WTCC container loading

A sunny morning in Antwerp and trucks of all different types have arrived at the massive building that will be the starting point for the loading of the containers, ready for the next five, overseas races. Race trucks, general haulage trucks and a car transporter are here to bring the tonnes of equipment which are essential for the WTCC races.
We meet Ralf  from WEITRACON and Holger from DHL in the hotel the night before. Our start time of 0800 hours is confirmed for the next morning. Ralf has been involved with all freight business for the WTCC, for many, years and coupled with Holger and DHL,s global coverage, we are in very capable hands. They have been in contact with the teams for a long time before the events in Antwerp and are familiar faces in the paddock. All of this, just to ensure that the container loading happens efficiently and quickly and that all carnets and associated paperwork are in order for the countries that we are due to race in.

Nail gun and container seals

The containers are monitored on their journey around the world by an electronic box in each container, monitoring GPS location, any shock or unnecessary vibration of the container, temperature, humidity and even G-forces. When the containers are stacked on the deck of a ship, very high in the air, they can be subjected to G-forces caused by Parametric Rolling. This is thought to occur during specific wave height and cycles that can generate extreme roll periods and place unexpectedly high loads on the containers and the goods inside them. DHL can check in real time what is happening to the precious cars and equipment. Hopefully, our containers will not be on a ship like the one in this picture...........

Monitor box for the containers

  
Ratchet straps, a nail gun for securing the wooden chocks around the tyres of the cars, container seals for security of the containers after they are loaded, are all essential items. As are the very helpful warehouse staff who are keen to help us with fork lift driving and general lifting duties.
Some trucks are loaded inside the building and some outside in the yard. Ralf and Holger have their hands busy, monitoring the loading and answering any last minute questions that we may have. The Auto GP series will be at a few of the overseas races and they have completed their container loading, earlier in the week.

Auto GP car in a container

Sunred SEAT cars

Proteam truck drives into the building

And starts unloading.........

Ford team in the yard

Our time in Antwerp is coming to an end, four hours later and we are ready to leave. The other teams are working hard to finish and over the next 24 hours, every one of the WTCC teams will have done the same as us.

What do the teams do when we are waiting for the next race in just over one months time???????????

Well, testing of the cars is an ongoing process throughout the year for those teams who are lucky enough have the money to own a test car. Two teams are in the process of building a test car for this year and another team is building an extra car to use in one of the overseas races. This will have to be taken by air plane, by DHL, at a later date.

Tyre trolley and packhorse boxes ready to go into containers

We now have to drive back to Calais,France and return to the UK. But when we arrive at the port, we are greeted by the sight of one of the ferry boats moored up and going nowhere.
Yes, even the boats breakdown!!
Normally, there are four boats an hour, travelling between France and the UK. Now there are only three and all of the vehicles are having to wait even longer to cross the water. We have to wait over 2.5 hours and this means that when we arrive in the UK, we will hit all of the evening rush hour traffic and any chances of getting home quickly are gone.

One of the teams had a tyre puncture after leaving the race in Portugal and had some catastrophic damage. I hope to bring you some more details as soon as I can.