| An important part of a race weekend is being able to offer sponsors and VIP guests a behind the scenes look at how SBR operates at a race event. With 15 rounds, both international and domestic over the 2009 V8 Supercar season the logistical side of the business requires a great deal of planning and preparation.
The logistics are of major consideration when the series work out the season’s calendar. All travel days, international freight times and costs etc are taken into account to ensure a smooth transition to the next event. Unlike NASCAR, where teams have numerous cars for the season, V8 supercars do not allow teams to travel to events with spare cars. In the case that a car is involved in a racing incident the time in between rounds is used to rebuild and repair damage, in some cases only a few days allow for this kind of turnaround.
Under a new rule each team entered in the 2009 series are permitted to have a maximum 7 performance personnel per car attend each sprint event. Contractors and 3rd party suppliers are only required to be listed in the 7 if they contribute to the performance of the car. SBR takes the following staff to each sprint race event (excluding the Phillip Island 500 and Bathurst 1000):
Ross and Jimmy Stone
1 x Team Manager , 2 x Race Engineers, 2 x Data Engineers , 6 x Mechanics, 2 x Composites – Truck and Tyres, 2 x Catering, 1 x Commercial, 1 x Media & 2 x Drivers.
For a race like Sandown the SBR B-Double Transporter is packed at the workshop by the Monday night so the truck can depart the Gold Coast early Tuesday morning. Two days of truck travel is allowed for so all the required and legal stops can be made along the way.
When the transporter arrives it is washed and parked up in the V8 Supercar paddock within the allocated time slot designated by the series. Approximately one month before each race meeting V8 Supercars distribute a Supplementary Regulations document to all teams listing dates and times of the event operations. This includes the times all teams pit garages are required to be open each day for spectator viewing.
The rest of the team that attend race events enjoy a couple of days off during the trucks travel before they fly into Melbourne on the Thursday. On the teams travel day everyone meets at the workshop early morning and all climb aboard the SBR bus to be dropped off at either Brisbane or Coolangatta airport.
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Once the team lands they head out to the circuit in two 12 seater hire vans. The drivers travel with commercial and media staff in a separate hire car into town for a full day of sponsor and media commitments. When the team arrives at the track they begin setting up the pit garage and catering facility. This involves pit wall/signage, tool boxes, data display (14 screens), plasmas, carpet, etc.
The trucks A-trailer is then transformed into a mobile office where the engineers and drivers de-brief before and after each session. Once the cars are unloaded the B-trailer is then used as a workshop, at least one spare of each part per car is kept in the truck in case they are required. Underneath in the storage section of A-trailer a spare engine is kept for each race car.
There is an air conditioned room in the top of the B-trailer that is used by the drivers during race weekends to get changed and for some peace and quiet before they begin race preparation. All team uniforms are also stored in this room, each team member is provided with a team shirt, pair of pants, jacket, fleece and footwear for each day.
The catering facility is a temporary structure that is erected before teams arrive at the track. The kitchen is also carried in the SBR transporter which includes a commercial size gas oven, fridge and freezer, a sink, benches, table and chairs. Water and sullage is supplied at each event. From Thursday onwards the team eat breakfast, lunch and dinner every day at the track.
All team members are accommodated each night at a local hotel. At the conclusion of each race weekend every effort is made to have the team travel home on the Sunday night when possible.
It is not until the Friday of an event that the racing actually begins, up until that point it is weeks of planning and preparation by numerous people just to get there, with the end result hopefully being a podium finish or a race win!
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