WHEN TRANSPORTERS BECAME A DRAWCARD
People are enticed to motorsport events for many different reasons.
Like blinkers on a racehorse, some pull up a chair and remain totally glued to the on-track action. Many credit their attendance to the sheer enjoyment of the big-event atmosphere. The cocktail of race fuel igniting in screaming motors is too invigorating for others to resist. There is, however, another dimension emerging with the growing prominence of social media over the past decade. If ever the sideshow, motorsport transporters are becoming drawcards in their own right.
It is not as if they were ever ignored. Since motorsport moved away from road-legal vehicles, the transporter has played one of the most fundamental roles in a race team. However, they have sometimes been overlooked as the ‘undercard’ signalling only that a race category is in town. As gladiatorial drama has unfolded in front of thousands of spectators, attention has tended to remain firmly on the track over a race weekend. However, without suggesting that interest in motorsport is declining in the present day, the growing presentation and media profile of motorsport transporters is adding to the appeal of a day at the races.
In terms of documenting motorsport transporters as a standalone interest, the late David Cross’ Inside the Paddock: Race Transporters at Work and the sequel, Around the Circuit: Race Car Transporters and Support Vehicles at Work, are pioneering publications in the area with the latter released to the public in late 2013. There is little doubt that David Cross was a pioneer in the field and his contribution to the documentation of motorsport history beyond the racing tarmac is impressive. It might have been a tight niche when work began on the first book, but mainstream interest has since swelled.
In the digital space, as teams have refined their understanding of how best to engage fans on social media, they have benefitted from leveraging opportunities outside of the comings and goings on track. Nowadays, a team’s media build-up for a race weekend will very often begin on the Monday or Tuesday as the transporter leaves the workshop and visits country towns along the journey.
These posts not only keep industry sponsors happy, but help fans to appreciate the enormous effort and commitment required by their favourite race team outside of when the television cameras are rolling. As the componentry on modern race cars advances, so too does the need to build a competitive media presence in a challenging sponsorship climate.
In Australia, Supercars and other high-profile race teams will often post pictures and videos of their transporter being loaded, travelling on the road, participating in parades and sitting in the paddock on social media. Some transporters even have their own social media profiles that have amassed thousands of fans. The presentation and technology going into the trucks and trailers has also progressed exponentially in recent years. This has created even further interest in the advanced machines that roll through the gates on a Wednesday or Thursday and has led punters to track the transporters in a similar vein to their favourite race car or driver when the lights turn green on a Sunday afternoon. Long may this trend continue!
We are very appreciative of the response since the official launch of our website yesterday. Of course, if you would like Trucks at Tracks to write about your motorsport team’s transporter, please feel welcome to get in touch. Transporter Profiles will be a key part of the website.