Australia and the US face off brews for Gold Coast Stadium Super Truck brawl.
Team Toyo off-road racer Greg Gartner will join four Aussies and six Americans at the Gold Coast 600 round of Stadium Super Trucks this weekend.
The former Finke King of the Desert will swap roosting dirt for soaring high over the Queensland street circuit in front of the V8 Supercar crowd.
Credit: Stadium Super Truck
A gentleman in the pits and a demon in a race car, Gartner has a test session under his belt and is excited to swap paint with his American competitors.
“This is something I have been wanting to do for a long time,” Gartner said.
“We have some field-leading competitors on the Aussie side. It’s too early to tell for myself yet, but we will be giving it a crack. There are some experienced drivers here; young Sheldon Creed isn’t scared of anything and is a top driver!
“The trucks are a short wheel base and are very twitchy, with super direct steering. That’s going to take some getting used to. Tyres are very important here and the Toyos are a proven tyre,” he said.
“There is a different finesse required than in off-road racing; the more sideways you get the slower you go. You’ve got to try and keep the rear in as much as you can and push the car forward.”
Joining Greg in the battle for an Australian victory is Gold Coast stuntman Matt Mingay, Sir Jack Brabham descendent Matt Brabham, speedcar racer Brett Thomas and motorsport virtuoso Paul ‘The Dude’ Morris.
Credit: Stadium Super Truck
The Antipodean contingent faces stiff celebrity competition. With names including racing royalty Robby Gordon, teen racing wunderkind Sheldon Creed, and former Olympian and reality TV superstar Caitlyn Jenner’s son Burt Jenner, the US field is rounded with podium regular Keegan Kincaid and series competitors Scotty Steele and Bill Hynes.
Credit: Stadium Super Truck
The second local round of a series threatening to make a side show of supercars, the sophomore showing of the electrifying series is expected to produce ‘waffle bellies’ out of V8SC fans.
“A waffle-belly is when sitting fans are jumping out of their seats, pressing themselves up against the chain link fence and putting a griddle pattern across their stomach,” explains Robby Gordon.
The Stadium Super Trucks Series race on Toyo’s Open Country A/T II.
“Stadium Super Trucks is harsh on tyres and the Open Country A/T II tyres take everything we can throw at them. There isn’t much I haven’t put these tyres through,” Gordon said.
An off-the-shelf tyre, the state-of-the-art Open Country A/T II features improved wear and puncture resistance, with an aggressive tread pattern and innovative compound that provides superior grip in on and off-road applications.
Open Country A/T II is available now in popular sizes, and the range will soon be expanded to 31 sizes in passenger and light-truck constructions.
ENTRY LIST
#2 Matt Mingay (AUS)
#7 Robby Gordon (USA)
#14 Greg Gartner (AUS)
#47 Keegan Kincaid (USA)
#48 Scotty Steele (USA)
#50 Burt Jenner (USA)
#57 Bill Hynes (USA)
#67 Paul “The Dude” Morris (AUS)
#69 Brett Thomas (AUS)
#74 Sheldon Creed (USA)
#83 Matt Brabham (AUS)
SCHEDULE
Friday, October 23
10:15am-10:35am – Practice
5:45pm-6:05pm – Qualifying (10 laps)
Saturday, October 24
8:45am-9:05am – Practice
12:40pm-1:00pm – Race 2 (10 laps)
Sunday, October 25
8:10am-8:30am – Race 3 (10 laps)
1:00pm-1:20pm – Race 4 (10 laps)
