Second race weekend for petrol heads as Supercars descend on Tailem Bend
SOUTH Australia has secured a leading grid position on the national motorsport calendar next year with a round of Supercars to be held at Tailem Bend in August.
South Australia’s second Supercars round will be in the last weekend of August next year after final approval was given for the major event yesterday.
Tickets will go on sale later this month with an inaugural crowd of 50,000 expected to descend on the Tailem Ben circuit on August 24-26.
Speaking at the construction site of The Bend Motorsport Park 100km south east of Adelaide on Tuesday Premier Jay Weatherill paid tribute to the brainchild and funder of the $100m circuit Dr Sam Shahin.
“I’d like to congratulate Dr Sam Shahin and thank him for his continued investment in South Australia,” he said.
“For Supercars to commit to another race in South Australia, demonstrates massive confidence in our State and our ability to successfully pull off big ticket events.
“This is more than a race, it’s about tourism, jobs and delivering a vibrant SA. That’s why we are heavily invested in The Bend Motorsport Park, on top of our super tourism budget.”
The Adelaide 500, formally Clipsal 500 but awaiting a new major sponsor, will continue next year at the beginning of the Supercars series, but The Bend is scheduled later in the calendar in the hope that it will become an endurance event like the Bathurst 1000.
For 2018 The Bend event will follow the Supercars SuperSprint formula, which is a 120km race on Saturday 25th and a 200km race on Sunday 26th.
The event is a milestone for the state as it marks only the third year South Australia has hosted a pair of points-paying rounds of the nations’ premier motorsport, adding to 1976 and 1977.
Securing the second round of Virgin Australia Supercars Championship coincides with construction of the 308m-long pit building being built by Romaldi Constructions reaching its highest point before being fitted out, and a plaque being unveiled by Mr Weatherill on the roof of the four-level $20 million building.
South Australian Supercars driver for the Brad Jones Racing team Nick Percat joined Dr Shahin and Mr Weatherill for Tuesday’s announcement.
The State Government has contributed $7.5 million for the facility to back its investment in the Adelaide 500 (formerly Clipsal 500) which generates $65 million annually for the state’s economy.
Supercars Commission member Brad Jones, also manager of Brad Jones Racing said: “This is a very exciting moment for Supercars and the people of South Australia”.
“This will be a spectacular event that will showcase The Bend Motorsport Park to a huge national and international audience,’’ he said.
“This track is completely different to the street circuit used in the Adelaide 500 and we’re confident that with its world-class design, the racing will be just as exciting and memorable for fans.”
The Bend Super Sprint — with the name likely to change to that of a major sponsor — will be based on a Supercars “sprint series” formula of two races over three days.
Support races are yet to be announced, and there’s been no decision about the race dates, although it is expected to be late into August.
“We are very excited about the announcement of a major motorsport event at The Bend Motorsport Park which we expect will attract at least 50,000 people,’’ Dr Shahin said on Monday.
“Today celebrates the topping-out of the pit building, which is a major milestone for the construction of this world-class motorsport development taking us one step closer to realising the vision for a new major events venue for South Australia.’’
The August event is also ideally placed on the Supercars calendar to become part of the series enduro events, most of which are held from September onwards.
A handful of enduro events around the iconic Bathurst 1000 next weekend are guaranteed to attract maximum interest for the Tailem Bend weekend during the annual 16-race series from March to November.
The current formula for the Super Sprint style races like The Bend event is a 120km race on the Saturday of the three-day event and 200km on the Sunday.
It differs to the Adelaide 500 format, usually in early March, which comprises two Supercars races of 250km over a total of four days.
While the The Bend event will not attract the size of the Adelaide 500 crowds, there is expected to be renewed interest in the race series from next year when a V6-turbo engine configuration breaks up the V8-only format for the first time in many years.
The Bend track is a 53-minute drive from Adelaide on the corner of the Dukes and Mallee Highways.
The Bend facility will better accommodate true Supercars fans, and include an on-site 100-bed luxury hotel and extensive camping facilities.
The facility is considered the best designed and most advanced in Australia, mainly because it has been designed and built from a greenfield site.
