The Yatala team will run two identical DAF XF prime movers for its Supercars and Super2 race transporters in 2022

Matt Stone Racing held its official season launch event yesterday, unveiling an all-new driver line-up, redesigned liveries, and a host of new corporate partners displayed across its ZB Commodore entries including Truck Assist and SP Tools.

But another partner caught our eye at the rear of the team’s 2022 weaponry: DAF. Matt Stone Racing’s association with NTI saw it run a brand-new Mercedes-Benz Actros last year. However, the prime race car real estate reserved for the PACCAR brand this year signalled a new era for the team’s race transporters.

Matt Stone Racing took delivery of its two brand-new DAF XF prime movers just 48 hours ago. On a tight deadline to meet the team’s season launch, the 530-horsepower units travelled from Melbourne to Brisbane for extensive pre-delivery work at Brown and Hurley. This included the addition of aftermarket air conditioning solutions for the cabs, as well as extensive polishing on the fuel tanks.

The DAF XF prime movers were present at the Yatala outfit’s season launch yesterday, and they made their first trip to a race track this morning for the official Repco Supercars Championship pre-season test for the Queensland teams in Ipswich.

After the test, the trucks will return to Brown and Hurley, where they’ll have new bull bars and lights fitted before the season-opener in Sydney.

Matt Stone Racing has been working on the deal since last year. The opportunity came together through the commercial relationship between leading Australian insurer, NTI, and the PACCAR Australia group in Bayswater.

DAF continues to consolidate its status as a key player in the Australian heavy-duty truck market, with strong year-on-year growth in 2021.

The Dutch brand returns to Australia’s top motorsport category after almost a decade. The last time we saw a DAF truck at the sharp end of a Repco Supercars Championship transporter was 2013, when Tony D’Alberto Racing ran a DAF CF prime mover throughout the year.

We’ll bring you more photos of the brand-new DAF pairing, as well as the other team transporters in the Queensland Raceway pits tonight. Make sure you’re following our Aussie Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts to see all the Repco Supercars Championship race transporter news in the lead-up to the Sydney SuperNight next month.