Hessel added , “ You can drive one shift , 4.5 hours , then you need to rest for 45 minutes , but when you drive together , when I have done my shift he can ride . But when we are both in one truck , we can do one shift , then wait 45 minutes , then in one day it is already like you have two hours extra .” Sidney gives some more numbers . “ When you are one driver you can do a maximum of 800 Ks per day . When you are two drivers on one truck you can do more than that .” Despite the three weekends in succession , they normally have enough space for all their stuff but with the Argentinian round taking place very soon after Portimao , all the stuff is ready in the workshops to go directly into the trucks for the drive through the EuroTripla . Even what extra may have been needed to then go directly from Portimao to catch the aeroplane to get to Argentina ! So they will be loaded to the max for this big trip , no matter what . The best thing about the job , and the worst . For the ten Kate boys ? “ It is kind of relaxing once you are in the truck ,” said Sidney . “ You are not in a hurry - you cannot go faster . You know the time it takes and you are in your own space .” For his part Hessel said , “ For me the same , and when you come back from a race weekend , because we are both also mechanics , we can relax . Normally we are busy because after a race we pack everything in , then you head home . I love to do the first hour without music , normally , to get the ‘ noise ’ out of my head and get a bit of peace . For me the worst part is when the traffic is too much and at the end of the day when you are looking for a place to stop the truck . Sometimes it can be so hard to find a free spot in the parking place , and normally we start on a Monday at eight in the morning , finish at six or seven - but most other drivers are finished their day at four or five because they start earlier . Sidney also introduced another key element of the job - where to park something that big . “ With these trailers , it is not easy to park just anywhere . I
prefer the secure ones but it is not always an option .” The most misunderstood aspect of the job ? The sheer amount of paperwork , regulations , vaccine proofs , health apps … ever more regulation every year . The driving , on clear roads and good weather at least , seems like the ‘ easy ’ bit - no wonder they like it when they climb into their own cabs and just have a long road and some solitude ahead of them . Over in the WorldSBK class , the factory BMW team is made up of the German ‘ mothership ’ manufacturer itself but its logistical and on-site race operations are run by SMR Racing , based in the North East of England . They have two regular drivers for their ‘ waggons ’, as the British sometimes like to call them - David Todd and Tom Cosgrove . “ We are not just drivers , we are tyre men too , Tom for Michael van der Mark and me for Tom Sykes ,” said David . Two jobs in one , its the norm for the truck drivers in WorldSBK . Covid regulations have made everyone ’ s jobs much more complicated nowadays , but as it stands the SMR team have obviated some of the potential problems and delays caused by Brexit by keeping the trucks in Europe more than before . David said , “ The trucks , the majority of the time are in Europe . We leave the trucks at tracks , where possible , but because of the back-to-backs , we will be leaving them at Barcelona , a truck park there . So after a race we take them to Barcelona , leave them in Barcelona , fly home to the UK , then fly back to Barcelona to head to the next track .” Sounds complicated but it is much less hassle than all the carnets etc that are required to take all the racing kit back and forth into the UK . And , when you think about it , all that is really going back home to the UK are the truck drivers , for whom travel rules etc have always been a bit less restrictive . “ After the Barcelona race it is 1100kms to Jerez , and we have done it both
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