It’s been a long time coming, but as the Supercars teams load up their transporters for Sydney, we’re looking back at the kilometres they’ve covered so far in 2021

It’s been 99 days since the Repco Supercars Championship transporters rolled out of Reid Park in Townsville. To put that into perspective, that’s a tick over three months, or 14 weeks, or depending on when you read this, something in the vicinity of 2370 hours. That’s a lot of Netfli…, ughh, productive work time.

But the big B-Double transporters are being loaded up across the eastern states of Australia as we speak, and they’re heading for the first of four consecutive rounds in Western Sydney starting this Friday. Anyone else feeling a spring in your step this week?

It has all the hallmarks of a season opener after such a long break, but the transporters have already covered some serious ground this year. In this article, we’re looking back at what’s happened in transporter-land in 2021 with some of the coolest shots of the year so far.

The pre-season

The Supercars Championship ground to a halt after last year’s Bathurst 1000 in October, as the teams returned to their families after many months on the road.

But in the blink of an eye, things got rolling again. The first big piece of transporter news for the 2021 season surfaced in January, with Red Bull Ampol Racing revealing a new partnership with Daimler Trucks in their 2021 launch video. The big ‘Benz also featured prominently in the associated photoshoot at Ampol’s Lytton refinery.

Two fresh Kenworth K200 trucks joined the Supercars circus in the off-season, too, with both Blanchard Racing Team and Walkinshaw Andretti United readying their Australian-built cab-overs for what looked to be a busy schedule over the winter months.

We also saw some trailer movements, with Blanchard Racing Team acquiring the ex-DJR Team Penske B-Double trailer set, and Dick Johnson Racing refurbishing their ex-23 Red Racing trailers to put to work during the 2021 season.

Blanchard Racing Team’s Kenworth K200 and ex-DJR race trailers

But it was Team 18 that stole the show as the season opener drew closer, unveiling a brand-new Kenworth T909 for its dual-liveried B-Double race transporter in February. This one got some serious social media traction, with long-bonneted truck fans salivating at the prospect of seeing the big banger from Bayswater out on the road and in the paddock.

Testing

The Queensland-based Supercars teams tested first, with Shell V-Power Racing Team, Red Bull Ampol Racing, Matt Stone Racing and Team Sydney – TEKNO rolling through the gates at Queensland Raceway in mid-February.

That was our first glimpse of the refurbished Shell V-Power Racing Team trailer set, as well as the temporary Mercedes-Benz Actros trucks of both Matt Stone Racing and Red Bull Ampol Racing.

Down south, the Victorian and New South Wales-based teams had their first formal hit out on a warm day at Winton Motor Raceway. Fighting off bull ants outside the circuit, we spotted a couple of changes to the transporters, including a single-trailer configuration for Stax Freightliner as one of the Albury squad’s A-trailers got a freshen up at Royans. Team 18 also used a Hino rental truck while the finishing touches were put on its Kenworth T909 prime mover in Bayswater.

Erebus Motorsport’s Mercedes-Benz Actros B-Double transporter outside Winton

Back to Bathurst

Mount Panorama Circuit hosted the season opener in late February. That was the first trip to a race track for a few of the paddock’s prime movers, including Matt Stone Racing’s new Mercedes-Benz Actros and Team 18’s Kenworth T909.

But it was the Red Bull Ampol Racing transporter that went home heavier, with some trophies aboard courtesy of Shane van Gisbergen’s dominance on the mountain.

Melbourne calling

The Supercars teams then headed south to a sodden Sandown Raceway in Melbourne’s east. For that race meeting, Stax Freightliner returned to B-Double specification with a refurbished A-trailer. Meanwhile, Red Bull Ampol Racing’s dominance continued at the hands, and broken collarbone, of 2016 champion, Shane van Gisbergen.

Sandown also yielded this seriously cool shot of one of Tickford Racing’s transporters with Truck Assist branding on the trailers and an on-brand orange sky.

The Apple Isle

The next event was even further south, with SeaRoad transporting the B-Double transporters across Bass Strait and back. During the trip to Tasmania, Team 18 owner, Charlie Schwerkolt, got a taste of his new Kenworth T909 on the short drive from Devonport to Symmons Plains, and Stax Freightliner’s new wrap broke cover on the Apple Isle.

It was also the debut of Red Bull Ampol Racing’s brand-new Mercedes-Benz Actros, which was put through its paces by Jamie Whincup in Melbourne before its trip to the Beaurepaires Tasmania Supersprint.

When it was time for the gear to head home, we were lucky enough to catch the second boatload arriving back in Melbourne at SeaRoad’s Webb Dock facility.

Team 18’s Kenworth T909 transporter at Webb Dock

Big rigs at the Bend

The next trip was to the west a couple of weeks later. On South Australian soil, Supercars fans experienced the first transporter parade of the year through Tailem Bend. And when the action got underway on track, three Ford teams claimed their first victories of the 2021 season after months of Holden dominance.

Kelly Grove Racing’s rig parked at Tailem Bend

Team Sydney - TEKNO’s transporter at The Bend Motorsport Park

Outback calling

COVID-19 outbreaks began to cause havoc down south, leading to the postponement of the Winton Supersprint. The Victorian teams then made a 2020-esque dash out of Melbourne so they could enter the Northern Territory on time for the Merlin Darwin Triple Crown. Once they were in the clear across the border, we got some epic outback shots.

Darwin put on the second transporter parade of the year. On a typically beautiful Top End evening in June, the big rigs made an equally sizeable impression on thousands of roadside fans in the Northern Territory capital.

The Sunshine State

With New South Wales plunged into lockdown in late June, Supercars management choose to make hay while the sun shone north of the border with back-to-back race weekends in Townsville.

Townsville hosted the third transporter parade of the year, with a big turnout to see the transporters roll line astern through the unofficial capital of North Queensland.

Red Bull Ampol Racing and Tickford Racing shared the honours up north. And when the engines fell quiet, the teams headed back to their bases in late July where they’ve been ever since.

Thankfully, the teams are making their final preparations to go racing as we speak. The on-track action gets underway at Sydney Motorsport Park on Friday, and the transporters will hit the road over the coming days to be in the New South Wales capital to park up on Thursday.

Don’t miss any of this week’s transporter content on our Australian Facebook and Instagram accounts. And another big thank you to all the photographers with photos in this recap!

GALLERY: THE 2021 SUPERCARS SEASON IN PHOTOS