ON THE ROAD AGAIN: MICK’S DRIVING PREMIAIR RACING FORWARD
Each member of the PremiAir Racing crew has a crucial job for the team’s success, and one person, fans might not immediately think of when considering critical roles in a racing team, is the transporter driver.
For PremiAir Racing, that person is Mick Shortus, and following the weekend’s racing in Perth – proceeded by a 5,000km trip from the team’s Gold Coast base – he is now on his way for the second leg of an epic road trip to bring the team to Darwin for the Triple Crown next weekend (June 20-22). After which he will complete the journey back to the Gold Coast. All up a 14,000km trip
“There is a lot of maintenance and preparation involved in a trip like this,” Mick explains.
“Before we left the Gold Coast we made sure everything was secure, being a big trip, and on some very rough roads.
“We carry extra spares on board also – we normally wouldn’t carry these because we would always be pretty close to a tyre shop, but out here you could be at least a couple of hours away from help, so it’s important to be prepared.
“We make sure we have lots of spares as well, including spare airbags which are supplied by BPW Transpec, just in case we get stuck on the side of the road.”
While the process of preparing for the leg from Perth to Darwin was easier, it still requires careful execution.
“We clean the trailers inside and out, make sure they are all tidy and ready to go, the mechanics service the race cars, and then we load it all up to go.
“It is a lot easier than what we looked at for the transition from Taupo to Tassie where you are working with a container and having to unload and then restock the truck, it was a bit of mayhem to be honest! I count myself lucky to have missed the unload of the container, as I was on holiday!” he laughs.
“I came back and the boys had done a great job of emptying the container, and then we pulled everything, every spare, every nut and bolt that had gone into the container, it all had to come out and then be restocked back into the truck. A really big job.
“By comparison to that and to the initial prep to leave the Goldy for this trip, packing up in Perth and heading to Darwin is much more streamlined. You are talking about a service, a clean, a check over and make sure everything is ready to go, perhaps we change a front bar or two – we take some extra bars of course – and off we go.”
From Perth to Darwin, Mick will have a special guest along for the drive – his wife and circuit medic for the Darwin Triple Crown, Dr Karyn Lun.
“There won’t be any time for sightseeing, we have to be parked up by four o’clock on the Sunday afternoon at the track, so we are on a tight four-day schedule of driving, washing the truck and parking up, and be ready for the Truck Parade. But it will be good to have her company along the way,” Mick said.
“First we are away and off to Payne’s Find, which is four and a half hours out of Perth. Then we are on to Capricorns, which is six hours from there, or 12 hours from Perth.
“After that we go to the Roebuck Truck Stop which is just outside of Broome; that will be our second stop, before heading on to Doon Doon, a truck stop south of Kununurra.
“From there, the next stop is Adelaide River, or we might go straight to Darwin from Doon Doon. The Adelaide River is a lovely area outside of town, offering an excellent spot for a meal. So, we will see how we go.
“We will head into town in Darwin in the morning on Sunday and then spend the day washing the trucks.”
There will be opportunities for some socialising along the way for Mick & Karyn.
“The best thing about these long trips between events is that the teams get together and find a big parking bay, and we do things like have cook-ups on the side of the road, fire pits and all of that. This is the best round for it,” Mick says.
“There are only a few select little places you can stop and have a decent feed these days, so we are all geared up with food and we can get together and have a chat and a big cook up and a bit of fun, socialising truckie style!
The Darwin Triple Crown will be held at Hidden Valley Raceway across June 20-22. For event information, visit www.supercars.com
PremiAir Racing will carry live race coverage and team updates on its website across the weekend – stay up to date at www.premiairracing.com/track-updates/
For more information on PremiAir Racing, please visit www.premiairracing.com or follow the team on its social media platforms at www.facebook.com/PremiAirRacing/, www.instagram.com/premiair_racing/, www.linkedin.com/company/premiairracing/ and www.twitter.com/premiairracing