The final countdown to the Supercars endurance season is upon us, and I think I can speak for everyone at PremiAir Racing when I say we are very much looking forward to getting to The Bend Motorsport Park and taking on the challenge of the 500.
This will be only the second time Supercars has held an endurance race at The Bend, and there is no doubt it is a fantastic facility and one we always enjoy competing at. It is an impressive racetrack, and 500 kilometres around this place will provide a thorough test of the drivers, the cars, and, importantly, the entire team.
There is an added challenge this year with the move from The Bend’s 4.95-kilometre International Circuit to the shorter 3.41-kilometre West Circuit. That takes the 500 from 102 laps to 147, and while the distance remains the same, I think it will create a very different style of endurance race.
With the shorter lap, we expect the field to be much more condensed, which should create more passing opportunities and will put greater pressure on everyone in terms of traffic management and strategy. Turn 6 in particular is a tight right-hander that could see plenty of action, and over 147 laps there will be a lot of opportunities to find yourself caught up in someone else’s problem if you aren’t careful.
For us, that makes execution even more important. Managing traffic, keeping the tyres in the right window, and staying out of trouble will be crucial. The shorter lap also means the consequences of a poorly timed stop, or even a small mechanical delay, can be magnified, with much less time available before the leaders come back around and potentially put you a lap down.
That is what makes endurance racing a team challenge across the board. Outright speed matters, of course, but so does reliability, strategy, communication, pit stop execution and making the right decisions at the right time. Five hundred kilometres gives you opportunities, but it can punish small mistakes very quickly as well.
We have two strong combinations for the weekend, with Jayden ‘Juice’ Ojeda joined by the highly experienced David ‘D-Russ’ Russell in the #31 Camaro, while Declan ‘Decca’ Fraser will share the #777 with Nash ‘Flash’ Morris.
There is plenty of ability across those two pairings, but endurance racing is about much more than individual performances. Jayden, Declan, David and Nash all have an important role to play, and our focus will be on making sure all four drivers are comfortable in the cars and are able to deliver consistent performances across their respective stints.
From a team perspective, a lot of work has gone into making sure we arrive at The Bend as prepared as possible. With the added pressure of the West Circuit, everyone needs to be switched on across the entire 500 kilometres, from the drivers and engineers through to the crew in pit lane.
This weekend will also provide an important opportunity to assess where we are ahead of the big one in October. There is no substitute for racing when it comes to testing your processes under pressure, and we want to take everything we can from this event to continue strengthening our endurance package.
As always, we are extremely grateful for the support of our partners and fans as we embark on this endurance campaign. We know the challenge ahead of us, but we also know how much work has gone into getting here.
Now it is about putting that preparation into action, executing our race and seeing what we can achieve.
Here’s to a fantastic enduro season ahead – let’s go racing!
Peter Xiberras
PremiAir Racing Team Owner
For updates throughout The Bend 500, make sure you keep an eye on the PremiAir Racing Race Hub, which will be updated across the race weekend with the latest from Queensland Raceway: https://premiairracing.com/supercars/round10/