Freightliner hosted 50 valued customers and two of its best network staff at the New Zealand round of the Virgin Supercars at Pukekohe Park.
The two Freightliner dealer staff who were there as a reward for their outstanding service receiving a certificate from Freightliner Australia/New Zealand director, Stephen Downes at the event.
Allen Whitaker, from TRT, was praised for his excellent customer service and willingness to go the extra mile, while Brent Jones, from PCV Invercargill, was acknowledged for his commitment, leadership, work ethic and customer focus.
While the number 14 Holden Commodore is an important part of promoting the Freightliner name in New Zealand and Australia, hosting customers at the race meetings is an equally important part of the racing programme.
“It’s all about giving our customers ‘a money can’t buy experience,’” says Freightliner senior manager, Pieter Theron.
“The customers who have attended our racing activities have absolutely loved it,” he says.
The VIPs spent much of the day in a corporate hospitality marquee above at the top of pit straight, which meant they had a perfect view of several Supercar drivers who lost control as they powered around the final bend.
However, the highlight for many was the tour of the pit garage.
Freightliner racing team manager, Chris Clark, showed the customers around the pit garage, giving them an up-close look at the Commodore race car. The guests were able to peer into the high-tech race car, much of which is custom-made at the team’s base in Albury, Australia.
They were able to look at the super sticky tyres that had just been tortured during a session and examined the brake discs as well as other components.
A highlight of the pit tour was the wall of screens that the race engineers use to monitor the telemetry from the race cars
.
Clark explained the various readings, which looked like a gallery of stock market graphs gone wrong, and described how these enabled engineers to work out exactly what the driver and car were doing at any moment.
That evening, the Freightliner guests were joined by another 40 friends of the brand for a special dinner in downtown Auckland, during which driver Tim Slade and team owner Brad Jones spoke about their experiences in the exciting world of racing.
Guests were also able to race Tim and other team members on Hyper Stimulator race simulators around a virtual Pukekohe track.
