Team 18’s adrenaline-pumping Bend prep

They’ve been one of the revelations of the 2020 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship but Team 18 aren’t done yet.

Fresh off an exhilarating jetski experience on the Gold Coast, drivers Scott Pye and Mark Winterbottom are keen to make their mark at yet another track when the category heads to Tailem Bend this weekend.

Having been impressively quick at Darwin, Townsville was a slight step backwards for the Holden duo although Pye still managed to charge through the field in race trim.

“I’m only eight months in with this new team and we have built some really strong relationships,” said Pye.

“Off the back of some strong results, the motivation I can see in everyone is really inspiring when you consider how long they have been away from home.

“We’ve got good momentum at the moment particularly in the races, so I’m excited about going to The Bend and with Bathurst just around the corner it’s the perfect time for us to be hitting our stride.”

Winterbottom enjoyed a stellar Saturday outing at The Bend last year in his IRWIN Commodore, qualifying third and finishing fourth.

Now armed with a stronger all-round package, the 2015 Supercars champion is excited to see what’s possible 12 months on.

“It’s a track where I can qualify well but race pace is crucial there so we’ll see what developments we’ve made in the car,” said Winterbottom.

"They’re going to change the track layout week-to-week which is unique in our sport. We’ve had back-to-back races this year where you rock up and drive the same track, but a different track layout is going to make a big difference.

“We have to treat it as two very separate weekends although they are back-to-back and I’m looking forward to that challenge.”

As for their time on the Gold Coast waterways with Jet Ski Safaris, both drivers were glowing.

“We got to get out on the water and stretch the legs a little bit, there wasn’t much action on the water so we pretty much had the whole bay to ourselves,” said Pye.

“Hopefully business can start to return to normal and we can bring the Gold Coast 600 back here next year and bring a big boost to the local economy with it.”

The first leg of The Bend doubleheader will be the Repco SuperSprint involving three Supercars races this weekend.