Isuzu Support Truck Set to Keep 2026 Variety Bash Moving West

A convoy of colourful cars of all shapes and sizes will leave Halls Gap in Victoria on 18 August, bound for Exmouth in Western Australia and enroute, visiting communities far from the well-trodden highways.

Behind the costumes and camaraderie sits a serious job - raising funds for children living with disability or experiencing disadvantage or illness and bringing practical help directly to families, schools and community groups along the way.

The 2026 Variety Victoria Bash, themed ‘Wild Wild West’, will cover more than 5,000 kilometres over 10 days before reaching Western Australia’s Coral Coast on 27 August.

It will be the event’s first visit to Exmouth and the 34th running of the popular event.

A sweeping task

Back for more in 2026, Isuzu Australia Limited (IAL) and Ballarat Isuzu are backing that journey with their strongest package of support yet.

At its centre is the donation of a new Isuzu FRR 110-240 tilt-tray truck, supplied and prepared to serve as Variety’s primary recovery and sweep vehicle.

Variety Motoring Events Manager, Nick Clarke, said the new truck replaces an older Isuzu tow vehicle that has served the charity for around 10 years.

“During last year’s Bash we started talking about what it would take to replace the old tow truck.

“Between Isuzu Australia and Ballarat Isuzu, they made it a reality,” Mr Clarke said.

“The new vehicle is safer and more spacious, with the equipment our crew needs.

“It will also be more fuel-efficient, which means more of the money raised can go where it is ultimately needed.”

The FRR will run at the back of the Bash convoy each day, collecting cars that cannot be repaired track side.

Its tilt tray body can carry a Bash car, while a rear cradle allows another vehicle to be towed.

The truck’s crew may reach an overnight stop late, unload a stricken car and work into the night so its entrants can rejoin the event the next morning.

“Our mechanic teams can fix almost anything, but remote and regional Australia does not always offer-up quick access to a workshop or the right parts,” Mr Clarke said.

“The sweep truck is often the last refuge before a car has to be sent out to pasture. We want everybody to reach Exmouth, and this gives our volunteers a safer, more capable way to make that happen.”

The more the merrier

The FRR is part of a wider commitment from IAL and Ballarat Isuzu.

Team Isuzu will again provide a prime mover for the Bash logistics operation, along with an additional support vehicle. A mechanic vehicle and two Isuzu mechanics from the Ballarat dealership will also join the convoy in a suite of assistance.

IAL Head of Marketing and Customer Experience John Walker, who will take part in the Bash, said the commitment was shaped around practical needs of the cross-country odyssey.

“Last year gave us a close view of the effort required to keep the Bash safe and moving across long, isolated stretches,” Mr Walker said.

“The FRR is a lasting asset that Variety can use across its motoring events, while the vehicles and people travelling with the 2026 Bash will support the immediate task. For IAL, that is a useful and genuine way to stand behind Variety’s good work.”

Lofty goals

The partnership also frees Variety to direct more funds towards its goal of raising $2 million in 2026.

The charity supports children whose needs may fall outside conventional funding streams, including through individual grants and assistance for schools. Bash entrants often see that work first-hand when specialised equipment is presented during community stops.

“There is real value in entrants meeting the children and communities their fundraising supports,” Mr Clarke said.

“Sometimes we deliver essential items such as specialised wheelchairs into remote locations and the impacts are immediate.

“Support from Isuzu reduces the cost of staging the event and helps us put more money into outcomes like those.”

Driving change

Ballarat Isuzu Dealer Principal Ian Deacon will also return as a participant after helping develop the support arrangement on behalf of Isuzu Australia and Ballarat Isuzu.

“Last year, we noticed Variety were using a late-1980s Isuzu tilt tray and after a few discussions on the road we thought, ‘we can do better than this…we can help them out with a new vehicle that’s going to be safer,’” he said.

“If we can give them a safer, more comfortable environment, with a brand-new tilt tray that does everything it should do safely, I think we can really help them out.

“They’re all volunteers that help keep the crews going, so it’s critical they’re looked after. In a brand-new automatic truck, you’re comfortable, it does everything right and it’s nice and easy to drive.”

Ballarat Isuzu will also send two of its technicians to handle minor breakdowns before recovery is needed.

“They’ll be in one of our service vehicles, helping with minor breakdowns and trying to avoid putting vehicles on the back of that tilt tray,” Mr Deacon said.

Mr Clarke added that the support had been driven by people who understood the event and acted quickly.

“Isuzu Australia and Ballarat Isuzu knew what we needed and handled an enormous amount of work in the background,” he said.

“To go from a conversation on last year’s Bash to having the truck ready for Exmouth is just incredible.

“We’re very lucky to have Ian Deacon, John Walker and Team Isuzu involved in the event and so passionate about the cause.”

ends

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