Click here for the latest product Spec Sheets and Resources on UD's range of trucks.

Select a model:

>

View All UD Trucks Resources

Bathurst Champion Gives UD The Thumbs Up

12th October 2011

Bathurst champion Garth Tander might not get behind the wheel of a big rig much these days, but years of toil behind the scenes during his formative time on the motorsport circuit have taught him what to look for in a truck. For season 2011, Tander's Toll Holden Racing Team Commodore has been hauled nationwide in the team's B-Double trailers by a UD GW470 Automated, with the former V8 championship winner recently getting behind the wheel of the squad's prime mover for a closer look at the latest technology.


Tander's appreciation of truck driving dates back to his stint in the Australian Formula Ford Championship, of which he was champion in 1997. Driving for Fastlane Racing out of his native West Australia, long stints behind the wheel of the team's transporter across the Nullarbor proved a necessity of life.


Come 1998, Tander had broken through into V8 Supercars, getting his big break with Garry Rogers Motorsport, with the lanky 21 year old working on the team's workshop floor as well as behind the wheel of the team's transporters to earn his keep.


Fast forwarding to more recent times, Tander and his race driving wife Leanne created their own outfit, TanderSport, fielding cars in Formula 3 and Formula Ford open wheel competition, with the duo splitting the truck driving duties up until this season.


In Tander's mind, modern innovations such as the Eaton Autoshift AMT transmission installed on the HRT GW470 make long haul driving a more straightforward task than in years past.


"I learnt to drive with a Roadranger gearbox, and it was much harder," Tander said.


"Nowadays, the fatigue level when you're driving truck like this are much lower at the end of a journey, because the trucks are much easier to drive.


"Sure, you still need to be vigilant and alert when you're driving, but physically it's easier, so drivers are more refreshed throughout a trip especially on the long-haul trips, like Perth, Darwin and Townsville."


In a performance contest of under the bonnet horsepower between HRT's Commodore and the UD GW470, the highly strung racing power plant's 635hp would edge out the truck by 165hp. Torque however proves to be another matter entirely.


While the five-litre V8 Supercar engine manages to twist out an impressive 618Nm of torque, it is dwarfed by the UD's 13-litre turbocharged six cylinder engine's maximum torque output of 2255Nm.


"Diesel engines are all about torque, not power," Tander continued.
"Maintaining a speed up hills out in the country is critical, and you have to get these things off the line.


"The more torque they have the better they get going, particularly on B-Double weight.


"You can have as much as horsepower as you want, but if a prime mover has no torque, you're not going anywhere.


"If you look here (pointing to the dials), we're red-lining at 2200 rpm, and the operating range is 1100 to 1700.


"A V8 Supercar operating range is 7100 to 7400, so we're talking about a 6000 rev difference. It's a vastly different engine characteristic."


All up, the Walkinshaw Racing operation utilise four UD Trucks- three UD GW470s for Toll HRT, Bundaberg Racing, and a Bundaberg promotional trailer, as well as an MK6, which is used to transport additional race cars and run errands between race meetings.


An interesting feature of the trucks from a fan's perspective is the fitting of a Gridtraq GPS vehicle tracking device, which feeds the truck's location direct to the team's website, viewable atwww.hrt.com.au/racing/2011/TruckTracker/.


HRT's GW470 is also fitted with UD's latest multimedia touch screen entertainment system, which provides such features as radio, CD, USB, Bluetooth and iPod connectivity, as well as transport industry standard NAVTEQ Satellite Navigation.


An option for this bundle is the fitting of up to three external cameras, which gives the driver full 360 degree vision, including behind and inside the trailers. Tander says that this all-round vision is invaluable.


"It's no so much about knowing what's ahead of you, but knowing what's around you especially when you're driving around town.
"This truck actually has great vision; you can see almost everywhere.

 

The mirror layouts are so important, particularly being able to see down into this blind spot (pointing through the driver's side door).


"You also need to keep a good eye on what might be carving in front of you.


"Everyone is guilty of it pulling in front of a truck. It's not until you drive trucks that you realise hey, that isn't a cool thing to be doing,' because trucks take longer to stop.


"You need to be aware that it's going to happen even before it does, and that's just being aware of what's around you and what cars are coming up underneath the doors. That's critical.


"You have to keep your wits about yourself. You're carrying $10 million worth of cargo, so you can't doze off. A truck driver's role is massively underrated."


Joe Sullivan, a veteran on the motorsport circuit is the regular driver for the outfit, and it is his job to ensure the trailers are correctly stocked prior to long hauls from the team's Melbourne base.


As a general rule, the truck drivers also take on secondary roles within the team, with Sullivan responsible for the team's tyre inventory throughout race weekends.


"For the long haul stuff we try and have two drivers," Tander explained, "but truck drivers are strange creatures; they seem to like going places on their own.


"I remember when I used to drive the truck it was the same thing; you can quite happily drive up the road, do your own thing, solve the world's problems... it's very therapeutic. It's very unlike driving a V8 Supercar."