Australian car aficionados will have a golden opportunity to test themselves and their vehicles on the full 7.77km GT circuit at The Bend Motorsport Park this April at the GT Sprint.
GT Sprint is the first opportunity for most drivers to drive the demanding full-length GT track, and quite possibly the only chance to hit the GT track without a top-tier racecar.
GT Sprint is the first event at The Bend available to entry-level CAMS licence-holders, following hot on the heels of round one of the 2018 Australian GT Endurance Championship, which will be the first time cars race on the full track layout. Opportunities to experience the GT circuit will be few and far between.
All types of cars can enter GT Sprint, from road cars to open-wheelers to exotic supercars, as long as they meet CAMS basic safety requirements.
Drivers only need a CAMS Level 2s licence, the entry level licence for motorsport in Australia.
Up to 30 cars will be on track at any time, racing against the clock in a Super Sprint format.
Entrants will be grouped among similar vehicles and drive five sessions on track across the day – three sessions on the 4.95km International Circuit that will be used in the Supercars championship round later in the year, followed by two sessions on the full 7.77km GT layout. Prizes will be awarded to the top three drivers in each category.
GT Sprint is owned by Tim Possingham, Event Director of the highly successful Adelaide Motorsport Festival (AMF). As with AMF, the Sporting Car Club of South Australia will deliver the motorsport elements of the event.
“My mission with GT Sprint is to open up access to the track for the average enthusiast,” Possingham says.
“For most of the year the only way you’d get to drive the full 7.7km GT circuit would be as an experienced race driver in a top-level car.
“This event allows you to enter your road car, or just about any kind of circuit racer, and experience this incredible new track at speed. You need to see this track to believe it, and to be among the first to drive it will be an experience to remember.
“The Bend is the second-longest permanent facility in the world – only the Nurburgring’s Nordschliefe is longer. It’s a real test of car and driver.”
The Bend Motorsport Park was only completed in 2018, and is the only circuit in Australia to comply with the latest FIA Grade 2 and FIM Category A standards.
With fast, flowing sections, tight and technical turns, and elevation changes of over 80 metres, the track has all the elements needed for exciting racing, along with the latest in safety features and facilities for racers and spectators.
There’s even accommodation overlooking the track at the four-star, 100-room Rydges Pit Lane Hotel.
“GT Sprint is a unique opportunity for anyone with a love for fast cars,” Tim Possingham says.
“It’s inclusive and exclusive at the same time – inclusive in that anyone can enter any kind of car, and exclusive in that entrants will then belong to a very select group of drivers who can claim to have set a lap time on The Bend’s GT circuit.
“Whether you’re an experienced racer who wants to try out Australia’s newest and best facility, or an enthusiast who has always wanted to test their skills on the racetrack, you need to put this in your calendar.”
Places are strictly limited and will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis. Entries are open now at www.gtsprint.com.au
