels on the ground is the way to go!! Friday was practice and media rides.
Friday the conditions were extremely hot with 31 degree temperatures. The media rides thrilled those who participated which included winners of a competition run by Oran Park to win a ride in a SuperTruck. We managed to pick up a bolt in a tyre, which was discovered when yet another vibration had developed. Friday night all the team retired early, exhausted by the heat at the track in preparation for Saturday. 11.35 am Saturday would see the first practice session for the SuperTrucks. Conditions were windy and cool, some 19 degrees. Bob the Builder completed some six laps however, was considerably slower than Friday practice, experiencing no grip. Whilst the fastest out there, times were in the high 55’s which is much slower than the high 53’s of last year and 54’s on the Friday. The tyres needed more laps of wear and tear, so it was decided prior to qualifying to remove two of the back tyres for older rubber and run in the co-drivers qualifying session at the back of the pack which was being held at 1.00 p.m. to see if we could regain grip, thus improving on laps times from the practice. This change did improve the times, although still under last years. Qualifying was held at 3.30 p.m. Bob in the Whiteline Racing, Cat Powered Freightliner completed 14 laps with his best time being a 54.0293 and would prove to be 1.02 seconds a lap quicker than nearest rival, John ‘the bomber’ Bomberle. We stayed out doing extra laps, just in case one of our other competitors came out before the end of the session and put in a blinder of a lap, as every point for this weekend would count given we went into this round with only a 2 point lead. Towards the end of the qualifying session, Bob commented that a vibration had appeared. On inspection, it was discovered input flange bolts on the transmission had broke with the problem just being discovered in time before causing serious damage. The crew got onto Nick of N & K Transmissions regarding the problem and Big Al and Mark headed off to Nick’s workshop where he examined the damaged parts and supplied replacements bolts – thank you Nick for your interest and time. Mark and Al headed back to the track, where the crew did the repairs in readiness for Sunday’s events. Saturday night ANTRO’s annual general meeting was held at one of the suites of Oran Park and afterward the Whiteline Racing Crew headed back to our hotel Hunts for dinner, all retiring early for our all important day of racing on Sunday. Sunday warm up was a ten minute session held at 9.00 am, with conditions cool. Westrac’s Gavin and Trent had arranged some guests for the Oran Park Corporate Suite. After two warm up laps, they were given the green, however, Bob did not get a great start, looking for a flag marshall to start the race when in fact they started under lights. Realising Bomber had got away, Middleton got into it managed to get the inside run and took the lead from Bomber, Bajeema, Coulter, Rose and Zammit his nearest rivals. Laps two and three remained pretty well unchanged, with a exciting dual between Zammit and Rose taking place behind the Builder. Laps four and five remained unchanged until Ben Rose would end up off the track in a cloud of dust. Lap six again created excitement with Bajeema attempting an overtaking move on The Bomber, however, didn’t quite get there with Bajeema finishing third behind the Bomber and Bob the Builder taking the chequered flag for first place. Bobby not only took the race in the Cat Powered Freightliner but also did the fastest lap for the race with a 54.6002. On return to the pit, the crew discovered a cracked front left rotor that would need changing before Race 2.
On lap 7 Rose went off the circuit with Bajeema and B. Hewatt having a coming together. Bajeema also had the added problem of a loose bumper as a result of the Bomberle incident. Bob the builder keeping in his mind the importance of finishing all races to be in good standing for winning the championship, sat back while they battled it out content with a second place finish behind Bajeema. Hewatt finished third followed by Rose, Zammit, Mackin, Lovett, Coulter and title rival Bomber finishing 6th behind Bomber light trucks of De Gee, Seton, S, Vardy and M.Seton. In addition to coming second in the race, Bob the Builder held the fastest lap for the race, in what was a slower race than the previous due to the traffic with a 55.2160 which was on lap 4. Prior to race 3, the team conducted some preventative maintenance on the brake rotors. Lap 5 would see Bob in sixth behind Lovett, Coulter, Rose, Zammit and Bajeema, when on the final lap, Bob just got over the line in front of Bajeema in exciting fashion to come 5th. Whilst not winning the race, The Builder again proved his dominance by being the quickest out there which was achieved in lap 4 with a 55.3178 again slower than race one, caused by the reverse grid traffic. On return to the pit, Bob the Builder commented how hairy the race was with dust clouds created by in field action making visibility non existent and in addition had again developed a vibration. On inspection, the crew found the vibration was as a result of a loose front wheel bearing. The inlet manifold gasket had developed a leak and would be repaired prior to race 4 the final one for the day.
The race started after the warm up of two laps, with Middleton unable to improve on his position until the final stages of lap 2, where he made up three positions into 11th. Lap by lap we would peg off the field until the final lap where the Whiteline Racing Cat Powered freightliner would come in fourth behind Coulter, Bajeema, Zammit again leading the field in lap times. The points tally for all races would see us win the weekend, but more importantly win the series yet again to be Australia 1 for 2006. Obviously the team were very excited about the outcome and enjoyed some celebrations on the Sunday night at the Camden Golf Club where the trophy presentation dinner took place for the weekend and the series. An exciting season lies ahead, with proposed dates as follows for 2007: This series sees us aligning our category with the CAMS National Series. In addition to the above are promotional activities, including CAMS days, V8 super car events, exhibitions, drifting, field days and corporate functions. At this point, we again at Whiteline Racing take this opportunity to thank all our crew, sponsors and supporters because your assistance all goes towards making the team a success bringing home the top prize yet again. Yours
in racing and regards,
Previous Editions of Latest News October 06 Round 3: Barbagallo – Australian Championship July 06 Round 2: Mallala – Australian Championship May 06 Round 1: Oran Park – Australian Championship
Sept 05 Round 6: Oran Park – Australian Championship May 05 Round 5: Barbagallo – Australian Championship May 05 Round 4: Mallala – Australian Championship May 05 Round 3: Winton – Australian Championship April 05 Round 2: Manfield – New Zealand Championship March 05 Round 1: Timaru – New Zealand Championship
Aug 04 Round 3: Barbagallo – Australian Championship May 04 Round 1: Mallala – Australian Championship Feb 04 Round 3: Pukekohe – New Zealand Championship Jan 04 Round 2: Manfield – New Zealand Championship Jan 04 Round 1: Timaru - New Zealand Championship
December 03 : New truck finshed with only weeks to spare before Timaru race!
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It was a great weekend of racing, which saw the Builder take out the honours for the round also.
Let’s back step a little though, and talk about what has transpired since our last round in Perth.
The SuperTruck was brought home to Adelaide where it underwent a series of maintenance checks and did go onto the dyno at the Cavpower Truck Engine Workshop where the horsepower of the engine would prove an issue for the capabilities of the dyno machine.
We were racing with the Nationals Event for the Cams National Racing Championships which included Commodore Cup, Production Cars, saloon Cars, F3 and Sports Sedans.
Bob the Builder headed up to Sydney on the Wednesday before racing to spend time with Oran Park Management in his capacity as Category Manager to iron out not only requirements for this final round but also to put into place plans for the 2007 season which is sounding pretty exciting, but more about that later.
All the tyres were changed in preparation for the first practice on Saturday with all new rubber.
The repairs carried out last night on the flange bolts appeared to be holding together and the vibration had disappeared. We were completing lap times in the 54’s so the team and driver were pretty satisfied with our set up for the first race. Bomber was still the nearest rival and had improved slightly on his times of qualifying.
Race Two was held at 12.00 and was again a 7 lapper but would be reverse grid, which meant The Builder would be right at the back of the field.
After two warm up laps the starter sent them on their way. There was a great deal of dust and smoke with all of us fairly anxious to see the outcome. Bob had made up a number of spots into 8th, however, the Bomber made a charge through the field and found himself off the track, with Bajeema sustaining a considerable amount of body damage. By the second lap Bob had moved into 6th behind Lovett who was holding him up until the 3rd lap, where in turn one Bob made his move and got up into 6th. De Gee was next in his sites, passing him on lap four, then around the 87 entrant of Mackin, moving into fourth, chasing B. Hewatt, Rose and Bajeema. 
Race Three was over 7 laps and commenced at 1.40 and was again a reverse grid event.
After the usual two warm up laps, the field was off, with Bob not making up any ground into the hectic first corner. By lap 2 Bob had made up three places and was in 11th. In the meantime the Bomber was shown a black flag for jumping the start and was forced to complete a drive through penalty.
By lap 3 Bob had got around B Hewatt and had started to pass the field of light trucks and by the 4th lap entering into pit straight was into 7th chasing front runners of the light trucks in addition to Bajeema, Zammit, Rose moving into 6th.
Race Four was the final race for the day was a Super Prix to be held over 10 laps, reverse grid with the SuperTrucks also being handicapped, this is despite the fact that a couple of the competitors in the light trucks were achieving as good, if not better times than some of the SuperTrucks. This means that getting through the back of the field is vital before too much of a gap is created.
