Along the east coast of Australia, under a hot late-February sun, 70-year-old truck driver John Atkinson climbs behind the wheel of a Mack Titan model. Looking on is a crowd of 8,000 people, including Guinness Book of Records officials.
In Atkinson's rearview mirror, hooked to the Titan, are 113 loaded trailers stretching back nearly a mile along the main road of Clifton, a tiny town on the Darling Downs nestled near Toowoomba.
Atkinson's job? Harness the heavy-duty Mack tractor to move this 2,865,980-lb load 328 feet (100 meters) and recapture the record for the longest road train (multiple loaded trailers) ever pulled with a single prime mover (road tractor).
Although the Titan's job this day is to haul more than 100 times its own weight, it is simply a base tri-drive (three drive axles or 8×6) model — no modifications necessary — built at Mack's Wacol factory west of Brisbane.
With 50 years of transport industry experience, Atkinson was behind the wheel in 2003, when Mack last set the record. Like then, the event is also a fund-raiser for a cancer care charity. But this time, there are eight times as many spectators.
Yet with the 18-speed clutch-work of a seasoned veteran, Atkinson eases the Titan's 620-horsepower engine into gear, and the long train starts forward.
The result? Mack reclaims the world record.