The Shell V-Power Motorsport Park, formerly and colloquially known as “The Bend”, is one of Australia’s state of the art, world-class motorsport facilities.

Located within the Murray River Lakes and Coorong region, the venue’s construction began in November 2016 – developed by South Australia’s largest private company, the Peregrine Corporation.

The $100 million project included State and Federal Government support and was initially named South Australian Motorsport Park.

The main motor racing circuit was completed in April 2018, and in 2023, The Bend struck a 10-year venue naming rights deal with the renowned Shell V-Power brand, elevating the venue to the world stage of motorsport.

The venue’s plans did not lack vision, calling for a 7.7km circuit, second only to Germany’s legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife in total track length.

Shell V-Power Motorsport Park continues to be a hub for all motorsport disciplines, accommodating circuit racing (for cars and motorcycles), an international Group 1 Dragway, Australia’s only purpose-built drift circuit, a karting circuit, a rallycross circuit, driver training facilities, a 4WD adventure park and a rally/off road facility.

The venue has even served as a base for the Australian Rally Championship’s Adelaide Hills Rally, with parts of the circuit even being used as special stages in the rally. The park is also located on the former site of the Mitsubishi Australia proving ground.

The main racing circuit design has been inspired by some of the world’s most iconic circuits with a combination of technical corners and fast and flowing sections to ensure good racing. The circuit is Australia’s only track to comply with the latest FIA Grade 2 and FIM Category A standards.

There are up to seven circuit configurations ranging from 3.4 to 7.77 kilometres in length, with the GT Circuit being the second longest permanent circuit in the world, after the Nurburgring Nordschleife.

The track itself is considered technical, lined with fast-flowing sections and an aggregate rise and fall of 85 metres. The track is home to a total of eight configurations, providing the flexibility to host a range of racing and driving activities.

At 4.95km long, the International Circuit forms a mainstay for racing action and is used for the visit of the Supercars Championship, and national series events right through to state racing, club racing and private hire.

Incorporating the main pit straight, the 3.41km West and West Plus configurations are used for short track events including club racing, testing, sprints, cruising events and driver/rider training.

With its own, smaller pit building, the 3.93km East Circuit can be run independently from the West Circuit. This configuration is suitable for driver/rider training, drifting, testing, club days and private days.

The circuit held its first event in January 2018 – the Revolve24 Endurance Cycling Challenge – ahead of its opening motorsport event, a round of the then Shannons Nationals in April that year.

The following year the venue was named as the 2019 International Motorsport Facility of the Year.

The headline event each year, however, is the annual visit on the International Circuit of the Supercars Championship.

From 2020, the event was due to become a 500km endurance round, replacing Sandown as the traditional warm-up event for the Bathurst 1000.

However, the timing of the COVID-19 pandemic affected the make-up of the calendar, resulting in two sprint rounds being hosted on consecutive weekends instead of the original plan.

It had remained a sprint race since 2021 until this year (excluding 2024 when it did not feature on the calendar).

This year, it will host the first of the two Supercars Championship Enduro events from 12-14 September for the first time ever at the AirTouch 500, following the Shannons SpeedSeries The Bend GT Festival which took place earlier this month.