Andre Heimgartner’s strong form at The Bend Motorsport Park in 2020 has the young Kiwi energised ahead of this weekend’s OTR SuperSprint at the South Australian circuit.
The fourth round of the 2021 Repco Supercars Championship season, Heimgartner heads into the event with some fond memories after shaking up the series contenders around the International Circuit last season. At the wheel of the Ned Whisky Racing Mustang, Heimgartner posted two Top Five finishes, with a second place that included a daring pass on champion Scott McLaughlin.
“It was a good weekend for us, the cars were strong and everything went to plan, so looking forward to going back to The Bend,” Heimgartner said. “We always go pretty well there and it’s a track that I enjoy, so I’m really looking forward to having another go.”
The 25-year-old New Zealander showed not only race pace at the venue last season, but qualifying speed as well, with a fifth on the grid in his first season in the Ned Whisky Racing Mustang. In all three races, he improved on his starting position, with a fourth place from tenth on the grid, before an impressive second place after starting fifth.
This weekend, three races will take place – each 24 laps around The Bend’s 18-corner, 4.95-kilometre International Circuit – with one compulsory pit-stop in each. The starting grid for Saturday’s race will be determined by a three-part knockout qualifying format, with two traditional 10-minute sessions for each of Sunday’s races.
“My driving suits the track and the car seems to go pretty good there too, so it’s a bit of everything – it sort of all lines up,” Heimgartner said. “Tyre degradation will definitely be an issue – there’s definitely things we have to work around with that, but I think it will be just trying to get the car in the window. We’ve got some new parts in the car and lots of stuff happening, so we’ll be just trying to consolidate what we know and what we’ve learnt.”
The OTR SuperSprint, Round 4 of the 2021 Repco Supercars Championship, will take place across May 8-9 at The Bend Motorsport Park. First practice is scheduled for 8:45am ACST on Saturday May 8, ahead of qualifying at 12:50pm and Race 9 at 4:05pm.
The event will be broadcast live on Foxtel and will be streamed on Kayo with highlights on 7 and 7 Plus.
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