ROADBOSS heads on an epic journey to the dried-out salt flats of Lake Gairdner in South Australia to capture Rob Waters’ attempted Australian truck speed record with his W-Series Kenworth known as ‘The Prospector’
Salt. It’s one of the most important minerals on earth, but would you risk your life to find it?
Certain people will if it’s the kind available in the remote corner of South Australia, where the ancient Lake Gairdner meets the foothills of the Gawler Ranges.
Here, nature has done its work, thousands of years of baking sun, sucking almost all life and moisture from its surface and replacing its contents with a road of hard, crystallised salt.
This is the salt people will risk it all for.
At 160 kilometres long and nearly 50 kilometres wide, the dried-out salt flats of Lake Gairdner create the perfect opportunity to go fast, luring in the adrenaline-crazed racing teams of the world. They call it ‘The Great White Dyno’.
We wanted to build something long and low and something a little bit cool, and that’s where she ended up – we’re pretty chuffed with it.
And despite its barrenness, this Martian landscape has now come alive.
Welcome to Speed Week. The smell of race fuel fills your nostrils, engines rev and roar, and the sun scorches as it bounces off the salt like a mirror.
Everywhere you turn, another eccentric character to capture, another out-of-this-world vehicle to frame up, all disconnected from the outside world.
Have I stumbled upon some sort of commune? Burning Man festival but for the octane addicted?
“This is the best salt in the world,” a shirtless American man tells me in passing. He’s working for the Target 550 race team, the US-based team that made the epic pilgrimage to this salty surface for a land speed record.
He means that the salt flats here are better than the iconic Bonneville Speed Way in Utah or Salar de Uyuni, the salt flats of Bolivia.
At 160km long, the dried-out salt flats of Lake Gairdner create the perfect opportunity to go fast, luring in the adrenaline-crazed racing teams of the world. Images: Thomas Wielecki
The American man is one of many ‘Dry Lake Racers’ who’ve made this Bourke and Will’s-like journey to Lake Gairdner for Speed Week, and for the next seven days will endeavour to test their nerve and their mechanical prowess in search of going as fast as possible on this near endless white runway.
But I’ve come searching for one vehicle in particular; not the vintage Triumph motorbikes and the belly tank racers built from old WWII aircraft, not the Holden Commodore looking to crack 300mph or the bizarre taxicab that’s trying to beat said Commodore.
I’m looking for the fastest truck in the country, a W-Series Kenworth known as ‘The Prospector’.
Meet ‘The Prospector’
It’s not hard to find a bright yellow Kenworth W-Series parked on the pure white salt. That and the fact there seemed to be a flock of people marching towards it, cameras and phones at the ready and a bloke standing proudly next to it.
Owner Rob Waters is self-admittedly the kind of truck savant who could tell you what model and make was coming up the road while blindfolded. So, turning mad scientist with a W-series doesn’t surprise me in the slightest.
He’s in the furthest most corner of the ‘Pits’ in the middle of the salt lake because the nearby Portaloo is the least destroyed. And after weeks of chatting, it’s good to finally put a face to the voice – the Aussie larrikin shines through as he shakes my hand and offers to show me his prized piece.
Records are great, we hold one and I’d love to go faster, but at the end of the day what I love most is the truck and I love that model and being part of the build.
“Meet ‘The Prospector’,” he announces. The menacing beast looks back at me, chrome gleaming.
You’d be correct in thinking it’s not your standard, W-Series. It’s had a nip and tuck. For a start, its top speed is 142mph and holds the Australian Modified Diesel Speed Record.
Its engine, a C13 Caterpillar, was plucked from an old dump truck and tuned to make nearly 1,500 horsepower. A new turbocharger has been installed for this week and has never been trialled, and a chrome beer keg sits at the rear … as the fuel tank. It’s also nine meters long, thanks to its custom-raked chassis and its extended fibreglass W-series bonnet.
From start to finish, the magnificent piece of engineering was completed in just five months. More impressively, every part you see in or on ‘The Prospector’ can be bought from your local truck dealership or parts supplier, and no more than 10 grand was spent on the build.
“It’s all readily available stuff and all prominent names in everything we use,” Rob explains.
“So, the engine is a Caterpillar, the transmission is a manualised automatic by Allison. And then we run Dana final drive with diff-lock and a special ratio in it that Dana built up for us. Its rear suspension is from Kenworth, and it has a Meritor front axle.
Rob Waters W-series Kenworth is powered by a C13 Caterpillar engine tuned to almost 1,500hp and capable of a top speed of 142mph. Images: Thomas Wielecki
“We wanted to build something long and low and something a little bit cool, and that’s where she ended up – we’re pretty chuffed with it.”
A former Super Truck racer for many years, the idea for ‘The Prospector’ spawned from pure accident, a chance encounter with a Dry Lake Racing Australia sign on the Highway at Iron Knob led Rob to investigate.
“I always wondered what the hell they do out here,” he says. “I started investigating and saw that they race stuff out here, and a crazy thought occurred – it’d be pretty cool to bring our race truck out.”
After success with his Super Truck, Rob decided to leave the racing behind and dedicate his time to building ‘The Prospector’, a purpose-built truck for Dry Lake Racing.
Now a truck is welcomed to the commune.
Day and night
With a family history in earthmoving and machinery, working with trucks was what made the most sense for Rob. “It just clicked for me to do something that carted things around the country to help people. I’ve always been a tow truck operator,” he adds.
I always wondered what the hell they do out here … and a crazy thought occurred – it’d be pretty cool to bring our race truck out.
When an opportunity came along for Rob to purchase a company that went into administration, he grabbed it with both hands, starting his tenure as the owner of Daynite Towing Services.
“I think the rest of the industry laughed at me. So, you know, here we are 25 years later, and the runs are on the board,” he says.
A multi-faceted transport business with nearly a dozen trucks, Daynite specialises in heavy vehicle recovery with a diverse fleet of trucks, from tilt trays to super tilts, and heavy wreckers. As well as interstate container freight.
His connection with motorsports began when he took on Daynite and began doing the towing services for the Super Truck Races when in Western Australia.
The connection then grew to sponsoring one of the truck racing teams until he decided to give it a go himself and approached someone about being a co-driver.
“I ended up buying the truck that I was driving,” he laughs. “The W-model cab from that truck is right there, all those years ago,” he says pointing at ‘The Prospector’, now ready to run.
Incredibly, ‘The Prospector’ was built from the ground up in just five months and for less than 10 grand – using standard parts anyone can buy from a local parts supplier. Images: Thomas Wielecki
Come 3:30 in the arvo, Rob is ready for his first speed pass.
The whine of a bike in the distance is quickly drowned out by the familiar chug of ‘The Prospector’s Cat C13. It sounds like I remember a C13 would, but knowing it might pop 140 miles per hour results in a chuckle.
Nerves aren’t a factor for Rob, anything that could go wrong is behind him he explains. Instead, he laps up the opportunity to showcase his truck and his sport.
Following behind as we make our way to the starting line, almost everyone in pit lane emerges from their makeshift homes, like a mole peeking out of its hill.
To watch the run, we join the camp of Mark Clifford trackside. A fellow truck racer, Mark and his son Tom run the only other truck racing at Speed Week – a 1951 International with a rebuilt 1271 Detroit diesel two-stroke under the bonnet.
Patiently waiting for the blur of the yellow truck at the three-mile mark, we see ‘The Prospector’ thundering up the salt, black soot bellowing from its side-mounted exhausts, and our first taste of Dry Lake Racing.
Not the speed you were hoping for when your vehicle has enough torque to change the rotation of the earth.
The CB radio erupts, and the speaker on the other end of the line announces his speed. A top of 116mph.
“Not the speed you were hoping for when your vehicle has enough torque to change the rotation of the earth,” the man says through the radio.
Ouch.
A disappointing run for Rob. Some 20mph off the pace. I return to ‘The Prospector’ camp searching for answers.
Rob, his two mates Sean and Patto and son Hayden get to work with the diagnostics which reveal an issue with the truck’s diff-lock. It didn’t engage correctly sending the back left of the truck all the power.
Unphased by the result, Rob and the crew kick off the shoes and socks.
A former Super Truck racer, Rob Waters’ idea for ‘The Prospector’ was spawned by a chance encounter with a Dry Lake Racing Australia sign on the highway. Images: Thomas Wielecki
“I’m telling you, Harry, get your shoes and socks off mate,” Rob tells me. “There’s something magical about having the feet in the salt.”
I happily oblige. I think they call this earthing.
“Are you bothered by the result?” I ask Rob.
“Not at all,” he replies. Over the course of the day, it’s clear Rob isn’t playing for sheep stations – he’s relaxed, pragmatic and here to soak up the experience. There’s a bigger element here for Rob.
“Records are great, we hold one and I’d love to go faster, but at the end of the day what I love most is the truck and I love that model and being part of the build,” he says.
“And when you’re sitting there on what they call The Great White Dyno, with nothing to see for four or five miles and the permission to go as fast as you like, it’s pretty exhilarating, and you quickly forget about any thought of records.”
It’s the sort of thing, once it gets into your blood, it’s very hard to get out. It’s like anything you love.
The philosophy of racing and life
“How good is the World’s Fastest Indian film,” I declare enthusiastically to Dry Lake Racing Australia’s President Greg ‘Wapper’ Wapling. It’s sunset day one and we’re sharing a cold beer together on the salt.
“I love it, but it’s become the biggest pain in the ass that film,” he responds laughing. We’re talking of the iconic film starring Sir Anthony Hopkins as New Zealand land speed racing trailblazer, Burt Munro.
“They see that bloody film and say, ‘I want to go and do that’, and they come out here and realise it’s pretty fucking hard and never come again. It’s become a bucket list for many people which I guess is exciting for the sport.”
A veteran of the Dry Lake Racer community, Wapper’s been coming to Lake Gairdner for nearly three decades.
Like Wapper, it seems many stumble into this world. How does one get into dry lake racing, I enquire? “I had a hot rod – a 1934 Chev in fact, and hot rodding was closely aligned to land speed racing. So, that was the next thing that was for me,” he offers.
After a stint in rally car and wrecking a few cars over the years, he decided to start building hot rods instead to save money.
Everywhere you turn at Speed Week is another eccentric character to capture, another out-of-this-world vehicle to frame up, all disconnected from the outside world. Images: Thomas Wielecki
“I never thought I’d be doing this, but I love every minute of it. Best thing ever,” he admits.
Obviously, a passion for cars and the ability to push your vehicle to the absolute limit is what lures people to motorsport, to Dry Lake Racing, but it’s the camaraderie that glues this sport together.
Wapper believes Dry Lake Racing is one of the last bastions for amateur motorsport.
He points to Rob, Hayden and ‘The Prospector’ as a classic example. Everything he needs is packed up on the back of his trusty Kenworth K104 and a TUFF low loader and hauled for three days across from his hometown near Perth with his son.
Or next door to where we’re enjoying our sundowners, a total amateur crew – eight of them that support themselves every step of the way.
Wapper predicts nearly 170 of 180 teams here on the salt are truly amateurs. “And they’re a unique breed because they think they know how to go fast. And they come up with, uh, innovative ways of displaying that,” Wapper says with a grin.
It’s become a bucket list for many people which I guess is exciting for the sport.
“It’s the sort of thing, once it gets into your blood, it’s very hard to get out. It’s like anything you love.”
After setbacks with Covid and a string of wet summers, Speed Week has suffered. But with ‘perfect weather’ and years of anticipation, this year’s turnout has signalled a positive return.
We cheers our beers to that, and hope for more tomorrow.
Another truck in the field
I don’t think Mark and Tom Clifford would be offended if I described their International as dystopian. The matte black paint job is menacing, and the silver rivets its only bling.
It’s even mockingly named ‘Climate Change’. Fittingly, I’m sure I could convince someone it’d been in the latest Mad Max.
Unaware of a second truck in attendance, the arrival of the Cliffords has made for good entertainment – another truck has entered the field.
Mark and Tom Clifford’s ‘51 International sits on a Mercedes-Benz chassis and runs a 1271 Detroit diesel two-stroke which is deafening when started up. Images: Thomas Wielecki
Like Rob Waters and ‘The Prospector’, the Cliffords have arrived in style – a similarly matte black painted Kenworth called the ‘RAT’ has been their transport unit – and have made the trek from Airlie Beach.
After 16 years of Dry Lake Racing, the route is pretty clear for the Cliffords. It takes them four days to reach the salt from Airlie.
Black race suit, mirrored sunglasses and cigarette hanging from his lip, Tom – who’s in the driver seat this week – looks like a country music star as he waits to be let onto the salt.
“First run of the day, you know. Always get a bit nervous,” he admits. A starter motor issue the day before has had the Cliffords and their team up the previous night tinkering on the truck.
By sheer luck, Mark had a friend coming through Port Augusta who picked up a new starter motor and delivered it all the way to the lake.
“Quicker than an aeroplane,” Tom laughs.
They’re a unique breed because they think they know how to go fast. And they come up with, uh, innovative ways of displaying that.
Pushing for 150mph, Tom is looking to break the record in a new class – a speed that would make it the fastest truck in the country.
Spec-wise, this ‘51 International now sits on a Mercedes-Benz chassis and runs a 1271 Detroit diesel two-stroke which is deafening when started up.
“About 1,000 horsepower as well, plus we put 92 blowers on it,” a grinning Tom says.
Between ‘Climate Change’, the V8 bike his dad is riding and the ‘RAT’, it has been four years of work for the Cliffords and their fabricator, Lucky Kezier.
As Tom makes his way to the start line, I turn to Lucky Kezier, the man who built most of the black International.
“I’m not nervous, I’m retired,” he responds when asked. An old dry laker racer as well, he tells me he has two records at Lake Gairdner. His top speed here, a staggering 240mph, plus he’s also raced his Rolls Royce Merlin motorbike here.
Pushing for 150mph, Tom Clifford is looking to break the record in a new class – a speed that would make it the fastest truck in the country. Images: Thomas Wielecki
“Why do they call you lucky?” I ask. His response “I’m lucky I’m still here I guess,” he says with a smirk. Using the tray of our ute as a viewing platform, baking in the midday sun, we watch as the black dot of the International screams past us. A speed in the low 140’s, not the record but a fantastic run.
It’d be the last run for ‘Climate Change’; a leak would see it limp back to its camp before its next attempt later in the day.
The end of the earth
After loose bolts on the track cancelled the day’s proceedings the day before, Rob and ‘The Prospector’ were the first at the start line the next morning.
The 8:00am air is a nice change from the searing heat, and the hundreds of vehicles in single file making their way to the salt for the day’s proceedings have caused a traffic jam.
How is it that I’m nervous for them? Is it because I’ve gotten to know them over the three days or that I’m just chicken shit?
The prospect of holding on for dear life on the hunt for 140 miles an hour just doesn’t quite compute in my brain.
It’s the sort of thing, once it gets into your blood, it’s very hard to get out. It’s like anything you love.
A trail of dust on an ancient seabed of salt, all for the enjoyment of a few hundred people who get to witness it?
The closest I got to an answer was the night before when Rob and Hayden took me and the crew down to the very end of the track at dusk.
Nine miles away, among the salt, you feel like you’re the only person in the world. I don’t think I’ve ever had a better beer than I had that night.
There’s a six-minute window where the sunset is so amazing you’ll snap your neck. It’s a truly surreal spot.
“I try to explain it to people sometimes and I just give up, because I can’t really explain it unless you’ve been here and experienced it,” Rob tells me in the fading light.
“There isn’t a word for it – I don’t believe in ‘bucket list’ crap but I do believe this is a life experience, that’s what I’d say,” he says. “And it doesn’t matter if you’re a spectator or a competitor, it’s a life experience. This is Australia in its best format, right?”
A passion for cars and the ability to push your vehicle to the limit is what lures people to land speed racing, but it’s the camaraderie that glues this sport together. Images: Thomas Wielecki
Is it as simple as that? I’m still not sure, so I decide to take my viewing position amongst the stunning red sand hills that surround the salt flat.
I see the cloud of black smoke erupt before I see the yellow of the truck whiz past – from the eye, you can tell it’s already a better run than the day before and ‘The Prospector’ charges faster towards the three-mile mark.
The buzz over the radio announces a speed of 140mph. Not a record, but an impressive run.
The reason this yellow W-Model is named ‘The Prospector’ may hold the answer I’ve been looking for.
It’s a tip of the hat to the iconic Gold Nugget Kenworth – then there’s the link between the Perth and Kalgoorlie train which runs daily both ways called ‘The Prospector’ and looks like the truck.
For Rob, perhaps he’s ‘The Prospector’, looking for that gold or maybe looking for that golden run.
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