Mustang territory, weather unknowns: The Bend Prebrief

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The Repco Supercars Championship heads to South Australia for this weekend’s eighth round of the 2022 season – the OTR SuperSprint.

The Bend Motorsport Park will host two days of action-packed sprint racing around a high-speed 4.945km International Circuit layout.

With 18 high load turns, long sweeping corners and the return of Dunlop Soft compound tyres, this weekend bodes as a tyre degradation nightmare.

After seven rounds Shane van Gisbergen remains the man to beat, with a 274-championship-piont lead over Shell V-Power Racing’s Anton De Pasquale.

However, Tailem Bend is a Mustang stronghold, with Ford drivers winning 10 of the last 11 races in the South.

Last time out in Townsville we saw the tension boil over between our top championship contenders, could we see tempers burn up at The Bend?

Ahead of the eighth round of 2022, Supercars.com has listed five key storylines to watch out for this weekend.

Mustang territory

The Bend Motorsport Park has been a happy hunting ground for Mustang drivers since the model’s debut in 2019.

Since then, Mustangs have won 10 of 11 races and claimed 10 of 11 poles at the South Australian circuit.

Importantly the Shell V-Power Racing Team Mustangs have won seven of the eleven races held at The Bend.

Anton De Pasquale recorded his first pole position of his Supercars career at the venue last year.

He went on to clean sweep the Sunday poles, before claiming a win in Race 10.

Fellow Mustang ace Cameron Waters won races at the South Australian venue in 2020 and 2021.

While confident he and Tickford Racing will be strong, Waters believes the margins will be closer between teams.

“I wouldn’t say a car in particular will dominate,” Waters told Supercars.com.

"Triple Eight will be strong, DJR will be strong, we’ll be strong.

“It’ll be the team that turns up on the day. Traditionally, we’ve been relatively strong there.

“We’ve learnt a lot since we were there last year.

“I’m pretty eager to get there and see how we go."

Tricky circuit to master

Car set-up will be the major challenge facing teams at The Bend Motorsport Park for this weekend’s OTR SuperSprint.

The tricky, technical circuit has seen even the biggest teams and drivers come unstuck, Shane van Gisbergen and Anton De Pasquale included.

At 4.95km, Tailem Bend’s International Circuit is the second-longest lap of the season, behind Mount Panorama (6.213km) and ahead of Sydney Motorsport Park (3.93km).

The circuit layout is characterised by a smooth surface but also long-radius, high-load corners.

Mastering its 18 corners is no easy feat, van Gisbergen fired off a staggering four times in one practice session in 2019, struggling to find the sweet spot with his Commodore.

Car balance and tyre management will be crucial across the weekend’s three races; few circuits punish the Dunlop Soft Tyres more.

Weather

Rain at The Bend Motorsport Park last year delivered surprise results, with Andre Heimgarnter dominating in Saturday’s wet conditions.

This weekend’s event will feature three races, one on Saturday and two on Sunday.

While conditions look favourable for the Saturday opener, showers are forecast for Sunday, with dual qualifying sessions and two 24-lap sprints scheduled.

If rain does eventuate on Sunday, it will be the first wet running since the Sydney opener in March.

Precipitation always brings spectacular racing, with wet weather maestro van Gisbergen likely to capitalise on the tricky conditions.

Tight at the top

Dual wins in Townsville saw van Gisbergen recover some championship ground, now sitting 274-points ahead of De Pasquale.

It comes after a win and a podium in Darwin saw the Shell V-Power ace close the gap to 214 points.

However, it’s not the only championship battle to play out, with consistent results from Cam Waters and Will Davison seeing them both within shooting distance of De Pasquale.

Waters is just 56 points behind De Pasquale, with Davison only 30-points adrift in fourth.

The trio now take their battle to Tailem Bend, where they all had success last year.

Fastest lap bonus points will once again be awarded for all three races, which could prove vital in the championship chase.

Teams’ championship to play for

Tailem Bend is shaping up to be a defining round in the 2022 Teams' championship, with just 10 points separating the top two contenders.

Red Bull Ampol Racing regained the teams’ points lead at the NTI Townsville 500.

It came after Shell V-Power Racing Team left Darwin atop the standings.

Van Gisbergen’s two Townsville wins pushed his team back into the lead, albeit by just 10 points.

The championship now heads to Tailem Bend, where Shell V-Power Fords were on the pace last May.

Anton De Pasquale grabbed a win and two poles, with Davison also on the podium.

This year’s teams’ championship has some extra meaning, setting the garage order for the first season of Gen3.

“It’s definitely something we talk about,” van Gisbergen told Supercars.com of the teams’ championship.

“It’s one of the first things we said after the race, ‘It’s within 10 points’.

“It means so much to this team to have the front two garages.

“Broc is getting better, he’s getting more consistent, and it’s helping us.”

Cars will hit the track at the OTR SuperSprint on Saturday. Purchase your tickets now.