Cover Story: CoolDrive goes full throttle

COOLDRIVE GOES FULL THROTTLE

Performance and motorsport is in the very DNA of CoolDrive Auto Parts

The Australian family owned and operated company’s involvement in the fields of performance and motorsport has been accelerating in 2021 on multiple fronts. With the market-leading supplier Racer Industries joining the CoolDrive fold, the addition of new performance-focused product lines, and the creation of the Blanchard Racing Team (BRT) and CoolDrive Racing in the Supercars Championship, the business has quickly developed a highperformance edge. Racer Industries joins CoolDrive

At the forefront of the push into the performance and motorsport space has been the addition of Racer Industries to CoolDrive Auto Parts, which sees the racing-focused brand’s inventory available through CoolDrive’s online platform, iShop, plus the nationwide network of CoolDrive branches. “CoolDrive has been expanding its performance product offering in recent years, and this move allows us to significantly expand our performance product range, while adding the racing specific offering to complement it,” CoolDrive Auto Parts Managing Director, John Blanchard, said. “It’s a natural progression; our investment in Racer Industries recognises the passion our customers evidently have for motorsport, with this opportunity allowing us to support the industry via an entirely new avenue. “We hope to become the industry benchmark with our levels of customer and technical support, our ever-growing product range containing world-class brands, as well as our investment in knowledge and people. “The motorsport community is very loyal, and just like CoolDrive, it is effectively one big family, so we look forward to supporting them more and more.” A long-time identity within motorsport circles, Ryan McLeod has been the driving force behind Racer Industry’s growth, and is excited about the future. “Using CoolDrive’s extensive and renowned national trade and distribution network, we will be able to offer all trade customers direct access to our range of racing products. This is an industry first in Australia and is big news for our customers and suppliers,” Ryan said. “We see huge potential for Racer in the coming years, especially in the trade industry where CoolDrive is so well known to provide a service on a national level not many others can replicate.” The Racer Industries product range covers the entire gamut of motor racing parts and components, from leading brands including Aerocatch, Sparco, Racetech, Joes, Racelogic, Bosch Motorsport, Lifeline, Longacre, Tilton, Premier Fuel, Schroth and Teknofibra, to name a few. The offering includes race seats, fire systems, helmets, suits, gloves, simulators, steering wheels, gauges, fittings, radio systems, engine management and specialist Hyundai Excel race car systems. A particular highlight is the legendary range of Sparco apparel and accessories, with the Martini Racing and ‘Fast & Furious’ collections available now, and the hotly anticipated 2022 line-up soon to launch. As a function of the partnership, CoolDrive has also taken over the distribution of Project Mu high-end braking products to further enhance its comprehensive brakes program, which currently includes other well-known brands, including Bremtec, Brembo, Bosch, Fremax and Akebono. CoolDrive is also handling the supply of categoryspecific items, including the control wheels, fire systems and fuel cells for the Supercars category, where Racer Industries is the sole appointed supplier. Complemented via retail sales to the general public by Racer Industries from its base in South-East Queensland and online via www.racerindustries. com.au, the product offering caters to everyone from track day enthusiasts to performance workshops, extending to the professional tiers of the sport. In addition to the current locations at Acacia Ridge and Gold Coast, CoolDrive is also planning a significant expansion to the footprint of Racer Industries with additional showrooms set to open

CoolDrive Business Development Manager – Performance, Mathew Nilsson.

in 2022, along with bolstering the stock levels of all Racer products. Performance leadership expands

Motorsport industry veteran Mathew Nilsson has also recently joined the CoolDrive family as its Business Development Manager – Performance, a role that will assist in the company’s continued growth in the sector. “Having Mat’s wealth of experience working with renowned motorsport teams further bolsters our Performance and Motorsport product offering, which is currently a real focus for us at CoolDrive,” CoolDrive Auto Parts Chief Operating Officer, Tim Blanchard, said. “We hope to build a knowledgeable and passionate team led by Mat and Ryan that will be known for its technical prowess and supporting our community.” Mathew brings to the position 20 years’ worth of experience in elite Supercars competition, winning both the Bathurst 1000 and the Supercars Championship as a race engineer. In his most recent Supercars role, Mathew was the co-team principal of the Walkinshaw Andretti United and the Walkinshaw Racing outfits, where he oversaw all aspects of the team’s performance while also facilitating the supply of components and services to other leading teams. Performance products a feature at CoolDrive

CoolDrive’s offering to the top end of the market continues to grow rapidly, with expanded product lines to suit a massive array of applications. Its portfolio starts with the Jaylec Black Series range of high-performance alternators designed for vehicles with a higher demand in output compared to original equipment, and goes right through to being the exclusive distributor of US Radiators cooling systems that are a direct fit for popular classic Australian, American, muscle, truck and street rod machines. Koyorad high-performance radiators and oil coolers are joined by the Hulk 4x4 brake and exhaust upgrade ranges, Brembo and Stolz brake enhancement kits, XS Injectors, Mantic and 4Terrain Ultimate Clutches, amongst many. Specialist lines also carried include racing-spec Castrol items such as SRF brake fluid, Syntrax axle lubricants, and Edge Supercar engine oil, as well as a suite of PETRONAS Syntium Racer lubricants, and the Proflow range of products. More than a sponsor

Motorsport has been an integral way of life not only for the Blanchard family, but the wider business since CoolDrive was founded in 1977. “CoolDrive Racing is far more than just a branding exercise, it allows our team members to demonstrate their passion for motorsport,” explained Tim Blanchard. “The full operations of the race team is in-house at our CoolDrive Head Office; everyone is actively part of the team instead of just watching the car the business sponsors on the television. “Many of our CoolDrive team members and their families are also regularly involved in forms of motorsport such as go karts, track days and rallying, as well as spending their weekends working on their project cars.” With the highly experienced Tim Slade behind the wheel, CoolDrive Racing has proven to be a consistent top-ten performer in its first season, and on multiple occasions has been knocking on the door of the podium in the ultra-competitive series. Supporting the racers

As a part of CoolDrive’s commitment to the industry, the company is proud to partner with many different competitors across a wide variety of categories. This includes former Bathurst 1000 winner Paul Morris in Stadium Super Trucks, Reece Chapman in Aussie Racing Cars, Matt and Luke Geering in the Ultimate Sprintcar Championship, Stuart Collison in the Australian Rally Championship, plus an array of Formula Ford, historic racing, karting competitors and junior drivers. In addition to this, CoolDrive backs events such as the VHRR Winton Festival of Speed. For more information on CoolDrive Auto Parts’ performance and motorsport offerings, plus the company’s motorsport involvement, visit www.cooldrive.com.au