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The world's greatest motorsport spectacle, the European Super Truck Series, has arrived in South Africa to stage two race meetings - one at Kyalami on November 27^th and 28^th and the other at Killarney in Cape Town on December 4^th and 5^th. And it all comes to you courtesy of Continental Tyres writes Roger McCleery, racing commentator supreme and the man who has been bringing truck racing into the homes of thousands of South Africans via television.

Producing more power than any other circuit racer in the world, these 5-ton monsters shake the ground under your feet when their highly skilled pilots emerge from corners and put the 1400hp to work.

With acceleration matching that of a 2.5-litre German touring car, these 12-litre turbocharged 6-cylinder diesel engines push these trucks to 160km/h from a stand-still in just nine seconds (40-160 in 6 seconds). Maximum torque, which is anything up to ten times more than your average working truck, is 4800 Nm at just 1800 rpm.

They bump and barge their way around the circuit with squealing Conti tyres pushed to the limit and beyond. Then there is the sound of tortured metal as three or four trucks rub shoulders as they line abreast through corners trying to get to the front.

Steam rises off the front wheels as 200 litres of water per race is pumped onto the 450mm disc brakes in an effort to cool them down from 800 degrees Celsius. It all adds up to a spectacle that appeals to all the senses.

There is colour, there is noise, there is the smell of hot racing machinery and everyone is allowed in the pits to see, feel and touch the trucks. Altogether, truck racing creates more excitement than you get from most other forms of motorsport.

Truly international, these European Super Trucks are driven by competitors from Germany, England, France, Finland, Spain, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland. Four makes are involved - MAN and Mercedes-Benz from Germany, DAF from Holland and the American Caterpillar engined CAT that started life as a Russian ZIL truck that was developed by Chris Hodges in the UK.

Straight six, twelve litre twin turbocharged diesel engines weighing 750kg each are used in the MANs, the CAT and DAF trucks while Mercedes-Benz uses its latest V6’s. Clean burning, these engines all have four valves per cylinder and fuel injection that prevents any sign of black diesel smoke from the exhaust.

Super Trucks use a semi-automatic five speed ZF gearbox operated by two paddles on the steering wheel for swift changes of ratios. Alloy Speedline wheels are fitted to the front axle with a pair of steel wheels fitted each side at the rear.

Standard 315/70/R22.5 Continental radial truck tyres were used originally 10 years ago with some of the tread buffed off to allow for continuous high speed way above what they were designed for. These were later replaced by tyres moulded with less tread. Now, a more state-of-the-art hi-tech cover using different compounds developed by the Research and Development department of the world's fourth largest manufacturer of tyres, Continental, are moulded onto standard truck tyre casings. Tyre pressures - depending on the circuit being raced - are 4 to 5.5 bar in front and two bar at the rear so as to put as much rubber on the road for cornering and acceleration.