Australian-based Brad Jones Racing is showing off a new-look for its Freightliner Argosy Racing transporter ahead of the start of the V8 Supercar championship in March.
Created in tandem, the new exterior design of the Argosy B-double truck and trailer combination purposely matches the new livery for the number 14 car, which Tim Slade is driving this year.
The first race of the Australian V8 Supercar Championship kicks off in Adelaide on March 5.
Instead of painting the truck and trailer, sign-writers used giant vinyl wrap panels which allow for pin-sharp graphic designs.
The Argosy carries Slade’s Freightliner Racing car and Jason Bright’s Team BOC car, as well as a full range of spares, tools and other items.
“We carry everything that we need to run the race team, which doesn’t just mean all the parts and instruments for the car, but also the floors and walls of the pit garage, as well as all the catering equipment,” says transporter driver, Paul ‘Stax’ Eddy.
He says the Argosy runs about five tonnes shy of its 62.5-tonne maximum weight.
“It’s chock full once we get everything in there for a race meeting,” says Eddy.
The two cars are loaded into the B trailer, sitting up on rails and strapped down tight.
“I stop and check them every time we pull up,” says Eddy.
“The last thing we need is one of the race cars getting loose on the way to a meeting.”
The Brad Jones Racing operation runs two other Freightliner Argosy transporters.
One unit hauls the Team CoolDrive V8 Supercar of Tim Blanchard while another Freightliner is on hand to help the team carry its three Dunlop Series V8 Supercars including the Alliance Truck Parts racer of Andrew Jones.
The Freightliner Racing truck is a 2014 Argosy 110 Mid-Roof model with a 51-inch sleeper bunk.
It runs a Detroit DD15 15-litre turbo diesel six-cylinder, with 560hp linked up to an Eaton RoadRanger 18-speed non-synchro manual.
Eddy says the new look transporter has already caused a stir on the streets around Albury in New South Wales (where the team is based) after he took it out for the first time this week.
“People were hanging out of moving cars getting photos with their phones,” he says. “They just love it.”
While the Freightliner Argosy will not come across to New Zealand for the Pukekohe round, Eddy will be travelling across with the team.
Although his primary role is driving the transporter, he also works in the pit crew, operating the hydraulic jack and managing Tim Slade’s tyres, during race pit stops.
