Usually when a car distributor holds an event at the track you know the drill: it’s either a high performance car with plenty of fast laps or a bunch of exercises showing off the various safety features of a more mundane car in a controlled environment.
And recently I was invited to attend a track day at Pukekohe Park Raceway held by General Motors that appeared to fit that description – it would be the first time GM would be taking https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/128261058/road-test-review-chevrolet-corvette-stingray-3lt”>the RHD Corvette C8 to a racetrack in New Zealand, so lots of roaring V8 action then?
Well, yes, but there was a twist – GM also distributes Isuzu trucks in New Zealand, so the event would also include the new Isuzu Giga heavy truck. On the track. At Pukekohe.
Simon Watts
It’s a day at the track with General Motors, so of course the Corvette was there.
Yes, this was a real thing, and yes, they were serious – after all, putting the Giga on a racetrack was the best way to get motoring journalists who don’t have the appropriate HT license to drive your heavy truck. And, from a motoring journalist’s point of view – trucks are just awesome!
READ MORE:
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* https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/126211590/gmsv-will-sell-you-a-decidedly-unapologetic-truck?rm=a”>GMSV will sell you a decidedly unapologetic truck
* https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/evs/124776703/chevrolet-announces-fully-electric-silverado?rm=a”>Chevrolet announces fully electric Silverado
* https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/122375517/gmsv-to-officially-emerge-this-year-corvette-coming-2021?rm=a”>GMSV to officially emerge this year, Corvette coming 2021
I’m going to be brutally honest here – I was truly more excited about the truck. Sure, thrashing the Corvette around a track was fun, but I had already done that on a recent trip to the USA. But a proper, full-size heavy truck! That was genuinely something I hadn’t actually driven before…
Simon Watts
A more unexpected entrant on the circuit was the Isuzu Giga heavy truck.
But there was also another wrinkle to this occasion – it may well be the last time I get to drive around Pukekohe https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/motorsport/300641696/motorsport-to-end-at-pukekohe-raceway-after-60-years-making-way-for-horse-racing”>following the announcement that the race circuit was departing. So, of course I was all in.
The whole idea of the day was to show off a few on GM’s business units in New Zealand – General Motors isn’t just GMSV (https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/123353536/general-motors-specialty-vehicles-launches-with-silverado”>General Motors Specialty Vehicles) that sells the RHD Corvette and the RHD-converted Silverados in this part of the world, its other business units are Isuzu Trucks (in New Zealand), Chevrolet Racing and Holden Aftersales – which includes AC Delco, Holden Service, GM Trade Parts and Holden Heritage (in Australia).
General Motors Australia and New Zealand managing director Marc Ebolo said that the company has spent the past 18-months “building a foundation for future growth” by focusing on the specific business units.
Simon Watts
Marc Ebolo, managing director of General Motors Australia and New Zealand.
“Our customer care and aftersales operation continues to service our Holden car park across more than 200 Holden Certified Service Centres throughout Australia and New Zealand as well as our growing GMSV customer base, and we are excited by the growth of our all-makes service offering through AC Delco and GM Trade Parts.”
While this day was mainly about GMSV and Isuzu Trucks, Ebolo did slip in a few little choice nuggets of information about Chevrolet Racing, adding that the rise of the Camaro as GMs local touring car representative in the Supercars series wouldn’t be its only motorsport foray, with a new AC Delco Camaro Pro Slammer drag car scheduled for competition in Australia, while the Silverado would be joining the racing action in some as-yet-unrevealed context.
Speaking of the Silverado, my first port of call was not to the Corvette or the truck, but rather a massive Silverado HD in a black wrap, towing a four tonne boat. Yes, really.
Simon Watts
The boys from Fishing & Adventure were also there with their Silverado HD and massive boat, appropriately named ‘Holy Ship’.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/128094492/gmsv-launches-silverado-2500-hd-has-already-sold-five”>The HD is the biggest, baddest version of the Silverado GMSV sells in New Zealand, and drops the 313kW/624Nm 6.2-litre petrol V8 in favour of a 332kW/1234Nm 6.6-litre turbo diesel V8 for extra pulling power. Both versions of the Silverado can pull up to 4.5 tonnes, but the HD’s big diesel V8 and its colossal mountain of torque makes it particularly effortless.
In fact, one of the more surprising revelations of the day was just how effortlessly the HD handled the four tonne boat – sure, you knew it was there, but it may as well have been a garden trailer full of lawn clippings as far as the Silverado was concerned. The brawny diesel engine wasn’t even strained, even when accelerating through Ford Mountain at the start of Pukekohe’s fronts straight to overtake the Isuzu Giga.
It is a rare occasion indeed that a Corvette on a racetrack isn’t the highlight of the day, but that was the case here. The bad weather had a large part to play in that, however, as while it did fine up a bit later in the morning, Pukekohe’s infamously bumpy surface meant that standing water was an issue, and the mighty ‘Vette couldn’t be stretched out to its full potential…
Simon Watts
While the Corvette was impeccably well-behaved on the track, it was still a mid-engined V8 supercar, so caution was necessary in the wet…
Still, there is a lot to be said for hammering one down Pukukohe’s back straight with that glorious V8 howling and the rear end twitching around in the wet…
But of course, the highlight of the day truly was the Giga – Isuzu’s biggest entry into the local trucking market, and one that boasts an impressive array of safety features and driver assists.
New safety features on the Giga include an electronic brake system with electronic stability control, hill start assist (on AMT models only), AEB braking and lane departure warning, while adaptive cruise control and adaptive LED headlights also feature.
Now, this probably shouldn’t have come as such a surprise to me, but I was staggered by the level of advanced driver assist and safety tech jammed into the Giga – I genuinely had no idea heavy trucks were so advanced.
Simon Watts
The mighty Giga was undoubtedly the star of the day – after all, how often do you get to drive a heavy truck on a race circuit?
But, of course it makes sense, as they truly do benefit from things like adaptive headlights, adaptive cruise control and lane assists. Either way though, the Giga was remarkably easy to drive, superbly comfortable and an absolute blast to drive around the track with my inner toddler finally living out all of his truck driver fantasies.
With the Pukekohe racetrack staring down the barrel of extinction, the laps on the Giga may well be the last I will ever do around it. And I am pretty okay with that, to be honest, as it was a truly fun way to say goodbye.
Plus, I do it safe in the knowledge that I have written my own chapter in Pukekohe’s history by almost certainly being the only person to overtake an Isuzu Giga around the outside at Ford Mountain in a Chevrolet Silverado towing a four-tonne boat.
Okay, so that’s less of a chapter and more of a scribble in the margins in crayon, but I’ll take it.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/129645178/trucks-and-supercars-a-track-day-with-a-big-difference.html”>