News
Huge double header round to highlight The Bend Motorsport Park
The Bend Motorsport Park is set to host one of the biggest weekends of national-level motorsport ever seen in Australia.
The Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series, Gulf Western Oil Touring Car Masters and the National Trans Am Series will hold two rounds on the same weekend (15-17 October), giving race fans at the track and at home a plethora of action, while teams and competitors will gain a strong chance to complete their national championships and series.
The news comes after Victoria’s Sandown Raceway event, scheduled for September 17-19, has been cancelled due to the ongoing border restrictions that are in place across the east coast of Australia.
Race formats and scheduling for the new Shannons Motorsport Australia Championship double header event at the South Australia circuit at Tailem Bend will be confirmed in the coming weeks.
Joining TCR, TCM and Trans Am will be the Fanatec GT World Challenge Powered by AWS. Its format does not change and will continue to host its round of the Motorsport Australia GT Endurance Championship – a three-hour two-driver race for GT3 and GT4 sports cars.
All races will be broadcast live on 7mate and 7plus (Australia), Sky Sport (New Zealand) and motorsport.tv (globally).
QUOTES
Matt Braid
CEO, Australian Racing Group
“Having to drop Sandown from the calendar of our categories was one of the hardest decisions that we have had to make during these recent times. We feel for fans of our categories who have been anticipating a return to racing at the Melbourne.”
“However, the creation of a ‘two-in-one’ race meeting at Tailem Bend is going to be one of the most exciting race weekends that Australian motorsport fans have seen in some time,” said Braid.
“Whether watching at home on the Seven Network or at the track, there will be will non-stop racing action from our top-class categories over the entire weekend. It will also be fascinating to see how the teams and drivers deal with the packed race schedule, and it will be great to watch it all unfold at The Bend in October.”
Michael Smith
Director of Motorsport & Commercial Operations, Motorsport Australia
“We know how popular the Sandown round of the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships can be, with huge crowds attending the Victorian event in recent years,” Smith said.
“Unfortunately with the Victorian lockdown looking like extending in to September, we have been forced to make the call on this event now for the certainty of fans, competitors and our sponsors. We’ve worked closely with the Melbourne Racing Club over recent months and thank them for their efforts in trying to make this event a reality.
“That said, we’re absolutely thrilled to be heading to The Bend for a massive fortnight of motorsport in October. With back-to-back weekends of the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships alongside the RSEA Safety Motorsport Australia Rally Championship and the Kincrome SXS Motorsport Australia Championship also featuring, it promises to be two events that cannot be missed.
“I’d like to thank our competitors and category managers for their ongoing support and flexibility throughout 2021, as well as our sponsors who have been extremely supportive of these changes and the Championships more broadly.”