Andre Heimgartner and the #7 Ned Racing Mustang will hit the track at Sydney Motorsport Park this weekend as Supercars return to racing after more than three months.
Round 8 of the 2021 Repco Supercars Championship, the Bunnings Trade Sydney SuperNight is the first of four consecutive Supercars rounds at the Sydney Motorsport Park venue.
“It’s an exciting thing to be back and to do something that you love,” said 26-year-old Heimgartner. “To have a three-month break is a bit of a shock to the system and after while it’s like, okay I’ve had enough time, I just want to get back out there and actually race!”.
Last time out at the Western Sydney circuit, the New Zealander brilliantly drove to a tantalising second place for what would have been his first ever Supercars win – which he achieved with his maiden victory at The Bend in 2021 instead.
“Sydney Motorsport Park obviously suits my driving style, and everything falls into place – we have a good car setup there, so it all ends up working together. Hopefully that doesn’t change over the next four weeks,” he said.
“It’s the track I’ve done the most laps at recently. I’ve done a lot of driver training and I teach a lot of people how to race around there, so consequently I spend a lot of time at the track, so I think that helps.”
This weekend sees two days of competition, with Saturday featuring a Top Ten Shootout before Race 20 of the season, which will be held under lights.
“It’s basically like racing in the daytime now because the lights are so good,” Andre explains. “You’ve got plenty of vision and it’s sort of like when the Formula One races under lights – it’s like day.”
Sunday will see back-to-back 10-minute qualifying sessions for Races 21 and 22.
All three races will see 32 laps around the 3.93-kilometer Grand Prix layout at Sydney Motorsport Park for a 125km distance, with teams required to complete one compulsory pit stop and change at least two tyres.
The #7 Ned Racing Mustang will take to that track for Friday’s first practice session at 3:50pm AEDT, with live coverage on Fox Sports and streamed via Kayo. The Seven Network will broadcast live from 3:30pm AEDT on Saturday and 12:30pm AEDT Sunday.
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