Shell V-Power Motorsport Park set for Super Series
From August 30-September 1, The Shell V-Power Motorsport Park in South Australia will play host to Round 4 of the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series.
The V8-powered TA2 Muscle Car Series headlines the event and is supported by the Australian Drivers’ Championship, Legend Cars Australia, Formula RX8 and Super TT.
On Friday, practice takes place for all categories, before the action concludes with Qualifying for the TA2 Muscle Car Series.
Saturday commences with a warm up for the Australian Drivers’ Championship and TA2 race, before the remaining categories qualify. From there it is non-stop racing for the remainder of the weekend.
The TA2 series this weekend goes into enduro mode, with co-drivers coming in to assist the regular drivers.
On Saturday both driver 1 and driver 2 get to steer the car in a solo race each, before the day’s action concludes with a two-driver enduro, this format is repeated on Sunday.
“This two-driver event for TA2 is similar to the one that was run at Darwin last year, the world’s first two driver event for these types of vehicles and it was very successfully,” recalled Hi-Tec Oils Super Series CEO Stephen Whyte.
After the success of the Darwin event last year, stars are flooding back to compete at The Shell V-Power Motorsport Park.
Names include Supercars Championship podium finisher and current Erebus Motorsport co-driver Todd Hazelwood, TCR Australia driver Jordan Cox and former V8 Ute driver Elliot Barbour.
The 2018 Toyota 86 Series winner Tim Brook, who was one half of the winning combination in Darwin last year will also return.
Super2 front-runner Jarrod Hughes who has had plenty of success in the series, also makes a welcome return.
Zach Bates, Walkinshaw Andretti United Super2 driver and race winner will compete, but he is not the only member of the legendary Bates family. Father and son duo Nicholas and Sam bates will share the #24 Mustang.
“The Shell V-Power Motorsport Park has a fantastic pit lane and pit lane facility and lends itself to this style of an event,” Whyte stated.
“The fascinating part about enduro racing is it all about the pit stops and the team involvement.
“The really interesting part around this is that TA2 having not done enduro style racing other than last year, it’s a whole new premise.
“So, driver changes, incidents, or the mechanical repair on the run, that sort of stuff, just creates a whole nother addition to the show and just makes it all the more interesting and all the more inviting for people to look at.”
At the halfway stage of the series, youngster Josh Haynes leads the series on 648 points, ahead of the consistent Graham Cheney who is just 28 points back. Chevrolet Camaro driver Brad Gartner sits in third on 576 points and will be joined by Brook this weekend.
For the first time the Australian Drivers’ Championship is a category at a Hi-Tec Oils Super Series round, it is also the maiden visit for Aussie built Hyper X1 machines at the South Australian venue.
“How cool is it to have a national open wheeler series at a national event,” Whyte enthused. “Those guys will join the series at The Bend and also One Raceway our final round.
“It's exciting to get that particular series to this level so quickly.
“The Australian Drivers Championship is obviously exciting and is a coveted award throughout Australia.
“But most importantly it's something that's very Australian. It's the Australian Drivers Championship for the best Australian driver in an Australian package.
“It’s real, real coup for us to have that category as part of our series, and hopefully those drivers will enjoy the wide-open spaces of The Bend, I think being so high aero, they'll be really exciting to watch.”
It has been a really competitive season to this point, reigning champion Damon Stirling currently leads the series, but he does not lead by much.
Dean Crooke sits second in the series ahead of Hayden Crossland who scored his maiden victory in the most recent round at Winton Motor Raceway.
A huge field of pocket rocket Legend Cars will take to the 4.95km circuit and produce incredible action as they always do. If you have not seen them before, expect three wide racing action and wheel-to-wheel racing throughout the five races.
With 30 drivers expected to compete this weekend. This quantity also contains incredible quality, with so many Legend Cars race winners competing.
A large variety of Australian Super TT machines will role out at The Bend, from a BMW E36 to a Nissan S13, Lotus Elise, Ford Falcon and heavily modified Nissan Pulsar just to name a few.
The final category is the blossoming Formula RX8, a category made for rotary enthusiasts. A large field of Mazda RX8s are entered for this event.
Speaking of entry at the event, for you the fan admission on Friday is free. A Saturday pass can be bought for $21.97, a Sunday pass for $32.41 or a weekend pass for $42.85. While kids under 16 can enter for free.
You can purchase your tickets here - https://events.humanitix.com/hi-tec-oils-super-series-round-4-august-30-september-1-the-bend/tickets
If you can’t make it to the track in person don’t stress, coverage of Saturday’s action on the Super Series YouTube channel commences at 10.15am ACST, and 10.30am ACST on Sunday.
Alternatively, coverage will be broadcast live on SBS On Demand, Fox Sports, Sky Sports NZ and Kayo, commencing at 12.30pm ACST on both Saturday and Sunday.
Head to the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series event page for all event information.