Bob Morris & National Transport Insurance Throwback for Truck Assist TEKNO Racing

Truck Assist TEKNO Racing is making a double throwback for this weekend’s Sandown 500 retro round, with the number 19 Holden Commodore to be driven by Jack Le Brocq and Jonathon Webb sporting a tribute to Bob Morris’s Holden Torana A9X, while also carrying the colours of Truck Assist’s sister company, National Transport Insurance.

Morris’s distinctive green, white and blue Toranas hold a special place in the history of Australian motorsport, having taken the Hall of Fame driver to the 1979 Australian Touring Car Championship, edging out Peter Brock in the final point score.

Significantly, Morris won the Sandown round from his successful campaign, the 100^th race to be contested in the history of the Championship.

Morris also won Championship rounds at Oran Park, Lakeside and Adelaide International Raceway in ’79, while also claiming that year’s AMSCAR Series at Amaroo Park.

The branding on the car sees Truck Assist swapped out for National Transport Insurance, which commenced trading in 1971, with the brand’s retro logo in fitting with the car’s green hues.

The team are looking for a strong Sandown 500 campaign to round out this year’s Pirtek Enduro Cup, with the Le Brocq/Webb partnership holding a commanding lead in the Amarok V6 Hard Charger point score.

The squad have form on the board the suburban Melbourne track, with Webb having twice placed third in the Sandown 500, while Le Brocq has been a race winner at the venue in both Super2 and the Australian Formula Ford Championship.

On track action commences with practice from 9:35am AEDT on Friday.

Bob Morris

“I think it’s fantastic, I’m looking forward to seeing it on the television, and I’m hoping it can get a great result, and the colour scheme brings the team luck.

“Ron Hodgson who owned (Holden Torana A9X) the team had an advertising agency associated with the business, and they came up with some original designs.

“Ron asked me ‘what do you think of these designs’, and I said I don’t think any of them are any good.

“They were brown and yellow, and things that were pretty subdued and didn’t stand out.

“My reasoning was that you had to have something that would stand out, and you could recognise the car on television, without reading the signage, but by seeing the colour and knowing which car it was.

“Well Ron said, ‘you come up with something’, and I came up with that, he said ‘yeah, it looks great’, and away we went!”

Jack Le Brocq

“Every year the Sandown 500 retro round is one of the highlights of the calendar because so many great looking cars get wheeled out, and I think this year with our throwback NTI livery to Bob Morris’s A9X Torana, we are on a winner!

“Bob obviously achieved so much in these colours, winning a lot of races, including the Touring Car Championship round at Sandown, and ultimately the Championship.

“The cars in those days were beasts, so it's cool that we are able to draw a connection to the past like this, I think it’s something that the fans can really engage with.

“Hopefully we can channel some of Bob’s success and put on a great showing!”

Tony Clark - CEO NTI Ltd

“Sandown 500 retro round is an amazing opportunity to honour Bob Morris’s A9X Torana and revive the classic National Transport Insurance logo a retro look.

“As a business with over 45 years of history it’s always enjoyable to reminisce on how far we’ve come.

“Bob Morris represented Channel 7 and achieved so much in these colours in the 1970’s.

“Today we’re proud to have Jack Le Brocq represent National Transport Insurance and hope he has just as much success.”