Kiwi driver Shane van Gisbergen expecting more crashes than usual at Supercars' newest event

August 24, 2018
Shane van Gisbergen, Red Bull Holden Racing Australia.
ITM Auckland Supersprint V8 Supercars. Pukekohe Park Raceway, Auckland, New Zealand. 04 November 2017. © Copyright Image: Marc Shannon / www.photosport.nz.

Most Supercars drivers are effectively heading into the unknown this weekend but Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen says there is one thing to expect at The Bend Motorsport Park - crashes.

The South Australian track is located just south of Adelaide and is a new addition to the Supercars calender after opening earlier this year, meaning many drivers haven't experienced it.

And even if they have, there are eight different configurations available - the Supercars will be racing the 4.95km international circuit.

As a result, van Gisbergen believes there will be a higher casualty rate than usual.

"I think within five or six laps, everyone will be up to speed," he told Fox Sports' Supercars Trackside.

"Everyone will be on the pace pretty quickly, but there’ll still be more mistakes than usual, [because it is a] new track.

"Here, being so open, there’s plenty of time to exploit the limits, so you'll see a few drivers going off tomorrow."

The 29-year-old is one of the rare few to have some experience on the track, having driven around it in April as part of the Australian endurance championship.

"A big challenge is the wind - it's so variable here and every lap, it changes.

"I felt it so much in the GT car, [the wind was] very inconsistent, so that's going to be a big challenge as well, because it’s such an open plain here."

Van Gisbergen sits second in the driver's championship with 10 races left, 89 points behind fellow Kiwi Scott McLaughlin.

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