In the world of motorsport, trailers can play a vital role in not just transporting race cars, but also making sure they continue to compete. For 19-year-old driver Tom Goess of Team BRM, being sponsored by local freight company, Wightmans Transport, is the kind of support that may just prove decisive come season’s end and beyond.
Tom competes in the Australian National Formula Ford Championship and has been doing so for quite some time. Having successfully worked his way up from go-karts to competing for a number of years at South Australian and Victorian state events, Tom eventually took his talents into an open wheeler in 2009. A year later, he stepped up to national level and now rounds into his third year of Formula Ford.
According to Tom, running a new Mygale SJ12a race car for the first time will give him that competitive edge and hopefully a long and prosperous career in motorsport. But putting the car together and making it go requires the kind of financial support that forms the foundation of all race teams. “There’s so many factors that go into racing teams, and people like Peter Starke and Wightmans Transport make up a huge part of what I’m trying to accomplish,” says Tom. “Any amount of sponsorship is a huge help and Wightmans contribution towards my efforts in the last few years is simply something I cannot say thank you enough for.”
Since 2009, South Australian transport company, Wightman Transport, has been one of Tom’s major sponsors in his quest for national success. The company, which operates on a on a 24/7 schedule, freights perishable goods for retail outlets from Adelaide to a variety of locations across South Australia and parts of Victoria and NSW. Most of those companies fall under the Coles banner – including its vast supermarket chains to Liquor Land and Arnotts.
According to Peter Starke, Director at Wightman Transport, Wightmans has about 106 trailers in its fleet, most of which are manufactured by dry freight and temperature controlled vans supplier, MaxiCUBE. This includes 60 vans, 28 (14-pallet) rigids as well as 27 prime movers that pull B-double combinations and road trains alike. The bulk of its operation includes utilising fleet of 50 refrigerated trailers. “MaxiCUBE does most of manufacturing for our fleet and we purchase through CMV Truck & Bus. We tend to choose the MaxiCUBE Classic C-series as it is most suitable for our road train and B-double business,” explains Peter.
The MaxiCUBE trailers usually come equipped with Carrier’s 6600 fridge plants and 1850 units on the rear trailers. Both Carrier units originated from Peter’s initial partnership with Tom’s father Dean Goess, who is the South Australian agent for the Carrier brand. “We started sponsoring Tom since 2007 when I met his father Dean. Back then Tom was racing go-karts and we eventually continued sponsoring him when he transitioned to Formula Ford,” says Peter. “The relationship is great, we sponsor Tom and in turn, Dean helps us get priority servicing on our fridges when we need it.”
While Wightmans’ freight service is supporting Tom to reach the final first place podium at the end of the Formula Ford Championship, it has also contributed to adjustments within the Wightmans business. “Our relationship with Dean and Tom has grown considerably from a business standpoint, it has improved our brand also since now we plan to change our current setup of our fleet using three different synthetic oils to just Team BRM’s brand, which is Total Oil,” says Peter. “We wanted to streamline this because we felt it was more cost effective for all our engines on the trucks and fridges on the trailers.”
Tom’s Team BRM, also based in Adelaide, and formerly known as Bronte Rundle Motorsport, is the leading open-wheel motor racing team in Australia. The team has competed in Australian Formula 3 for over a decade winning several titles, including the Australian Drivers' Championship. The team has expanded into the Australian Formula Ford Championship in recent years, for which Tom as one of its competing drivers in it.
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