Truck market leader Isuzu is again throwing its weight behind the upcoming charity Variety Victoria Bash which will see a convoy of colourful cars departing Halls Gap on 18 August, bound for Exmouth in Western Australia visiting communities far from the well-trodden highways enroute.
The 2026 Variety Victoria Bash which Isuzu is supporting is being themed as the ‘Wild Wild West’, and will cover more than 5,000 kilometres across 10
days before arriving on Western Australia’s Coral Coast on 27 August.
It will be the Variety Victoria Bash’s first visit to Exmouth on what is the 34th running of the popular event
Isuzu Australia and its dealer, Ballarat Isuzu have again joined up this year to back the Bash journey with the strongest support package yet.
A new Isuzu FRR 110-240 tilt-tray truck is at the centre of the donation which has been 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,” said Clarke.
“Between Isuzu Australia and Ballarat Isuzu, they made it a reality,” he said.
“The new vehicle is safer and more spacious, with the equipment our crew needs and it will also be more fuel-efficient, which means more of the money raised can go where it is ultimately needed,” he added.
The FRR will run at the back of the Bash convoy each day, 
collecting cars that can’t 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,” Clarke said.
“The sweep truck is often the last refuge before a car has to be sent out to pasture, and we want everybody to reach Exmouth, and this gives our volunteers a safer, more capable way to make that happen,” he said.
The Isuzu FRR is part of a wider commitment from Isuzu Australia and its dealer Ballarat Isuzu.
Team Isuzu will again provide a prime mover for the Bash logistics operation, along with an additional support vehicle, with a mechanic vehicle and two Isuzu mechanics from the Ballarat dealership will also join the convoy in a suite of assistance.
Isuzu Australia’s head of marketing and customer experience John Walker, will take part in the Bash, and 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,” 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,” he added.
The Isuzu donation and partnership has also allowed 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,” Clarke said.
“Sometimes we deliver essential items such as specialised wheelchairs into remote locations and the impacts are immediate, and support from Isuzu reduces the cost of staging the event and helps us put more money into outcomes like those,” he said.
The dealer principal for Ballarat Isuzu, Ian Deacon is also returning as a participant after helping develop the support 
arrangement on behalf of Isuzu Australia and Ballarat Isuzu.
“Last year, we noticed Variety was 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,” Deacon said.
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.”
