Mean machines gear up for tough battle

COVETED: Brebner Print driver Caius Howes (foreground) checks out the victory cup while Kim Ansford (left) and Ricky Howes from Brebner's, Simon Tremain, Gemco's Ashley Zachan and Colliers' Cam Ward look on. PHOTO/DUNCAN BROWN

If confidence, optimism and bravado were the ingredients for picking up a car racing title, then there are likely to be three winners when the Tremains Art Deco Weekend soap box trolley derby wraps up.

Because there was plenty of those qualities being bandied about yesterday.

But then there can't be three winners - although there was little point in trying to make that point when two of the three sponsor teams revealed their racing hardware after months of construction secrecy.

While there were some interested glances at the Gemco Construction and Trade's effort and the remarkably high-tech Brebner Print machine, there was no sign of the Tremains entry.

"Their wheels have fallen off again," said Gemco commercial manager Ashley Zachan.

Last year, the sponsors were set to square off in a one-off race but the Tremains car failed to front up on the grid.

"It's because someone made off with our front wheels," Tremains Collier International's Cam Ward said.

The consensus about that was, effectively, "a likely story".

"We don't want to reveal our secrets for this year's car - it's all under wraps," Simon Tremain said.

Last year's derby, which drew thousands of Art Deco visitors to upper Tennyson St, was a runaway win for the Gemco team, although the failure of the Tremain team to turn up and Brebner's not having got a car ready made it something of a hollow victory - but Gemco boss Ashley Zachan said he would take it anyway.

Yesterday, he was even talking about making it a hat-trick of wins for their car by taking out next month's race as well as the 2016 event.

"We'll do the re-peat and the three-peat."

So, plenty of confidence in the Gemco camp, although it had to be said the Gemco and Tremains crews were taking a close look at the well-engineered Brebner Print car, which is in its chassis stage.

Brebner manager Ricky Howes said: "We have some special wheels, which we can't reveal at this stage. They came from a robotic manufacturing facility in Germany.

"They're free-rolling with big hubs and large diameter ceramic bearings."

He said the potential for speed was so great they were fitting powerful disc brakes.

It will be named "Speedmaster" after the Heidelberg printing presses the company uses.

"It is coming along very well and we are pretty happy with it," Mr Howes said.

One thing which emerged yesterday was that all three teams were equally adamant their rivals did not have the goods to get the better of their own machine.

"Ooh, there has been some stirring talk along the way, and things are getting nice and tense," Art Deco Trust events manager Peter Mooney said.

He said the three teams would be joined by a special entry from Pitstop - and there would be just one race to determine the winner, with a specially made silver cup up for grabs.