Welcome to Japan.

Firstly, I would like to thank my boss and work colleagues for all their help and support during my short, but rather serious illness. Thankfully, I have only used up one of my "lives" and I am very lucky to be in here in Suzuka. I feel much happier to be working again and to be enjoying the company and friendship of all the people that I know and work with in the WTCC paddock.
I am also very grateful to the people who have emailed me and sent photos. My blog relies on so many people sharing information and this gives you the chance to see and read about the Truckies.

The cars at Nagoya airport, before they are moved to Suzuka.

The logistics this year have been crazy with the very expensive use of air freight, rather than using sea freight. This was due to the WTCC organisers trying to hold races in countries like Argentina, and maybe not realising how difficult it can be to move all of our cars and equipment. Unfortunately, this affects the rest of the race calendar for the year and also how much extra work the Truckies and the teams must do. I shall be writing a more detailed report on this when we get to Shanghai.

I have noticed that some team equipment has been damaged. This is not a fault of the logistics or shipping company, it is because the WTCC does not have big money to spend on protective flightcases for everything. We do not have the luxury of being able to buy double of everything or even to be able to customise the equipment to suit our needs.
These boxes can cost a minimum of 100 Euros for a small flightcase and the price just goes up and up. I have tried to make a comparison between F1 and WTCC and it is not possible. A WTCC team will be able to race for one year for the same amount of money that an F1 team will spend in one weekend....THERE IS NO COMPARISON !

The typhoon that hit Japan at the start of this week meant that the airports, roads and railways were closed for a short time but the teams have worked hard to unload all their equipment and start setting up the garages and working on the cars. The stormy weather has gone and the temperature is hot. We have some new teams for the Asian races in Macau, Shanghai and Suzuka and it was good to see that they were feeling the heat and humidity as much as the European teams.

China Dragon Racing prepare the garage in Suzuka 2013

All of the containers have been placed behind the team garages so they are ready to be loaded up after the race and sent by sea to China and finally on to the last race of the season in Macau.
The talk and gossip in the WTCC paddock is very evident here this week. We have a team who has changed their driver due to financial reasons. What will happen to the Seat and Bmw teams next year? And what about new Citroen, Honda and Lada cars which are being built to the new 2014 regulations? Will Rml build a new version of the Chevrolet?
The list of talking points are endless and unfortunately I do not want to write about these subjects here. There are plenty of dedicated motorsport sites on the internet where you follow these stories.Once again, I will leave you with some more pictures from me and my Truckie friends, here in Japan.

Tom Boardman gets busy at Suzuka.

The crane and container crews take a well deserved break from the relentless sunshine

SHiPs........... Suzuka Highway Patrol.

Do you remember the American TV series from the 1980,s called CHiPs ??

We now have one of the Truckies doing his own impression in Suzuka, Japan.  
Keeping the paddock safe from speeders and drink drivers.

It is very hot here today so maybe the sun has got to his brain.
I will be updating my blog this evening with some stories from Japan.

Sonoma WTCC 2013.......and I,m not there : (

If you are reading this, then you should be grateful to my very good friends Bela (Zengo), Mario (PB Racing) Pepe (Seat) and Max (Lada), who have kindly sent me some photos. I have had emails from the other Truckies and everything seems unchanged from last year. Obviously the cars and equipment have been air freighted from Argentina rather than by container ship in 2012.
You can read about last years USA race here.
http://racetruckie.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/sonoma-sunshine.html
I am not in Sonoma as I am busy in Germany with other Truckie duties, but will be returning for the next race in Japan. In the meantime, enjoy the photos.

Tuenti Racing Chevrolet gets a makeover

Drag Racing at Sonoma on Wednesday while the teams are getting ready.

PB Racing...new car colours

Bamboo team are busy

16 hour engine change.

As we are now racing outside of Europe, the Truckies do not have to drive their trucks and move the cars and equipment. But logistical problems still happen and thankfully, it is a problem for the WTCC freight forwarders, not the Truckies.
All of the cars and team equipment were loaded into 24 containers, at Termas de Rio Hondo, and driven to Ezeiza airport in Buenos Aires. Once everything had arrived, the airport staff should have started to load the cars and equipment onto the special airfreight pallets. The only problem was that they had no experience of handling this sort of freight. It was time for the WTCC logistics team of DHL and Weitracon to show them what to do. To avoid damaging the wheels of the flight cases, the plan was to cut wooden blocks and rest the cases on these so that the wheels are up in the air. A few problems occurred with personal safety insurance for everyone who was working with wood cutting saws and driving forklifts, but once these were resolved, it was all systems go !!

After 3 days of hard work, the first plane was ready to be loaded and was ready to depart on the Tuesday evening at 2300 hours.
The next plane was due to leave on Wednesday evening but as it flew into the airport, they had an engine failure and the plane landed on only 3 engines.
Once the plane had landed, aircraft mechanics started looking for the cause of the problem. They noticed that the engine oil capacity was low so they put more oil in. An attempt was made to start the engine but now they could see that a bearing had failed and the engine and the turbine fans were covered in oil. The aircraft mechanic was in contact with the airplane company in the USA, via his mobile phone, and a decision was made that the engine would need to be replaced.
It was now 0400 hours on the Thursday morning. They could fly the aircraft, on 3 engines, back to the USA, or they could get another engine and replace it in Buenos Aires. Finally, a chief mechanic and a spare engine arrived on Friday morning from Miami,USA. His job was to supervise the 8 Argentinian, aircraft mechanics whilst they spent the next 16 hours replacing the engine.
Eventually, the aircraft was repaired, loaded up and took off for San Francisco on the Saturday.

Once the cars and equipment have cleared US customs, its a 2 hour drive to the race track at Sonoma and the WTCC show will continue. The reason why I write this blog is to highlight the logistics as we move around the race tracks of the world and to show you what a complicated job it can be. This little chapter in the WTCC calender is a perfect example.

Question time with Yvan.

As we are no longer driving the trucks to the WTCC races, it can be a little bit difficult to try and keep my blog interesting. This year, I have decided to try to include something new.
A couple of the drivers do have experience of trucks. Alex MacDowell is preparing to take his truck licence and also has sponsorship from ECM. And a man who already has a truck licence, Yvan Muller, who has sponsorship from TRANSPORTS TYM. I used my Truckie charm to ask Yvan a few questions related to trucks and here are his answers.

Yvan,s race helmet with Transports TYM graphic.

RT/  How old were you when you took your truck test and did you complete it at your first attempt? 
Is your truck licence still valid or has it expired? 
In the UK at aged 45, you have to take a medical every 5 years after that, is it the same in France?

YM/  I got my licence at the first attempt. I was 18 when I took the 19 tonnes licence and  21 when I took the big truck licence and I can drive a truck when I need to. In France, you have to take a medical every 5 years from age 21. When you reach 60, you then take a medical every 3 years.

  
RT/  When was the last time you drove a big truck on the road and do you ever help out at the family truck business, Transports TYM?

YM/  Last time I drove a truck was in April  when I went to Nogaro, France for the first race of the 2013 season with Yvan Muller Racing. 

Unfortunately, I am too busy and I do not have time to drive for TYM Transport.

RT/  Have you ever driven a race truck and trailer for one of the teams you have raced for? Which team and when?

YM/  When I was driving for Triple Eight Racing in the UK, I drove the race team truck once from the UK to Ireland, but that was a long time ago.

RT/  Have you ever had an accident in a truck?

YM/  No, never. 

RT/  Do you agree with the 90 KMH speed limit for trucks on the Autoroutes and motorways?

YM/  Yes. I think 90 kmh is fast enough for a big truck. 

RT/  Reversing a truck and trailer is…     
A/ Easy 
B/ Difficult
C/ It is part of our job, so we should shut up and just do it.

YM/  I think it is Easy, I was born to drive a truck ...

RT/  Have you ever had chance to drive a proper racing truck around a circuit? 

Can you describe it to me?

YM/  Yes. I drove a DAF racing truck at Jarama, Spain. That was nice. After the test day, the team wanted me to sign a contract because my performance was good. But I was with BMW at the time with their touring car. That was in 1995.

RT/  How important to you and other drivers is the overall appearance of the team race trucks and how do you think the race truck and trailer gives a message to the sponsors and fans? 
YM/  The Truckie is very important because he is in charge of the cars and all the equipment, between the workshop and the circuits. The truck is large and very visible and represents the team and the sponsors. It should be in very good condition and be clean and presentable.

Well, I hope that you find my little interview interesting and different from the normal questions that the drivers are asked. Thanks to Yvan for taking time to help me with this and I look forward to bringing you the latest Truckie news from Sonoma in September.

It,s a Long Way..........to Argentina.

The main talking point between the Truckies and the other team members has been the travelling time. Almost everybody has been in various airports and airplanes for over 30 hours. The race track certainly produced some interesting racing but we have spent alot of money getting here. Over 30 containers have arrived by ship to Buenos Aires, then a 1400 km overland journey to arrive at Termas Do Rio Hondo.

The teams have been working under tents in temperatures ranging from 5-25 degrees Celsius which has not been nice and everything has been covered in dust which has been blown in by the wind from the surrounding desert.

THE JOYS AND GLAMOUR OF MOTORSPORT !!!!

And now the race is over, it is time to pack everything away again so that we can race in Sonoma, USA. We do have a problem due to the fact that there is not enough time to send the containers using a ship. So all of the cars and equipment will be sent using air freight. This is a very expensive way to get to the next race but we have no option. The Argentina race was a bit of a late addition to the race calender and by coming here, we have to deal with this situation.

Zengo wait for their container to be opened.

Bamboo car will need some repair work in USA

The Panta Fuel container receives some attention.

JAS Honda equipment loaded on Argentine truck

A very cheap but beautifully hand painted sign

The Countdown to Argentina

Continuing to load the containers, in the 30 degree heat of Portugal, was hard work for all the teams and the other personnel who were involved. The container ship left the port of Sines on 5th July and is due to arrive in Argentina on the 20th July.

DHL checking the containers on the train.

The short journey to the port was completed by train due to strike action in Portugal. This logistical headache was solved by DHL and Weitracon who are handling all of the freight solutions which the WTCC continues to demand. The decision to squeeze a race into the WTCC calendar has put so much extra financial demand on all of the teams and it also means that the cars and equipment will need to be sent by air and not sea freight, for it all to arrive in time for the race at Sonoma, USA.

Unfortunately for the STR team, they will miss the race in Argentina due to yet more damage to Tom Boardmans car. This has forced them to return to the UK for repairs and as I write this, they have successfully completed this. They will now send their car and equipment by sea freight and this will be taken to the container port of Antwerp next week.

                                                                                                 photo:T Boardman

Roal loading in Portugal.

Zengo in Portugal

Bamboo container is ready to be closed.

                                                                                                        photo:weitracon

                                                                                                                                                                                               photo:zengo

Things to do after Porto.

STR and All Inkl trucks on monday morning.

How do the teams get all of their cars and equipment to the next race in Argentina? As I walked around the paddock on the monday, after the race, many of the teams were scratching their heads and wandering what to do first. Some of the cars were having extensive bodywork repairs before they are ready to be shipped. And trucks were in the pitlane being loaded with boxes and crates before they are driven the short distance to a large loading area near the airport in Porto. This massive logistical task is once again being expertly managed by Wietracon and DHL. A mixture of containers are being transported to the ships by road and railway and even aircraft are being used to ensure that everything will be ready for us when we get to Argentina.

Truck being loaded before it drives towards the airport

Unfortunately, the tarmac in the paddock area was not suitable for using heavy cranes to take the containers off the trucks and put them on the ground. This would have been so much easier for the teams but they do not want to risk damaging the tarmac. I am no expert on this subject but myself and other team members were convinced that loading in the paddock area was possible. But this is what we have to deal with so we cannot change the situation.

Some bodywork needs repairing!

Our loading has now been completed and we are on our way back home. I will keep you updated on the logistics when it is all completed and I have been sent some more information and pictures

Sorry, Mr Policeman.

What could be inside this race truck?

The WTCC Truckies have driven down to Porto but it seems that a few of us have broken the law. Firstly, there is the subject of paying road tax for the trucks. Some roads in Portugal have always had toll booths. When you are driving on the motorways, you arrive at a toll booth and you pay money for the section of motorway that you have just driven on. A perfectly good way to do things. Two years ago, they decided that they would impose a tax on foreign trucks on ALL of the motorways, but they did not build more toll booth collection points on the motorways. So how do we know that we must buy tax and where do we buy it from??

It is a new Chevrolet for Tuenti Racing.

The Portuguese website for the toll system was only available in Portuguese language in 2011. That makes it very difficult for a foreigner to understand. Last year, they introduced a gantry system, above the motorway, with cameras and this records your journey as you drive. But nobody was sure how you could pay for the road tax. Even the Portuguese were confused.
In 2013, they have finally implemented a mixture of toll booths and electronic gantries and made it easier for a foreign truck to pay the tax.
NOW.........They seem to be using the computerised records for the last 2 years to try and get back the money that we should have paid but did not know how. CRAZY.
Some of the Truckies who have been stopped by the Police and have paid a small amount of money but other Truckies have been asked to pay over 1000 Euros. THAT IS A LOT OF MONEY AND IS FAR MORE THAN WE WOULD HAVE PAID IN ROAD TAX.
The system is a mess.
We all accept that if a law says we must pay for driving on a motorway in Portugal, that is not a problem. However, to try and extort money from foreign trucks when Portugal has made it so difficult to understand when and how we should pay is madness.
Today, at the circuit, it has been so hot and with temperatures at over 30 degrees Celsius, all of the teams have been sweating and avoiding sunburn. The race trucks have arrived in Porto, fully loaded, as we have to put everything in containers on Monday, ready for the next race in Argentina. More work, sweat and logistical problems are sure to follow!

Unfortunately, they do not arrive until Saturday :-(