Whatever you do, don’t suggest to Les May he should start slowing down and think about the ‘R’ word.
He may be 68 now, but this legend of the Australian superkart world, is a long way from his final lap and cruising into retirement.
When Big Rigs checks in with Les – new hearing aids and all – he’s setting a pace that blokes half his age would struggle to keep up with.
The new epicentre of his multifaceted operation at ALM Sales is a massive new 3000 square metre warehouse in Epping, Melbourne, where he also runs Dunlop Kartsport, the online and retail side of his business, which trades as DK17 [17 is a number that’s always been in the family, explained Les].
With a second-to-none reputation in the sport stretching back more than 40 years, it’s the first port of call for more than 300 dealers across Australia and New Zealand ordering Dunlop go-kart tyres.
From there, the “Mr Dunlop” of world karting also now runs a 3PL operation, 3PL Epping, in large part due to having about 1000 pallet spaces over and above what he needs for his industry-leading tyre stock.
“We work with National Logistics,” Les explained. “They do most of our linehaul stuff that we can’t do ourselves, and I sub-contract to another guy who is the building product part of things.
“We do a lot of Austral’s work and have a couple of other customers, and we pretty much do all of their Adelaide-Sydney-Brisbane bulk deliveries.”
The Cascadia takes centre stage at the new Epping HQ. Image: Daimler TruckUnder the same giant Epping roof, you’ll also now find ALM Engineering Solutions, DK17 Custom Printhouse, and Les’s tenants BMTG Technologies and Thompson Parts Group, a logistics operation for a large Riverina car dealership.
The icing on the cake, however, has to be Les’s dazzling new blue Freightliner Cascadia, parked out front of the warehouse when Big Rigs calls as a container is unloaded before being prepped again for a load of building materials to Adelaide two days later.
Look away now if you’re a fan of the bigger selling brands – Les rates his first Cascadia the best truck he’s owned in his 40 years behind the wheel.
He admits he didn’t start out shopping for a Cascadia with a 60-inch cab and all the creature comforts. His hand was forced by a two-and-a-half year waiting list for his first choices – but he hasn’t looked back since being handed the keys by Daimler Trucks Toowoomba in January last year.
“I think it might have been destined for the Brisbane Truck show because every box was ticked,” Les said.
“When I did the research on the internet for a new truck, I did it on the numbers – fuel economy, price and features.
“I’ve got to tell you that this is the only vehicle I have ever bought in 44-odd years where it actually does better than all of the manufacturer claims – it’s just sensational.”
The truck is a 126 model and uses a Detroit DD16 that is good for 600hp/2050lb-ft of torque, hooked up to a 12-speed automated manual.
It mainly tows a single trailer because some of the customer sites are just too tight for a B-double.
Les knows that might seem like overkill to have 600hp for a single trailer, but the Cascadia does run heavy under mass management.
He also had it fitted up with a pneumatic turntable.
“So that if Mr Plod got his tape measure out at Marulan we can shorten the thing up and it meets all the requirements and then we can get it out a little bit to get into driveways.”
Les says the Cascadia, which was $100,000 cheaper than the top-selling rivals with “all the same fruit”, is also a winner when it comes to fuel economy.
“Since the last press of the button it’s done 10,547km and the fuel average is 2.4. Another easy run out of Melbourne and it’ll probably click on 2.5 again.”
“The best I could get out of a Kenworth with the same load was 1.8. If you’re paying a truck off, that probably equates to a month’s payment [in fuel savings].”
In over 150,000km of use, Les has been the sole driver of his “toy” so far and he’s not about to hand over the keys anytime soon.
While his small team runs the day-to-day operations from Epping, Les can be on the road every chance he gets – the cavernous Cascadia so roomy, it easily doubles as a mobile office.
When a recent video conference call request came through from Japan while on the road to South Australia, all Les had to do was pull over at Tintinara, change a shirt and pull the curtains.
“I set the laptop up on the passenger side, did the video conference and no one had any idea where I was.
“All I then had to do was relay all order the details back to our office. I’ve got the best phone booster we could get so we pretty much get good reception everywhere along the east coast and across to Adelaide.
“Like the karting, truck driving is a passion and it’s something I enjoy – that’s why I do it myself.”
Les has been involved in motorsport, in one way or the other, since he was born thanks to his engineer dad Joe who sadly passed away earlier this month, aged 91.
Joe built a lot for Ford “back in the early days” when they were rallying and Les, who grew up sweeping the floor of an engineer workshop after school, was hooked from year dot.
Les leads the field again in the 1992 Australian F1 GP event.He got his start in motorsport behind the wheel of a rally car before a chance switch to superkarts.
With a six-speed gearbox and 250cc motor, they’re considered the closest thing to a Formula One car in terms of power to weight ratio and Les quickly become the best in the land winning a swag of Australian titles and also racing successfully at the highest level in Europe.
A highlight there included an against-the-odds fourth in the world champs in the late 80s after racing on “tired old engines” and being taken out on the first corner with the top spodium spot in his sights.
While competing, Les was also able to combine his passion with work, importing and selling truck mountable cranes in Australia from Europe during the late 80s, early 90s.
“I was in and out of the country all the time and it fitted with bringing in a few bits and pieces in.
“In a container load of cranes, it’s pretty easy to put in a couple of chassis and some engines and the same time and we grew it to be the biggest wholesaler/retailer [LMR Karting Superstore] in that part of the market, and I was racing them at the same time.”
Despite his talent behind the wheel, however, Les was realistic about pursuing a full-time career in the rarefied air of Formula One.
“The reality of motorsport is, if you haven’t got the sponsors or the money to back it up, you won’t go anywhere.
“Formula One was, in my opinion, beyond probably my age then, as well as anything we could comprehend, as far as dollars and cents went.
“I raced Super two-litre for two or three years, did a little bit of what is now the V8 Supercars that used to be called touring cars, and then really it was, do you keep spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a pipe dream, or do you just put it into your business, and I chose the business track.”
Today, more than 40 years later, Les has no cause for regrets, with any talk of easing up quickly swatted aside.
“The old retirement thing is not in my vocabulary,” Les said.
“I’m one of those guys who can’t understand it when people say, ‘Oh f##k, I’ve got to go to work again’.
“I get up every morning with a skip in my step and enjoy going to work – I’ve got to tear myself away to not be here.”
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