Team 18 forges on amid Melbourne power outage
Supercars
14 Feb
Destructive storm wreaked havoc on Melbourne on Tuesday
Approximately 473,000 homes and businesses left powerless
Team 18 carries on work ahead of 2024 season
Team 18 has forged on in its preparations for the 2024 Repco Supercars Championship after a destructive storm wreaked havoc on Melbourne.
Teams are readying for next weekend’s Thrifty Bathurst 500, with transporters to be loaded up and sent to Mount Panorama next week.
Victorian teams have had a speed bump in their preparations, with a ferocious storm unleashing over 544,000 lightning strikes within a 600km radius of Melbourne.
The storms also featured wind gusts up to 130km/h, causing extensive damage and triggering significant power outages across the state.
Erebus Motorsport, Tickford Racing, Walkinshaw Andretti United, Penrite Racing and Blanchard Racing Team are also based in the Victorian state capital.
Approximately 473,000 homes and businesses were left powerless on Tuesday night, with Mount Waverley-based Team 18 affected.
Parent company Waverley Forklifts, located adjacent to Team 18’s headquarters, had power restored, helping the team carry on with its work.
"Our foremost concern lies with those who bore the brunt of yesterday's storm, enduring significant damage to their homes and livelihoods, as well as the emergency services who have assisted in the recovery,” Team Principal Adrian Burgess said.
“It was very intense for about 20 minutes there with branches flying around everywhere and trees being pulled out of the ground.
"Our second factory was flooded in no time at all so our guys rushed down to protect our pit stop practice equipment. Luckily no one was injured and overall, we weren’t majorly impacted, and we could press on with our preparation.
“The crew on the ground are without power today, but we have fired up the generator from our truck to ensure necessary tasks can be completed uninterrupted.
"Our partners at Tree Clean Up Services have been working tirelessly to alleviate the storm's aftermath across Melbourne.
"We remain heads down as we keep our focus sharp as we gear up for the first round of the year next week.”
Mark Winterbottom and David Reynolds tested their Gen3 Camaros last week, with Team 18 boasting the most experienced line-up on the grid with a combined 1053 race starts.
Winterbottom and Reynolds will commence their 2024 campaigns at next weekend's Thrifty Bathurst 500. Tickets for the event are on sale now.
