V8 Supercars in China: The Logistics of Australian sport's largest airlift
Release Date: 31/05/2005
The V8 Supercar Championship Series will record several significant firsts later this week and again next week when its makes an historic trip to Shanghai, China, for round five of the Series.
It is the first time the V8 Supercar Championship Series has moved its entire operation for an overseas event, the first time V8 Supercars have been airlifted and it will also be the largest single airlift in Australian sporting history.
It has taken more than two years of planning just to piece together the logistics of the exercise in which 32 V8 Supercars, associated equipment and 420 people will be airlifted across the equator to Shanghai to stage a race in China.
It is anticipated that this will set a precedent for further international V8 Supercar Championship Series events.
An overview of some of the logistics is as follows:
Freight Logistics:
• Every V8 Supercar will be transported from Melbourne’s Avalon Airport to Shanghai in two 747 400 Series Freighter Aircrafts
• Total weight of freight of each aircraft including accompanied television equipment and purpose built containers is in excess of 100 ton
• The first 747 400 Series Freighter Aircraft will leave Avalon Airport, Melbourne on Friday 4th June arriving in Pudong Airport, Shanghai early Sunday morning
• Each aircraft will have 16 cars in 8 double stack car racks
• A purpose built aircraft container has been developed to house support equipment for each car. This will not house spare engines (one per car), gear boxes (two per car) and wheels as these items will be packed into communal cargo in the aircrafts. Each aircraft will carry 12 communal pallets
• Each car competing in the round will be allocated one support equipment container. Race car support equipment containers are weight limited to 2500 kgs per container
• Each car will be supplied with a 200 litre drum for fuel in China. Teams will need their own drum pumps, fuel churns etc for adding and removing fuel from their cars
• All hazardous are being sourced in China. Items which cannot be air freighted include acetone, aerosols, fiberglass repair kits, acid batteries, brake cleaner, liquid polish, fire extinguishers other than ‘on board extinguishers,’ paint, petrol or gasoline
• Each car will be limited to 16 wheels in addition to the four wheels that are mounted to the car at the event. This is a total of 512 wheels
• 390 Dunlop wet weather tyres and associated tyre fitting machinery are already in Shanghai. A further 650 Dunlop dry tyres are being sent direct from the Dunlop factory in Nagoya, Japan, leaving on May 20
• The front bumper bar/splitter can be transported in the area on top of the front bonnet on the bottom car only in the car rack
• Teams will be permitted to transport a maximum of two front bumper bars/splitters in addition to the one fitted on the car plus one rear bumper bar per competing car
• Team personnel will need to unload their race cars, engine boxes, loose wheels and loose pit booms at Avalon Airport on Thursday 2nd June. Teams will load race cars to the decks and strap them down with aircraft certified straps supplied by Gibson Freight who will then handle the assembly of the double stack racks securing the upper and lower decks to the base aircraft pallet. Only aircraft certified straps can be used on the double stack race car racks.
Financial Logistics:
• Each V8 Supercar is worth more than $A400,000 and $A100,000 per engine
• Each 747-400 Series Freighter Aircraft will be carrying more than $A6.4 million in
V8 Supercars and $A3.2 million worth of engine equipment
• Total combined cost of the freight carried over by the two aircrafts will be in excess of $A19.2 million, excluding additional equipment carried in each team’s allocated container
• With around $6 million in addition equipment, total value of freight is more than $25 million
• Cost of purpose built AVESCO aircraft equipment is in excess of $A500,000. Total cost of the entire freight operation of cars and equipment is in excess of $1 million.
• There will be 420 people flown to Shanghai. This includes more than 300 team personnel, 60 Network Ten personnel, 40 officials and 20 Australian media
• All are staying at the Galaxy Hotel in Shanghai at a cost of approximately $85,000. Around 2000 bed nights are required for V8 Supercar related personnel
• Total cost of airline tickets $2.1 million
• Teams and officials will spend some $300,000 in meals in the week leading up to and including the event weekend
• Every team will be assigned a bus each for use in Shanghai.
• More than 5000 spectators are expected to make the trip to China from Australia on various tours and as individuals.
Total estimated cost of travel to Shanghai excluding value of equipment (freight, flights accommodation and meals): $3.9 million.
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