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Many of the Victorian V8 Supercar teams were 'in the same boat' with the possibility their transporters would not make it to the Symmons Plains round on time this weekend.
Transporters and trucks belonging to teams including Ford Performance Racing, HSV Dealer Team, Britek Motorsport and Sprint Gas Racing were on a Toll ship bound for Burnie in Tasmania when it broke down in Port Phillip Bay on Tuesday evening.
And in a twist of irony, the ship was carrying the Holden Racing Team transporter, the team which Toll has the naming-rights sponsorship of.
Toll was between the devil and the deep blue sea when the ship stopped in the bay.
Sprint Gas Racing Truck driver Dave Aldridge, who was on the ship, said he heard a change in the engine noise a couple of hours into the journey.
“And we were just floating,” he recalled. “We hadn’t even gone through the Heads.
“We found one of the crew members and they told us they were busy trying to fix it, but if they couldn’t they would have to get a tug and tow it back to Melbourne.”
Aldridge explained that the crew found its sea legs and eventually got the good ship Toll going.
“They got two engines going but they didn’t have the power thrusters so it couldn’t turn,” he explained.
“A tug came to help the ship when it came into Burnie; the tug gave it a nudge to turn it.”
Britek Motorsport transport driver Joe Sullivan said the ship arrived at 1pm, four hours later than its original destination time.
“There were concerns for a little while and whatever the alternatives would be (if the ship didn’t make it to Tasmania),” he said.
“I’m sure the race would have happened but it would have made things a bit panicky from our point of view if they hadn’t got the shop going.
“But they saved the day and got it all sorted; it all ended well,” he said.
Holden Racing Team transport driver Grant ‘Hollywood’ Pallant was not on the ship, but Toll notified him there was a delay on when he could pick up his truck.
“They were going to turn back and it was touch and go for a while but they managed to get two engines going,” he said.
“It was a slower journey but Toll ended up saving the day by getting our trucks to Tasmania safely and in time for the race.”
Transporters and trucks belonging to teams including Ford Performance Racing, HSV Dealer Team, Britek Motorsport and Sprint Gas Racing were on a Toll ship bound for Burnie in Tasmania when it broke down in Port Phillip Bay on Tuesday evening.
And in a twist of irony, the ship was carrying the Holden Racing Team transporter, the team which Toll has the naming-rights sponsorship of.
Toll was between the devil and the deep blue sea when the ship stopped in the bay.
Sprint Gas Racing Truck driver Dave Aldridge, who was on the ship, said he heard a change in the engine noise a couple of hours into the journey.
“And we were just floating,” he recalled. “We hadn’t even gone through the Heads.
“We found one of the crew members and they told us they were busy trying to fix it, but if they couldn’t they would have to get a tug and tow it back to Melbourne.”
Aldridge explained that the crew found its sea legs and eventually got the good ship Toll going.
“They got two engines going but they didn’t have the power thrusters so it couldn’t turn,” he explained.
“A tug came to help the ship when it came into Burnie; the tug gave it a nudge to turn it.”
Britek Motorsport transport driver Joe Sullivan said the ship arrived at 1pm, four hours later than its original destination time.
“There were concerns for a little while and whatever the alternatives would be (if the ship didn’t make it to Tasmania),” he said.
“I’m sure the race would have happened but it would have made things a bit panicky from our point of view if they hadn’t got the shop going.
“But they saved the day and got it all sorted; it all ended well,” he said.
Holden Racing Team transport driver Grant ‘Hollywood’ Pallant was not on the ship, but Toll notified him there was a delay on when he could pick up his truck.
“They were going to turn back and it was touch and go for a while but they managed to get two engines going,” he said.
“It was a slower journey but Toll ended up saving the day by getting our trucks to Tasmania safely and in time for the race.”
