Air Cargo Carrier and Freight Forwarders Work Successfully on Logistics of International Motorsport

UK – ARGENTINA – Rally cars may be the tough guys of motorsport but shipping them between races for international events still requires careful attention from the cargo carrier or freight forwarder responsible for their transport. When it came to air freighting nine World Rally Cars and race equipment from London to Buenos Aires for the Argentinian leg of the series, American Airlines Cargo were delighted to be chosen.

Working alongside the specialist motorsport divisions of logistics companies Delivered on Time and White Knight Global Logistics, American transported the race cars from London’s Heathrow Airport to Ezeiza International Airport through its hubs in Miami, Dallas/Fort Worth and New York’s Kennedy airport. Each car was placed in a specially constructed metal cage that is designed to travel on lower deck aircraft. In total, each shipment weighed between 3,000 and 4,000 pounds.

The Rally Argentina is a rally competition that forms round five of the 2014 FIA World Rally Championship running from May 8th through to 11th in Córdoba Province. Among the vehicles moved by the airline were the Ford Fiesta RS cars of M-Sport drivers Elfyn Evans who managed seventh place and Mikko Hirvonen who came in ninth with the two drivers now in 8th and 5th place overall in the Championship respectively.

American Airlines Cargo, who we reported last week celebrated seven consecutive annual victories, winning the best freight airline for the Americas at the annual Air Cargo News awards yet again, have precisely the network required to ensure each car would arrive in around 24 hours from departure. Michelle Brown, cargo sales specialist for American, commented:

"The cars are completely stripped down, removing bumpers and such, in order to reduce the size as much as possible, and then they're rebuilt at the rally site. The measurements are so critical on these cars that we can only load in the door position of our B777 aircraft, as we have an extra inch or so allowance in that area. This movement is planned several months ahead of time to ensure we can meet the strict time parameters. Transporting nine of these cars requires 18 separate flights to get them to Buenos Aires in time for the big race."