Scania bus boss tackles Variety bash

Scania bus exec Julian Gurney has downsized from his usual heavy-vehicle focus to contest the 2014 Variety Bash

The National Retail Sales Manager for Scania Bus and Coach, Julian Gurney, is contesting the 2014 Variety Bash in the most unlikely of vehicles – a bright pink 1969 Volkswagen Baja Beetle.

Melbourne-based Gurney says he's attracted around $30,000 in sponsorship for his stab at the iconic charity challenge, which will see him behind the wheel of 'The Pink Panther' over a challenging route from the Victorian capital to Noosa, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.

Most of the sponsorship – which has set a new record for a rookie Variety Bash contestant – has come from the Australian bus industry.

"A large number of bus industry businesses have got behind the Pink Panther bash car and have been very active supporters," says Gurney.

"Variety supports kids and kids are the biggest customers of many bus companies across Australia, so it’s a really good fit.

"Ashley McHarry of McHarry’s Buslines in Geelong was the first to contribute and it has snowballed from there."

Gurney says the distinctive machine also shares a subtle visual link with his Scania bus background.

"We chose race number 112 to commemorate one of the earliest Scania buses imported into Australia in the 1980s," he says.

Gurney will be sharing the trip with his father-in-law, Bill Sanguinetti, whose company McFarlane Medical and Scientific shared in the Beetle's preparation costs and sponsorship.

Hundreds of cars will be taking part in the 2014 Variety Bash, which will see several state-based Bash events converge on Sydney on Sunday, August 17, for a mass drive over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The Victorian leg begins in the Melbourne suburb of Keilor on Thursday, August 14.

Visit www.variety.org.au for more information.

Scania bus boss tackles Variety bash

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