The Bend Motorsport Park
The Bend is the purpose-built motorsport complex about 100 km south-east of Adelaide, where the full 7.77 km GT Circuit winds through 35 turns on the site of Mitsubishi’s old test track. Here’s what you’ll want to know before you go to the Supercars enduro, book a track day or load it up in iRacing: the name, the history, the layouts, a corner-by-corner lap, the lap records, what races there and how to visit.
The Bend at a Glance
Length 7.770 km / 4.828 mi GT Circuit; the International Circuit is 4.950 km / 3.076 mi
Turns 35 on the GT Circuit, out of eight circuit layouts
Elevation change 85 m / 279 ft total rise and fall around the lap
Opened 2018 first event in January, first motor racing in April
Location & owner Tailem Bend, SA owned by the Shahin family’s Peregrine Corporation
Race lap record 2:38.673 Aidan Read, Ligier LMP2, GT Circuit, 2020
The Bend, Tailem Bend or Shell V-Power Motorsport Park?
They’re all the same place. The circuit takes its name from Tailem Bend, the small country town nearby that sits on a sharp bend of the Murray River, and most fans and TV commentators just call it The Bend. Since July 1, 2023, the official name has been Shell V-Power Motorsport Park, under a 10-year naming-rights deal with Viva Energy, the company that runs Shell’s fuel business in Australia. The venue still bills itself as “Shell V-Power Motorsport Park (formerly The Bend),” so you’ll see both names on tickets and event pages.
Before it opened, the project was called South Australian Motorsport Park. And here’s a fun bit of trivia: the land was originally addressed as part of Elwomple, a neighboring locality, until the boundary was moved in September 2017 so the whole site sat inside Tailem Bend.
The track is privately owned by Peregrine Corporation, the Shahin family business that also owns Mallala Motorsport Park north of Adelaide. Managing director Sam Shahin is the driving force behind the place, and the family has taken the name abroad too: in 2026 a Porsche 911 GT3 R raced in the World Endurance Championship as The Bend Manthey.
The Bend History
The Bend is a young track with a long backstory. For decades the land was where Mitsubishi tested the cars it built in Adelaide. When local production ended, the Shahin family saw a chance to build South Australia a permanent home for big-time racing, with a hotel, karting, a dragway and off-road park on the same block. Here’s how it got from an empty test track to the Supercars enduro calendar.
- 2008 Mitsubishi ends car production in South Australia, and its proving ground at Tailem Bend, a 680-hectare site, falls out of use.
- 2015 Peregrine Corporation lodges plans in February to turn the old test track into the South Australian Motorsport Park. The project is approved in May.
- 2016 Construction starts on a complex built to FIA Grade 2 and FIM Category A standards, with the circuit designed in-house with input from car, Supercars and motorcycle racers.
- 2018 The venue’s first event, the Revolve24 cycling race, runs in January, and motor racing starts in April. In August, Supercars arrives for The Bend SuperSprint, and Shane van Gisbergen wins the very first Supercars race there.
- 2020 The Asian Le Mans Series runs the 4 Hours of The Bend in January, setting the GT Circuit lap records that still stand. COVID-19 turns the planned Supercars enduro into two sprint weekends, won by Fabian Coulthard and Scott McLaughlin.
- 2023 Shell V-Power takes over the naming rights on July 1. Brodie Kostecki wins the OTR SuperSprint, and a new dragway opens in October.
- 2024 Supercars skips The Bend for a year while it prepares a bigger event.
- 2025 iRacing releases The Bend in June. In September, the first The Bend 500 (the AirTouch 500) brings endurance racing back to the Supercars calendar, and Kostecki and Todd Hazelwood win it in a Dick Johnson Racing Mustang.
- 2026 WorldSBK announces in June that its Australian round moves to The Bend from 2028. In September, the AirTouch 500 switches to the shorter West Circuit and runs in the wet, and Chaz Mostert and Fabian Coulthard win from 11th on the grid in a Walkinshaw TWG Racing Toyota GR Supra.
Eight Tracks in One: The GT Circuit and Layouts
The Bend doesn’t have one famous corner the way some older tracks do. What it has is size. Link every section together and you get the GT Circuit, a 7.77 km lap that takes even an LMP2 prototype more than two and a half minutes. Chop it up and you get eight different layouts, so the same site can host a Supercars enduro, a motorcycle round and a club sprint, sometimes on the same weekend.
7.770 km
The GT Circuit
The full layout runs to 4.828 miles and 35 turns, making it one of the longest permanent racetracks in the world.
8
Circuit layouts
From the 1.341 km North Circuit to the GT Circuit, with the East Circuit getting its own smaller pit building so two events can run at once.
Grade 2
FIA and FIM ratings
The venue says it’s the only circuit in Australia rated both FIA Grade 2 for cars and FIM Category A for motorcycles.
The layouts you’ll hear about most are the 4.950 km International Circuit (18 turns), used for the first The Bend 500 in 2025 and most of the big sprint races, and the 3.410 km West Circuit (12 turns), which Supercars used for the 2026 enduro and earlier sprint rounds. Supercars describes the West as a bullring, with top speeds around 270 km/h (168 mph). There’s also a 3.930 km East Circuit, a 3.660 km West Plus, a 2.784 km Sprint layout, the short Southwest and North circuits and a 1.101 km kart track.
Around the asphalt you’ll find a 300 m (984 ft), four-story pit building with 34 garages, the Rydges Pit Lane Hotel overlooking pit lane, a vehicle museum, a dragway, a 4WD adventure park, a skid pan and a stadium area for drifting, karting and rallycross.
The Bend Track Guide: A Lap of the International Circuit
The International Circuit is the 4.950 km, 18-turn layout you’re most likely to see on TV, and it’s the one Supercars used for its first The Bend 500 in 2025. There aren’t official corner names here, so drivers and commentators just use turn numbers. This lap is based on Supercars driver Mark Winterbottom’s guide from the first event in 2018; the West Circuit used for the 2026 enduro shares the start-finish straight but cuts out the triple-apex right-hander and the longer infield loop.
Straight
Pit straight
The lap starts on a long, climbing main straight, and Supercars hit around 270 km/h (168 mph) before the brakes go on. Use the slipstream here; it sets up most of the passing on the lap.
T1
Turn 1
A heavy braking zone into a wide-open corner. It’s the main overtaking spot, so expect lunges on the opening lap and late-race restarts.
T2–4
Turns 2 to 4
A run of corners that takes you away from the pits and out into the country. Get a clean exit and carry speed toward the faster section ahead.
T5
Turn 5
A fast corner Supercars drivers take in fifth gear. It rewards commitment and a car that’s happy to change direction at speed.
T6
Turn 6
A long, off-camber left that doubles back on itself. It’s easy to run wide here, which makes it another good place to try a pass.
T7–10
Turns 7 to 10
A blind sequence and, according to drivers, the hardest part of the lap. You need to know where the track goes before you can see it, and a mistake in one corner costs you in the next.
T11–12
Turns 11 and 12
The far end of the lap, where you swing back toward the pits. Smooth hands help because the car is still settling from the sequence before.
T13
Turn 13
The camber changes in the middle of the corner and the road climbs, so the car can feel light just when you want to put the power down.
T14
Turn 14
A very tight corner that tests braking stability. Brake straight and be patient with the throttle.
T15–16
Turns 15 and 16
A short, twisty section that links the infield back toward the main straight. Exit speed from here builds toward the last two corners.
T17–18
Turns 17 and 18
The final two corners onto the pit straight are both overtaking chances. Nail the exit of Turn 18 and you’ll have the momentum for a pass into Turn 1.
The Bend Lap Records
With eight layouts, The Bend has a lot of lap records, and only laps set in a race count as official. Here are the ones people ask about most. On the International Circuit, the outright record belongs to John Magro, who lapped in 1:40.7295 in a Dallara F308 Formula 3 car in 2019. On the shorter West Circuit, Shane van Gisbergen set the Supercars record of 1:16.2224 in 2020, and Josh Kean set the outright mark of 1:10.085 in a historic Footwork FA15 Formula 1 car the same year.
2:38.673
GT Circuit race lap record
Aidan Read set the outright race lap record in a Ligier JS P217 LMP2 car during the Asian Le Mans Series 4 Hours of The Bend in January 2020.
2:35.698
Fastest-ever lap
Ben Barnicoat was even quicker in LMP2 qualifying for the same 2020 Asian Le Mans race, but qualifying laps don’t count as official records.
1:49.4042
Supercars, International Circuit
David Reynolds holds the Supercars race lap record on the International layout, set in a Holden Commodore ZB in August 2019.
1:50.035
Superbike, International Circuit
Cru Halliday set the superbike race lap record on a Ducati Panigale V4 R at the Australian Superbike round in November 2025.
Races and Events at The Bend
The headline act is the Supercars Championship, which runs its AirTouch 500 enduro here in September, and The Bend is locked in as the Bathurst warm-up through at least 2028. GT World Challenge Australia visits each autumn (May), the Australian Superbike Championship comes in November under its new summer-season format, and the dragway hosts meetings such as the Spring Nationals. Over the years the track has also hosted the Asian Le Mans Series, Asia Road Racing, S5000, TCR Australia and the TCR World Tour. WorldSBK arrives in 2028, with the round provisionally planned for February.
September
Supercars AirTouch 500 (The Bend 500)
Supercars Championship Enduro Cup
The Bend 500 is the first leg of the Supercars Enduro Cup, with two drivers per car and the Bathurst 1000 a few weeks later. Brodie Kostecki and Todd Hazelwood won the first one in 2025. In 2026 it moved to the West Circuit and ran in heavy rain on September 13, and Chaz Mostert and Fabian Coulthard won for Walkinshaw TWG Racing.
History
Supercars SuperSprints (2018–2023)
Before the enduro, The Bend hosted sprint rounds. Shane van Gisbergen won the first Supercars race here in 2018 and went on to win more, while Scott McLaughlin, Fabian Coulthard and Brodie Kostecki (in 2023) also took wins. The pictured Holden Commodore ZB belongs to Nick Percat at the 2018 event.
Year-round
Club and state racing
Club racing V8 touring cars
Between the big weekends, The Bend is busy with state and national series, from V8 touring cars and sports sedans to historic racing. The pictured Ford Falcon raced in the 2018 Kumho Tyre Australian V8 Touring Car Series finale here, and South Australian club meetings fill much of the calendar.
The Bend Race Calendar: 2026 and 2027
Here are the big public weekends at The Bend, so you can plan a trip around the racing you want to see. Club meetings, track days and drag racing fill many other weekends. Only officially announced dates are listed; check the official event calendar before you book, because dates can change.
2026 season
| Dates | Event | Series | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 8–10 | GT World Challenge Australia, Round 2 | GT World Challenge Australia | Done |
| Sep 11–13 | AirTouch 500 | Supercars Championship (Enduro Cup) | Done |
| Nov 13–15 | Australian Superbike Championship, Round 2 | ASBK (2027 summer season) | Upcoming |
| Nov 20–22 | Spring Nationals | Drag racing | Upcoming |
2027 season
| Dates | Event | Series | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 28–30 | GT World Challenge Australia, Round 2 | GT World Challenge Australia (provisional) | Upcoming |
| Sep 17–19 | AirTouch 500 | Supercars Championship (Enduro Cup) | Upcoming |
The Bend Weather by Season
The Bend sits inland on the plains near the Murray River, so it’s drier than Adelaide and swings further between warm days and cool nights. The figures below are Bureau of Meteorology long-term averages for Murray Bridge, the nearest major weather station, about 25 km (16 miles) away. The area averages only about 348 mm (13.7 in) of rain a year.
28–30°C / 82–85°F
Summer · Dec–Feb
Average highs of 28–30°C (82–85°F) and lows of 13–15°C (56–59°F). It’s the driest time of year, with about 16–24 mm (0.6–0.9 in) of rain a month, and hot days well above the average are common, so shade and water matter.
20–27°C / 67–81°F
Autumn · Mar–May
March is still warm at about 27°C (81°F); by May highs drop to about 20°C (67°F) and nights to about 8°C (46°F). Rain climbs to 20–35 mm (0.8–1.4 in) a month. It’s GT World Challenge season, so bring a layer.
16–18°C / 61–64°F
Winter · Jun–Aug
The coolest and wettest months, with highs of 16–18°C (61–64°F), lows around 6°C (43°F) and about 36–38 mm (1.4–1.5 in) of rain a month. Track days and club events still run, but pack a warm jacket.
20–26°C / 68–78°F
Spring · Sep–Nov
Supercars and superbike season. Highs rise from about 20°C (68°F) in September to 26°C (78°F) in November, with lows of 7–12°C (45–53°F) and 26–36 mm (1.0–1.4 in) of rain a month. As the 2026 enduro showed, a wet race weekend is always possible.
Visiting The Bend: Tickets, Getting There and Where to Watch
The Bend is a modern, purpose-built venue, so you get big flat paddocks, a huge pit building and room to roam, plus a hotel and campground right at the track. Tickets for major events are sold through links on the official site (thebend.com.au), and there’s also an event pass for regulars. We haven’t listed ticket prices because the official pages don’t publish a full price list, so check the event page before you book.
Where to watch
- Turn 1. The heaviest braking zone at the end of the pit straight and the main overtaking spot, especially on the opening laps and restarts.
- Turn 6. The long, off-camber left where cars run wide and drivers try to make moves.
- Turns 7 to 10. The blind, technical sequence where you can see who’s fully committed and who’s feeling for grip.
- Turns 17 and 18. The last two corners are overtaking chances and set up the drag race to Turn 1.
- The pit building. The 300 m, four-story building gives you a view of pit lane, which is where enduros are often won and lost.
Getting there and where to stay
The track is at 543 Dukes Highway, about 5 km (3 miles) east of Tailem Bend and roughly 100 km (62 miles) south-east of Adelaide. Plan on about an hour’s drive from the city via the South Eastern Freeway, and allow more time on race day. Adelaide Airport is the nearest major airport, and you’ll want a car.
If you’d rather not drive back to Adelaide, you can stay right at the track. The Rydges Pit Lane Hotel has 100 rooms, some with balconies that look straight down at pit lane. There’s also a BIG4 holiday park on site and, for some events, glamping tents on the pit straight. Rooms go fast on big weekends, so book early.
Tips
The Bend sits on flat, open farmland, so there isn’t much shade and the wind can be strong. In spring and autumn the mornings can be cool, then warm up quickly, so bring layers, a hat and sunscreen. If you’ve got kids or a spare afternoon, the kart track (for ages 14 and up), the 4WD park and the vehicle museum are all on the same site.
Can You Drive The Bend?
Yes, and there are more ways to do it than at most Australian tracks. The venue runs its own programs, from Lunch & Laps sessions (from A$59) to Speed Off The Street days on the West Circuit (from A$175) and Open Track Days on the International or GT Circuit (from A$349). Riders can sign up for Champions Ride Days (from A$295). Every program has its own entry rules, so check the requirements for your car or bike before you book.
If you’d rather leave the driving to someone else, passenger hot laps start at A$165 in a V8 Mustang or Holden, with rides in a rally car, on the back of a superbike, or in a formula car, Porsche GT3 Cup car or Radical SR3 costing more. Drive experiences in V8s and Hyundai i30 Ns start at A$335 for five laps. The Kartdrome runs 390cc SodiKart RT8 karts that hit about 70 km/h (43 mph), with arrive-and-drive sessions from A$35. These are the official “from” prices listed in November 2026 and can change.
On a screen, The Bend is in iRacing, which added the track in June 2025 with seven layouts. That makes it easy to learn the International or GT Circuit before your first track day.
Talk The Bend With Other Enthusiasts
Going to the AirTouch 500, booking your first Open Track Day or trying to learn all 35 turns of the GT Circuit? Share what you’ve learned, ask questions and find people going the same weekend in the AutoGathering community.
- The Bend 500 trips
- Track-day experiences
- Rydges Pit Lane Hotel stays
- GT Circuit lap tips
- Superbikes at The Bend
- WorldSBK 2028
- iRacing lap times
- South Australia road trips
The Bend FAQ
How long is The Bend Motorsport Park?
The full GT Circuit is 7.770 km (4.828 miles) long with 35 turns. The International Circuit is 4.950 km (3.076 miles) with 18 turns, and the West Circuit is 3.410 km (2.119 miles) with 12 turns.
Where is The Bend?
The Bend is at 543 Dukes Highway, about 5 km east of Tailem Bend in South Australia and roughly 100 km south-east of Adelaide, about an hour’s drive.
Why is The Bend called Shell V-Power Motorsport Park?
Viva Energy, which runs Shell’s fuel business in Australia, took the naming rights on July 1, 2023, under a 10-year deal. The venue still calls itself “formerly The Bend,” and most fans use the shorter name.
Who owns The Bend?
The Bend is owned by Peregrine Corporation, the Shahin family business, which also owns Mallala Motorsport Park.
When is the Supercars race at The Bend?
The Supercars AirTouch 500 runs in September. The 2026 race ran September 11–13, and the 2027 event is scheduled for September 17–19.
What is the lap record at The Bend?
On the GT Circuit, the race lap record is 2:38.673, set by Aidan Read in a Ligier LMP2 car in 2020. The Supercars record on the International Circuit is 1:49.4042, set by David Reynolds in 2019.
Can you drive your own car at The Bend?
Yes. The Bend runs Lunch & Laps sessions, Speed Off The Street days and Open Track Days on the International and GT circuits, plus ride days for motorcycles. There are also hot laps, drive experiences and karting.
Is there a hotel at The Bend?
Yes. The Rydges Pit Lane Hotel has 100 rooms, some with balconies over pit lane, and there’s a BIG4 holiday park on site too.
Explore More Racing Circuits
The Bend is one of 24 venues in our Oceania racing circuit directory. If you’re making a South Australian trip of it, the Adelaide Street Circuit hosts the Supercars season finale in the city’s East Parklands every November.
Photo credits
- Header image: Nathan Fenn, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and resized.
- Jamie Whincup’s Red Bull Holden Commodore ZB…: SchueyFan, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and resized.
- Nick Percat’s Holden Commodore ZB Supercar in…: GTHO, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and resized.
- Zak Best’s Ford Falcon FG in the…: GTHO, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and resized.
- Track map of the 7.770 km GT…: VulcanSphere, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and resized.
- Track map of the 4.950 km International…: VulcanSphere, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and resized.