Ready, Set, Go!
What I love about truck racing is seeing all the trucks racing together and lots of action. I like it when the trucks hit each other and go really fast.
Hey little truckers, my name is Jacob Gray, and I am a member of Team Quality Racing (TQR).
What I love about truck racing is seeing all the trucks racing together and lots of action. I like it when the trucks hit each other and go really fast.
I get to help my grandad cook the BBQ for the team and I also have to get my dad a drink after each race.
I have a truck too, just like my dad and I get to take kids for rides. I also drove my truck to the ice cream van that was at the track like a drive-thru, that was the best!
I get to spend time with my friends who I don’t get to see much, we get to meet all over the country.
I like to meet and get to play with kids all over the country and some get to stay at my house.
I love being a part of the team and I think my dad’s race truck looks awesome and it goes really fast.
I would like to race the race truck one day when I grow up! By the way, the truck is called The Punisher, it is really cool.
If you would like to come to one of the race meetings, come and see me and I will take you for a ride in my truck and you can come meet the TQR team. When the racing is finished for the day, I get to play cricket and soccer with the team and my mum cooks dinner on the BBQ. I love sausages cooked on the BBQ; they are my favourite. When I was little, when I was around three years old, my dad raced his truck in Australia – you can see all of the track over there and it is very hot, so I got to eat lots of ice cream.
I am looking forward to going racing in the school holidays because I get to spend more time away with the trucks. See you at the track!
Three- ingredient almond biscuits
Yep, you read that right – these delicious cookies are made with just three ingredients! It doesn’t get much easier than that.
Ingredients
• 1 cup almond butter
• 1 cup raw sugar
• 1 egg
Method
1) Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced)
2) Put the almond butter, raw sugar and the egg in a bowl and beat together to form a smooth paste.
3) Using your hands, scoop up the mixture and into small balls, about a heaped teaspoon’s worth.
4) Place onto an oven tray lined with baking paper. Press down gently with a fork.
5) Bake in the oven for approximately 10 minutes.
6) When they’re done, take them out of the oven and let them cool for a couple of minutes. Then transfer the onto a rack to cool completely.
Berry smoothie
Fruit smoothies are great because you can use any type of fruit you like for a quick, refreshing drink.
Ingredients
• 240ml cow’s milk or plant milk
• 120g mix of blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries (fresh or frozen)
• 2 tbsp porridge oats
• 1 tsp maple syrup or honey
Method
1) Add all the ingredients to a blender
2) Whizz until smooth
3) Pour into a large glass and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Marshmallow Chocolate Dip
A chocolatey, gooey sweet treat that would be perfect after a delicious summer BBQ.
Ingredients
• 200g chocolate
• 400g marshmallows
• 2 tablespoons of milk
Method
1) Heat the chocolate, half of the marshmallows and the milk in an ovenproof frying pan until it all melts together and has a smooth texture. Best done on a low heat.
2) Once smooth, remove from the heat, and then top with the other half of marshmallows until the whole pan is covered.
3) Place the pan in the oven and grill on high for 1-2 minutes, until the marshmallows are nice and toasted.
4) Serve with fruit on skewers, such as pineapple, banana and strawberry, for dunking.
Banana Ice Cream
Banana ice cream is so easy to make and tastes amazing. A delicious dessert made from only bananas, it will surely cool you down on those hot summer days!
Ingredients
• 2-3 bananas, depending on how much you want to make
• Choose ripe, yellow bananas. They should be sweet and soft
• Any add-ons, like chocolate chips or peanut butter
Method
1) Peel the bananas and slice into rounds. Lay them flat on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze for at least two hours. The longer you can freeze them the better.
2) Transfer the frozen banana pieces into a small food processor or high-speed blender. Blend the bananas until the mixture looks nice and smooth, like creamy, soft-serve ice cream.
3) If you want to, add in chocolate chips or peanut butter.
4) Transfer the creamy banana mixture into an airtight container and freeze until solid.
5) Serve with your favourite toppings and enjoy!
Italeri: Create a truck - Competition results
And the winners are…well, to be fair, we feel that absolutely everyone was a winner on the day.
The running of our inaugural ‘Create a Truck’ competition has blown all our expectations out of the water. You guys and gals have really got stuck into this. The level of imagination has been quite liter- ally off the scale, well done to everyone.
We have seen it all, from Kiwi fruit slices as wheels right through to working LED headlights. Even disconnecting trailers complete with landing legs, the list goes on. So as you can imagine, the judging of all the entries was going to be a difficult task. However, we had an ace up our sleeve, with good mate Craig Christensen stepping up to the plate for us as our guest judge, thank you Craig. Some of you will recognise Craig from the August 2022 issue of New Zealand Trucking magazine where we featured Craig on our Mini Big Rigs pages. Our story on Craig’s model truck building abilities, creating model trucks out of household items and waste, was the very inspiration for this competition.
We also say a big thank you to the team at Italeri truck kit sets for coming on board as our sponsor and providing the major prizes for us. Italeri truck kit sets are an absolute pleasure to build with accurately fitting parts as well as immense levels of detail, so we are sure that our class winners are truly going to enjoy every minute building their well-earned prizes.
Without further ado we bring you the contestants and winners of the inaugural 2022 ‘Create a Truck’ competition.
All we can say is bring on next year – we cannot wait to see what you all dream up and build next time around!
Let's truck some dirt in the Pilbara
Our on-the-ground reporter in Australia Mike Williams shows us what trucker life is like in the hot, unforgiving climate of Western Australia
Name: Mike Williams
From: Sydney, New South Wales
A bit about me: I’m a full-time truck driver, part-time podcaster and writer and a frustrated chef! My favourite drink is coffee and my favourite food is lemon tart.
Favourite truck: Got to be the Kenworth T909
If you want to drive the biggest trucks on public roads in the world, you head to Western Australia.
I was lucky enough to get to drive the biggest of them. I had to show I could do it first though – you need lots of experience and training before you get the keys to a truck that’s worth over AU$1.5 million dollars!
Anyone with the ambition to work in the trucking sector in Western Australia can work their way through the ranks and get to sit in the driver’s seat.
There are a lot more jobs than just drivers though. Without the heavy vehicle mechanics, auto-electricians and all the other support staff, we wouldn’t be able to move even a tonne of dirt! Where do you want to work in the transport team?
Q & A with a Truckie
Blake puts the questions to truck driver Laryn Heath.
Q: What age did you start driving trucks?
A: 25.
Q: How long have you been driving for?
A: 11 years.
Q: What truck do you currently drive?
A: A Kenworth K200.
Q: What do you currently cart?
A: General freight, so pretty much anything and everything except gravel and livestock.
Q: What is the best thing you have carted?
A: I like doing oversized tractors and floats in our local Easter parade.
Q: And what’s the worst load you’ve ever carted?
A: A load of express market onions! They moved and went all through the trailer – I had to restack the bags back onto the pallets by hand.
Q: Do you have any advice for people who want to be truck drivers?
A: Try and stay fit and healthy, and always make sure you get enough sleep!
Q: What type of trailers have you pulled?
A: Tautliners, flat tops and extenables.
Q: What’s the best thing about being a truck driver?
A: Every day is different and you’re always meeting new people.
Q: What kind of training did you have to do to get your licence?
A: I had to do a knowledge computer test and a two-day driving test in a manual truck.
Q: What’s the hardest thing about being a truck driver?
A: Being away from my family.
Q: What’s something most people don’t know about trucks?
A: Almost every item you buy from a shop has been on at least three trucks!
Q: And what’s your favourite truck?
A: The T950 Kenworth!
Mack Trucks celebrates 50 years
Manfield Park in Feilding hosted the Mack Trucks 50 Year Anniversary Truck Show on Saturday 22 October as part of events held over Labour Weekend celebrating 50 years since Mack Trucks arrived in New Zealand. We headed along to take a look and join in the celebrations.
Proud owners of Mack Trucks new and old travelled from all over the country to take part in the show. Some of these Macks are working trucks, while others are kept in storage and are only brought out for special occasions like this one!
The show was a huge success with Manfeild reporting that they had the most people through the gates in 20 years!
I went to the show with my parents who were over on holiday from Australia and my children. We packed a picnic, it was gorgeous weather and there was plenty to see and do including some race cars going around the track. It wasn’t only cars that raced around the track though – yes, you guessed – some trucks did too, and boy are they fast! It was an awesome family day out. The day started off with a convoy at 7.30am where all the trucks met up to then travel to the park together.
The day ended with most of the trucks doing a lap around the track tooting their horns before they exited the park after an amazing show day! There was a voting booth and the public got to vote for which Mack Truck they liked the most, and Truck of the Show went to Glen Allingham from JAKS Trucks Auckland.
Top drive in New Zealand
There are some pretty epic drives all around New Zealand and Australia. We talk to Robbie Lilburn, managing director at Lilburn Transport, about his favourite drive in New Zealand.
What is your favourite drive?
The Napier-Taihape Road.
Where does it start and where does it finish?
The road starts at the top of Taihape Deviation and comes out at Omahu, Hastings.
What are some highlights of the journey?
The challenges from start to finish, the narrow bits, the steep climbs, sharp corners and the scenery.
How long does it take?
The drive takes around four hours, depending on road conditions.
