TRANSPORTER PROFILE – MOBIL 1 BOOST MOBILE RACING

In this edition of our Transporter Profile series, we chat with the man behind the Mobil 1 Boost Mobile Racing Scania B-Double that carries the 2018 Supercars championship campaigns of James Courtney and Scott Pye.

Trent Levi is no newcomer to the logistics of motorsport. In fact, he has been driving trucks in motorsport for almost 20 years. From comparatively humble beginnings behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Silverado with a fifth-wheel trailer, Trent earned his licence through a drag racing team in Adelaide and the rest, they say, is history.

We caught up with Trent as he gears up for another long trip north to commence Walkinshaw Andretti United’s assault on the Watpac Townsville 400 next weekend.

G’day Trent! How did you get into a job like this?

Trent Levi: “I am originally from Adelaide where I had my own business. I did a bit of weekend work for Team BRM in Adelaide. They did Formula Ford, Formula 3 and Porsche Carrera Cup and that went on for seven or eight years. Then, I just decided that the next step had to be into Supercars and I moved to Melbourne to do it with Walkinshaw.

It wasn’t quite that straightforward though, as the team scaled down from four cars to two cars almost immediately after I arrived. So, having had prior Porsche experience with Team BRM, I took up the role as the head mechanic for the Walkinshaw GT3 Porsche for two and a half years before stepping back into Supercars. I’ve been with the team for about three years now and for some of that time, I was the only full-time employee for Walkinshaw GT3.”

The Scania R730 prime mover looks absolutely superb out on the road and in the paddock. How does it drive?

TL: “It’s unreal, I love it. I have driven everything from Ford Louisvilles right through to this particular Scania. Actually, the first prime mover that I ever drove was a ‘Gumboot’ Scania. They were reasonably rare as a prime mover, semi-trailer combination. They were more of a tipper truck. That’s what I learned to drive in. It’s really good to be back in a Scania. It’s by far the best truck that I’ve driven and I have driven quite a few!"

Can you talk us through how the trailers laid out?

TL: “The A-trailer has a kitchen style of thing up the front with cupboards for all of the driver’s gear. It has James’ and Scott’s race suits and helmets and everything. It’s also where we keep all of our wheels and tyres, garage walling and other bits and pieces on the way to the race meeting. Basically, everything else is kept in the B-trailer. In there, you’ll find the pit boom, the toolboxes, the engineering equipment, the data panels, the race cars and everything else.

Once you get to a race meeting, everything comes out. We basically turn the A-trailer into the driver trailer. There are fold down tables and fold down couches that the drivers can put their gear on. The crew generally get changed in the back half of the A-trailer. The team doctor also sets up in there with all the gear to look after the drivers.

The front part of the B-trailer basically turns into a damper room. They build all of the dampers during the race meetings in there. The back half turns into an engineering office and commercial department. All of the commercial team, engineers, team managers and principals have a desk that folds up where they can plug their laptop in.”

Recently we wrote a transporter manifesto encouraging teams to treat their trucks as drawcards in their own right. Do you consider the Mobil 1 Boost Mobile Racing transporter to be a superstar?

TL: “I reckon it is, but it can sometimes be the forgotten part of the team. That’s because the transporter driver often doubles as the tyre guy and the tyres and transporter are always out the back. The transporter can fly under the radar a bit, but it’s the first thing to arrive at the track, the last thing to leave the track and the crew await the return of the truck to the workshop.

The night truck parade in Darwin proved how big a deal they are. It was by far the biggest truck parade that I have ever seen or been involved in. A lot of that was because it was at night, but I think it also showcased how nice the trucks actually look. I was honoured to be involved in such a big event and to be driving a Supercars truck.”

Matt Awhitu from Visa Global Logistics guest drove the transporter for the Gold Coast and Newcastle rounds last year. How did Matt enjoy being part of a Supercars team?

TL: “He loved it! Visa Global Logistics is a sponsor of our team and we are trying to come up with different ways to get sponsors involved and give something back to them. It also provides a bit of an incentive for their drivers to take pride in what they do.

Matt is lucky enough to drive one of the sign written trucks in Visa’s fleet that look very similar to our prime mover. He drives it full-time and takes a lot of pride in what he does with them. It’s just one of the reasons why he was given the opportunity to drive with us. He loved it and can’t wait to get involved again. Hopefully he has another opportunity this year. He was unbelievable to have on board and helped us immensely as a team by bringing the passion from his profession.”

Do you have a favourite destination on the Supercars roadshow?

TL: “Definitely Darwin. That’s the one I would pick for a few reasons. Both workshop life and race weekend life can be pretty hectic from my point of view. There’s definitely not much rest over a race weekend as a tyre guy, so when you’re driving to and from the event in Darwin over four days, it’s a nice way to wind down. The only downside is that there’s very little phone service, so people don’t really know where you are.

Colin Schwartz from Preston Hire Racing, Vinny Borgia from 23Red Racing and myself in Mobil 1 Boost Mobile Racing transporter have decided to travel together for the season, so while the teams are rivals on the race track, there’s a lot of camaraderie and safety that comes from travelling together. We enjoy each other’s company and it really lightens the mood on the trip.”

A big thank you to Trent Levi and to Mobil 1 Boost Mobile Racing for their support with this article and if you haven’t already, be sure to follow the team’s 2018 Supercars championship chase on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

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