TEAM 18 has encountered a Repco Supercars Championship pre-season curveball in the form of a damaging storm yesterday.
As of this morning, the squad’s Mount Waverley workshop remained without power, but that’s done little to dampen preparations.
“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,” said team principal Adrian Burgess.
“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.”
The season-opening Thrifty Bathurst 500 (February 23-25) will mark recruit David Reynolds’ first race(s) in a Chevrolet Camaro Supercar, while teammate Mark Winterbottom is back for a sixth year with Team 18.
