Iveco S-Way on Supercars Odyssey Coast-to-Coast, Melbourne to Perth to Darwin and Back: We join driver Timmy Jennings, behind the wheel of Australia’s longest Supercars road trip with Erebus Motorsport and IVECO.
📍 TOTAL DISTANCE: ~11,200 km round trip
🚚 TRANSPORT: IVECO S-Way 550 AS with B-double trailer set
⚙️ GCM: ~53 tonnes loaded
🛣️ Key Stops: Nhill, Kimba, Mundrabilla, Southern Cross, Perth, Darwin, Melbourne
Erebus Motorsport transporter driver, Timmy Jennings.
Before the thunder of V8 racecars shakes the tarmac and the scent of burning rubber fills the air, a quieter kind of horsepower rolls out under a fiery sky. It’s not the roar of a starting grid, but the steady hum of a big-bore diesel slicing through the heart of the outback. This is the untold story behind the glamour of Supercars, a cross-continental odyssey stretching over 11,000 kilometres, through wild landscapes and long-forgotten towns, where one man and one machine carry the hopes of an entire race team. Strap in as we ride shotgun with Erebus Motorsport transporter driver Timmy Jennings in his IVECO S-Way, chasing the chequered flag from Melbourne to Perth, Darwin, and back again, one fuel stop, one roadhouse meal, and one red-dust sunrise at a time.
As Melbourne’s Friday afternoon peak hour descended into its usual chaotic hum of brake lights and honking horns, Erebus Motorsport transporter driver Timmy Jennings rolled west out of Dandenong behind the wheel of a gleaming IVECO S-Way 550 AS. His mission? A cross-continental odyssey spanning more than 11,000 kilometres, from Melbourne to Perth, up to Darwin, and eventually back home, in support of the Erebus Supercars team as they chased championship points across Australia’s most remote racing rounds.
While drivers Jack Le Brocq and Cooper Murray would soon be battling for pole positions in their V8 Camaros, Jennings was already engaged in his own marathon, one that traded racetracks for roadhouses, hairpin corners for horizon lines, and pit stops for petrol bowsers.
Timmy’s route sees him split his evenings between motels and the S-Way’s sleeper cabin, which he says is comfortable and generously proportioned.
Rolling West: Melbourne to the Eyre Peninsula
With the team’s race-ready B-double trailer loaded, A-trailer packed with tools, tyres, spares, and catering gear, while the B-trailer housed the prized Camaros and critical drivetrain components, Jennings nosed the 53-tonne combination onto the Western Highway bound for Nhill, some 375 kilometres northwest.
“I always connect my music to the S-Way’s infotainment system,” Jennings explained. “It makes the hours fly. The cab is whisper quiet, much better than other Euro prime movers I’ve driven. Everything is right where it should be. It just feels right.”
A quick roadhouse dinner at Ararat broke the journey, but upon arrival in Nhill came the realisation he’d left his sleeping bag back in Melbourne. Even with the S-Way’s high-roof sleeper cab and flat floor comfort, a chilly Victorian night without proper bedding made for a brisk sleep.
The scenery begins to get interesting in South Australia with a highlight being a clifftop stop along the Great Australian Bight.
Crossing South Australia: Iron Roads and Red Dust
At 7:15am the next morning, Timmy was back in the saddle, chasing the sun across the plains towards Kimba via Port Augusta. A quick fuel top-up and an all-important stop for a new sleeping bag ensured the night ahead would be more comfortable, even if accommodation that evening came with four solid walls and a motel key.
From Kimba, the journey pressed westward to the Nullarbor’s edge, where the country unfurls into a vast, undulating tapestry of saltbush and spinifex. That night’s destination: Mundrabilla, a roadhouse oasis in one of the most isolated patches of highway on Earth.
But it’s in these lonely stretches where the rewards are richest.
“The Nullarbor might seem barren, but around the Great Australian Bight, it’s like driving along the edge of the world,” Jennings said. “We always factor in time for stops like that, to take in the cliffs, the ocean, and stretch the legs. It’s a reminder of how unique this country is.”
The hard work starts upon arrival in Perth, with the S-Way and trailer set needing a thorough wash down followed by publicity commitments and ultimately garage set up at the track.
Washing Down and Gearing Up: Rolling into Perth
Following a 972-kilometre run from Mundrabilla to Southern Cross, Jennings recharged with a proper motel rest before the final leg into the suburbs of Perth. Pulling into Kewdale around 2pm, the next task was to wash 3,500 kilometres of road grime, bugs, and red dust off the truck, no small feat at a busy truck wash with a next-morning booking slot.
With parking at a premium and most spots built for singles, Jennings split the B-double across two smaller bays, a considerate move to leave B-double spaces for others still on the move.
Of course, the best-laid plans often run into Murphy’s Law. “Just as the truck’s washed, the skies open up,” he laughed. “You’ve just got to wait it out, and hope for a dry spell before hitting the track.”
By the time he reached Carco Raceway, some 50 kilometres north, the S-Way had copped more road spray. Thankfully, with a generator, pressure washer, and 1,000 litres of water onboard, a couple of hours’ elbow grease restored the rig to display-worthy condition just in time for a media event.
The scenery begins to get interesting in South Australia with a highlight being a clifftop stop along the Great Australian Bight.
The Race Before the Race
Thursday marked official ‘park-up’ day, where the B-doubles are called into pit lane one by one in garage order. From there, it’s all hands-on deck. Unloading the Camaros, setting up the pit garage, checking equipment, and ensuring everything is race-ready. Practice laps start that afternoon, with barely enough time to catch breath.
“It’s a full-day job,” Timmy said. “And that’s after seven days of driving. But the S-Way makes a huge difference. The engine’s got grunt, I held speed better than another transporter with the same horsepower coming through Tassie’s hills. And the 16-speed AMT just nails the shifts. It’s smart enough to skip gears when it can and smooth enough to feel like butter when it can’t.”
The Adaptive Cruise Control was another highlight.
“It’s seamless, reacts just right. No jerking, no weird decisions. Makes the long flat stretches a breeze.”
Next Stop: Darwin
With Perth in the rearview, Timmy and the Erebus transporter soon hit the road again for an even longer leg: a 4,000-kilometre haul up through the red heart of Australia to Darwin. It’s a route that underscores the staggering logistics behind modern motorsport, and the unsung heroes who keep it moving, kilometre after kilometre, roadhouse after roadhouse.
Because while the spotlight falls on lap times and podium finishes, it’s drivers like Jennings, with a thermos of coffee, a perfectly tuned IVECO S-Way, and a national map etched into memory, who make the whole show roll from one end of Australia to the other.
And when the flag finally drops in Darwin, it’s only the halfway point.
