Adelaide driver Nick Percat believes The Bend can change SA’s motorsport landscape
SA driver Nick Percat says The Bend will do more than bring Supercars for a second time each year to the state — it also has the potential to improve all levels of motorsport.
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SOUTH Australian Supercars driver Nick Percat believes The Bend Motorsport Park could lead to a boom in all levels of motorsport in the state if properly embraced.
Percat, a winner of both Bathurst and Adelaide 500, believes the new $110 million world-class facility outside of Tailem Bend has the potential to revive motorsport from grassroots to the top level.
It had the ability to bring back and improve on the vibrant motorsport atmosphere he remembered from his karting days and is set to be a melting pot for a range of disciplines.
“I think motorsport in South Australia is a bit weak at the moment,” Percat said. “Maybe due to a few people being too stubborn.
“But what Sam (Shahin, The Bend owner and director) has done out there at The Bend is amazing.
“To have the chance the chance to learn your craft on a track like that in a go-kart is unbelievable. I really hope the whole state gets behind it.
“There has been a bit of an old-school mentality in South Australia but now we can get on with it.”
Percat remains a parochial about SA even though he is now based in Albury, NSW, with the Brad Jones Racing teams.
His teammate, Tim Slade, another South Australian, and Percat will cherish the fact that they will race in the state twice a year with the Adelaide 500 and The Bend both tipped to be among the highest-profile races on the Supercars calender.
“It’s really exciting, going back to Adelaide to race twice,” Percat said. “I remember going to the go-kart track at Mallala, now we’ve got state-of-the-art racing track and go-kart track (at The Bend).
“We’re quite spoiled now and hopefully everyone from carting through to cars really take advantage of what they’ve got because it’s a huge opportunity.
“Myself and ‘Sladey’ didn’t have an opportunity to drive at a world-class go-kart track.”
Percat and his team spent Wednesday bringing their cars to South Australia and have a walk-through of the track planned for Thursday — along with a range of public appearances — before practice for the race begins on Friday.
He has already had a close look at the track — he drove a street car on hot laps at the launch of the OTR SuperSprint — and has dashboard vision of other cars driving the track.
Percat said The Bend has few comparisons in Australia and was like nothing else to the Supercars schedule.
But it had borrowed from some of the best permanent race tracks around the world.
“It’s very unique,” Percat said. “It reminds me of the F1 circuit in India when they first opened that, with the standard of the circuit and the layout, a proper F1 circuit.
“It’s just a very cool course. There’s a little bit of Phillip Island in it, too.
“It is a higher-speed circuit, definitely a fast circuit, very good fun.”