TRANSPORTER PROFILE: WALL RACING
Meet the Wall Racing B-Double transporter and its driver, Mark Nelson.
Image: Mark Nelson
Mark has been at race tracks since his teenage years and mashed the accelerator in everything from a Formula Ford to a Sports Sedan. In the latter, he competed against and became friends with the late Des Wall, a great racer and father to reigning Porsche Carrera Cup Australia champion, David Wall.
Late last year, David Wall expanded his race team to run three Porsche Carrera Cup race cars for himself, ex-Supercars race winner James Moffat and Pro-Am competitor Greg Taylor.
We’ll let Mark Nelson pick up the story from here!
“Basically, David asked me if I would like to drive his B-Double. It made sense, as I enjoy motor racing and it would be something different to what I am used to. That’s how I got involved.”
Trucks at Tracks: Had you done much truck driving before?
Mark Nelson: “My family is involved in horses, so I have driven trucks for them and also for my own racing. However, that was more rigids, heavy rigids and basic semi-trailers. This is my first year in B-Double-land. I’m enjoying it. Driving them isn’t too bad. Reversing is probably the hardest part!”
TaT: Apart from looking after the truck, what are your responsibilities on a race weekend?
MN: “I do tyres and fuel. It’s very similar to the role of a Supercar transporter driver.”
TaT: Do you know much about the history of this truck and the two trailers?
MN: “Sort of! Both the A and B trailers have been in the Supercars world and passed down. They are not new, but they are in great condition, look great and Wall Racing keep them extremely well-maintained. They certainly do the job for us.
Image: Mark Nelson
The prime mover is a Kenworth K104. It’s from about 2004 I think. David picked it up second-hand. Again, it’s well-maintained and goes really well.”
TaT: If we wandered into the trailers, what would we find where?
MN: “It would be quite similar to a lot of the Supercars transporters, but not identical. The B-trailer takes three Porsches. One down the bottom and two up the top. There are all sorts of tool boxes etcetera underneath there and at the front of the B-trailer is a driver lounge.
The A-trailer transports tyres, trolleys, toolboxes, spares for the cars and all sorts of other stuff. At the race meeting, that turns into a meeting room for the drivers and the engineers to debrief in.”
Image: Mark Nelson
TaT: How many kilometres per year are you travelling? Is it significantly less than the Supercars outfits?
MN: “It would be less. We go to all of the Carrera Cup rounds (eight) plus David also does the GT3 Cup Challenge with Chelsea Angelo in his championship winning car (Ruby) from last year. That’s another five rounds. He is also involved in GT endurance racing with Cameron McConville and Adrian Deitz in a Lamborghini Huracan. There’s also a Ferrari 458 which David runs for Dave Stevens plus a number of other categories. It’s probably a similar number of rounds, but I’m only doing about 12 -15 this year. Wall Racing Team Manager, Dave Fyfe, does the rest and actually drove it to all events prior to this year.”
TaT: Do you have a favourite trip on the racing roster?
MN: “Darwin was really good. It was the first time I’ve driven up there. You see a lot of things that you wouldn’t normally see in Victoria. Driving up and down the Hume Highway to Sydney isn’t the greatest amount of fun. It can get a bit boring. The other main trip that we do is Adelaide for Clipsal and Tailem Bend. Of course, Bathurst is enjoyable because, well, you’re going to Bathurst!
Image: Mark Nelson
I am also looking forward to going to the Gold Coast, as apparently it’s a really good round. A fortnight ago I went up to Queensland Raceway and next up, I’m off to Tailem Bend and then Winton the following weekend. It’s a busy time.”
TaT: You mentioned the Kenworth prime mover before. What’s it like to drive?
MN: “It’s basically semi-automatic. You’ve got a clutch and you use that to get going. Then, it’s automatic. That works really well. A lot of the trucks now are automatic. The pure truckies probably think we’re not real truck drivers because we’re driving an automatic, but outside of the American brands, they are all automatic these days.
Image: Mark Nelson
It’s very reliable, it’s got plenty of torque, it’s got good horsepower but obviously you can’t go more than 100 kilometres per hour anyway. Perhaps I would enjoy the later model interior a little bit more. The seat would be that little bit more comfortable and there would be a few more creature comforts, but it’s fine the way it is.”
TaT: We often talk to the Supercars transporter drivers about getting noticed on the road. Wall Racing is not a Supercars team, but do you still see a lot of interest in the transporter?
MN: “Absolutely. With Wall Racing, Wilson Security, PAYCE and Shannons signwriting, it is a mobile billboard. People definitely know what it is and what is inside. Every time I stop for fuel or something to eat, people wander over. I really noticed this on the way to Darwin. People in caravans come over and have a chit chat. It’s really good. Occasionally you are in a bit of a hurry, but to take five minutes out of your day is very little in the grand scheme of things when you’re driving for 20 or 30 hours. I enjoy motor racing full stop and it is part of what we do.”
A big thanks to Mark Nelson and Wall Racing for helping us out with this story. You can follow Wall Racing on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube!