# 2018 The Bend SuperSprint

The 2018 The Bend SuperSprint (formally known as the 2018 OTR SuperSprint at The Bend Motorsport Park) was a motor racing event for Supercars, held on the weekend of 24–26 August 2018. The event was held at The Bend Motorsport Park near Tailem Bend in South Australia and was the first Supercars event to be held at the circuit. It was the eleventh round of sixteen in the 2018 Supercars Championship and hosted Races 22 and 23 of the season.

## Background
### Entry alterations

The round was open to wildcard entries from the Super2 Series and saw the grid expanded to twenty-eight cars with the addition of two extra entries – Brad Jones Racing entering a third Holden Commodore ZB for Macauley Jones, and Kostecki Brothers Racing entering their Super2 Holden Commodore VF and driver Kurt Kostecki.
Rookie main game team Matt Stone Racing and driver Todd Hazelwood reverted to the Holden Commodore VF they used to win the 2017 Super2 Series championship.

## Results
### Practice

Practice summary :
| Session | Day | Fastest lap | Fastest lap | Fastest lap | Fastest lap | Fastest lap |
| Session | Day | No. | Driver | Team | Car | Time |
| Practice 1 | Friday | 14 | Tim Slade | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:50.1395 |
| Practice 2 | Friday | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:48.7499 |
| Practice 3 | Saturday | 8 | Nick Percat | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:49.5892 |
| Sources: |||||||

### Race 22
#### Qualifying

| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Car | Time | Gap | Grid |
| 1 | 1 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:50.1371 | | 1 |
| 2 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:50.2943 | +0.1572 | 2 |
| 3 | 23 | Michael Caruso | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 1:50.6964 | +0.5593 | 3 |
| 4 | 15 | Rick Kelly | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 1:50.7826 | +0.6455 | 4 |
| 5 | 17 | Scott McLaughlin | DJR Team Penske | Ford Falcon FG X | 1:50.8069 | +0.6698 | 5 |
| 6 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 1:50.9940 | +0.8569 | 6 |
| 7 | 55 | Chaz Mostert | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 1:51.0414 | +0.9043 | 7 |
| 8 | 6 | Cam Waters | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 1:51.2175 | +1.0804 | 8 |
| 9 | 14 | Tim Slade | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:51.2219 | +1.0848 | 9 |
| 10 | 33 | Garth Tander | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:51.2454 | +1.1083 | 10 |
| 11 | 230 | Will Davison | 23Red Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 1:51.3326 | +1.1955 | 11 |
| 12 | 8 | Nick Percat | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:51.4100 | +1.2729 | 12 |
| 13 | 21 | Tim Blanchard | Tim Blanchard Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:51.4329 | +1.2958 | 13 |
| 14 | 18 | Lee Holdsworth | Team 18 | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:51.4775 | +1.3404 | 14 |
| 15 | 19 | Jack Le Brocq | Tekno Autosports | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:51.4849 | +1.3478 | 15 |
| 16 | 34 | James Golding | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:51.5193 | +1.3822 | 16 |
| 17 | 9 | David Reynolds | Erebus Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:51.5601 | +1.4230 | 17 |
| 18 | 7 | Andre Heimgartner | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 1:51.5823 | +1.4452 | 18 |
| 19 | 4 | Macauley Jones | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:51.5901 | +1.4530 | 19 |
| 20 | 99 | Anton de Pasquale | Erebus Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:51.6773 | +1.5402 | 20 |
| 21 | 78 | Simona de Silvestro | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 1:51.8424 | +1.7053 | 21 |
| 22 | 12 | Fabian Coulthard | DJR Team Penske | Ford Falcon FG X | 1:51.8455 | +1.7084 | 22 |
| 23 | 2 | Scott Pye | Walkinshaw Andretti United | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:51.8571 | +1.7200 | 23 |
| 24 | 25 | James Courtney | Walkinshaw Andretti United | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:51.9839 | +1.8468 | 24 |
| 25 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:52.1635 | +2.0264 | 25 |
| 26 | 56 | Richie Stanaway | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 1:52.1902 | +2.0531 | 26 |
| 27 | 42 | Kurt Kostecki | Kostecki Brothers Racing | Holden Commodore VF | 1:53.9438 | +3.8067 | 27 |
| 28 | 35 | Todd Hazelwood | Matt Stone Racing | Holden Commodore VF | 1:54.2403 | +4.1032 | 28 |
| Source: ||||||||

#### Race

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Car | Laps | Time / Retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | 24 | 48:23.2330 | 2 | 150 |
| 2 | 15 | Rick Kelly | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 24 | +6.2601 | 4 | 138 |
| 3 | 23 | Michael Caruso | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 24 | +8.9121 | 3 | 129 |
| 4 | 1 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | 24 | +12.8869 | 1 | 120 |
| 5 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 24 | +15.8231 | 6 | 111 |
| 6 | 17 | Scott McLaughlin | DJR Team Penske | Ford Falcon FG X | 24 | +16.3999 | 5 | 102 |
| 7 | 230 | Will Davison | 23Red Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 24 | +16.7756 | 11 | 96 |
| 8 | 25 | James Courtney | Walkinshaw Andretti United | Holden Commodore ZB | 24 | +17.2385 | 24 | 90 |
| 9 | 55 | Chaz Mostert | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 24 | +18.4190 | 7 | 84 |
| 10 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | 24 | +19.3586 | 25 | 78 |
| 11 | 8 | Nick Percat | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 24 | +20.5996 | 12 | 72 |
| 12 | 14 | Tim Slade | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 24 | +22.7779 | 9 | 69 |
| 13 | 6 | Cam Waters | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 24 | +24.9283 | 8 | 66 |
| 14 | 12 | Fabian Coulthard | DJR Team Penske | Ford Falcon FG X | 24 | +27.3514 | 22 | 63 |
| 15 | 21 | Tim Blanchard | Tim Blanchard Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 24 | +28.0386 | 13 | 60 |
| 16 | 19 | Jack Le Brocq | Tekno Autosports | Holden Commodore ZB | 24 | +33.5283 | 15 | 57 |
| 17 | 9 | David Reynolds | Erebus Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 24 | +33.7630 | 17 | 54 |
| 18 | 2 | Scott Pye | Walkinshaw Andretti United | Holden Commodore ZB | 24 | +34.0829 | 23 | 51 |
| 19 | 7 | Andre Heimgartner | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 24 | +34.6398 | 18 | 48 |
| 20 | 18 | Lee Holdsworth | Team 18 | Holden Commodore ZB | 24 | +39.7718 | 14 | 45 |
| 21 | 34 | James Golding | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 24 | +41.8972 | 16 | 42 |
| 22 | 56 | Richie Stanaway | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 24 | +43.2828 | 26 | 39 |
| 23 | 78 | Simona de Silvestro | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 24 | +43.7149 | 21 | 36 |
| 24 | 99 | Anton de Pasquale | Erebus Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 24 | +45.3631 | 20 | 33 |
| 25 | 4 | Macauley Jones | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 24 | +45.5782 | 19 | 30 |
| 26 | 35 | Todd Hazelwood | Matt Stone Racing | Holden Commodore VF | 24 | +57.9581 | 28 | 27 |
| 27 | 42 | Kurt Kostecki | Kostecki Brothers Racing | Holden Commodore VF | 24 | +1:07.6492 | 27 | 24 |
| 28 | 33 | Garth Tander | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 18 | +6 laps | 10 | 21 |
| Fastest lap: Shane van Gisbergen (Triple Eight Race Engineering) 1:51.1629 (on lap 10) |||||||||
| Source: |||||||||

##### Notes

* ^1 – Garth Tander received a 90-second post-race Time Penalty for failing to complete the CPS requirements for the Race.

#### Championship standings after Race 22

| Pos | Driver | Pts | Gap |
| 1 | Scott McLaughlin | 2681 | |
| 2 | Shane van Gisbergen | 2640 | -41 |
| 3 | Jamie Whincup | 2266 | -415 |
| 4 | Craig Lowndes | 2139 | -542 |
| 5 | David Reynolds | 2084 | -597 |
| Pos | Team | Pts | Gap |
| 1 | Triple Eight Race Engineering (1, 97) | 4905 | |
| 2 | DJR Team Penske | 4540 | -365 |
| 3 | Tickford Racing (5, 55) | 3298 | -1607 |
| 4 | Brad Jones Racing | 3204 | -1701 |
| 5 | Erebus Motorsport | 3124 | -1781 |
* Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

### Race 23
#### Qualifying

| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Car | Time | Gap | Grid |
| 1 | 1 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:48.6498 | | 1 |
| 2 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:49.0515 | +0.4017 | 2 |
| 3 | 14 | Tim Slade | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:49.3326 | +0.6828 | 3 |
| 4 | 2 | Scott Pye | Walkinshaw Andretti United | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:49.4152 | +0.7654 | 4 |
| 5 | 23 | Michael Caruso | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 1:49.5336 | +0.8838 | 5 |
| 6 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:49.5564 | +0.9066 | 6 |
| 7 | 25 | James Courtney | Walkinshaw Andretti United | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:49.5622 | +0.9124 | 7 |
| 8 | 99 | Anton de Pasquale | Erebus Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:49.5774 | +0.9276 | 8 |
| 9 | 15 | Rick Kelly | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 1:49.6589 | +1.0091 | 9 |
| 10 | 17 | Scott McLaughlin | DJR Team Penske | Ford Falcon FG X | 1:49.6845 | +1.0347 | 10 |
| 11 | 7 | Andre Heimgartner | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 1:49.6957 | +1.0459 | 11 |
| 12 | 9 | David Reynolds | Erebus Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:49.7013 | +1.0515 | 12 |
| 13 | 12 | Fabian Coulthard | DJR Team Penske | Ford Falcon FG X | 1:49.7324 | +1.0826 | 13 |
| 14 | 6 | Cam Waters | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 1:49.8696 | +1.2198 | 14 |
| 15 | 8 | Nick Percat | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:49.8853 | +1.2355 | 15 |
| 16 | 230 | Will Davison | 23Red Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 1:49.9030 | +1.2532 | 16 |
| 17 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 1:49.9457 | +1.2959 | 17 |
| 18 | 33 | Garth Tander | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:50.0923 | +1.4425 | 18 |
| 19 | 19 | Jack Le Brocq | Tekno Autosports | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:50.2835 | +1.6337 | 19 |
| 20 | 4 | Macauley Jones | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:50.3359 | +1.6861 | 20 |
| 21 | 78 | Simona de Silvestro | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 1:50.3797 | +1.7299 | 21 |
| 22 | 18 | Lee Holdsworth | Team 18 | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:50.4713 | +1.8215 | 22 |
| 23 | 21 | Tim Blanchard | Tim Blanchard Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:50.4792 | +1.8294 | 23 |
| 24 | 55 | Chaz Mostert | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 1:50.6633 | +2.0135 | 24 |
| 25 | 34 | James Golding | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:50.8773 | +2.2275 | 25 |
| 26 | 42 | Kurt Kostecki | Kostecki Brothers Racing | Holden Commodore VF | 1:51.1777 | +2.5279 | 26 |
| 27 | 56 | Richie Stanaway | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 1:51.1898 | +2.5400 | 28 |
| 28 | 35 | Todd Hazelwood | Matt Stone Racing | Holden Commodore VF | 1:52.0455 | +3.3957 | 27 |
| Source: ||||||||

##### Notes

* ^1 – Richie Stanaway received a 3-place grid penalty for impeding James Golding in qualifying. But as he qualifies 27th, 2 of the 3 Grid Spot penalties will carry over to the next Event.

#### Race

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Car | Laps | Time / Retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 | 1 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | 41 | 1:17:54.3861 | 1 | 150 |
| 2 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | 41 | +11.2894 | 2 | 138 |
| 3 | 9 | David Reynolds | Erebus Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 41 | +13.4575 | 12 | 129 |
| 4 | 14 | Tim Slade | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 41 | +20.5439 | 3 | 120 |
| 5 | 8 | Nick Percat | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 41 | +22.0638 | 15 | 111 |
| 6 | 2 | Scott Pye | Walkinshaw Andretti United | Holden Commodore ZB | 41 | +24.6875 | 4 | 102 |
| 7 | 230 | Will Davison | 23Red Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 41 | +26.3717 | 16 | 96 |
| 8 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | 41 | +30.5943 | 6 | 90 |
| 9 | 23 | Michael Caruso | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 41 | +32.4143 | 5 | 84 |
| 10 | 17 | Scott McLaughlin | DJR Team Penske | Ford Falcon FG X | 41 | +34.9658 | 10 | 78 |
| 11 | 99 | Anton de Pasquale | Erebus Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 41 | +43.5850 | 8 | 72 |
| 12 | 55 | Chaz Mostert | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 41 | +44.4194 | 24 | 69 |
| 13 | 25 | James Courtney | Walkinshaw Andretti United | Holden Commodore ZB | 41 | +47.0991 | 7 | 66 |
| 14 | 12 | Fabian Coulthard | DJR Team Penske | Ford Falcon FG X | 41 | +47.3777 | 13 | 63 |
| 15 | 6 | Cam Waters | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 41 | +47.7844 | 14 | 60 |
| 16 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 41 | +49.0798 | 17 | 57 |
| 17 | 15 | Rick Kelly | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 41 | +53.5339 | 9 | 54 |
| 18 | 19 | Jack Le Brocq | Tekno Autosports | Holden Commodore ZB | 41 | +1:09.2666 | 19 | 51 |
| 19 | 4 | Macauley Jones | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 41 | +1:13.2971 | 20 | 48 |
| 20 | 33 | Garth Tander | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 41 | +1:13.8810 | 18 | 45 |
| 21 | 21 | Tim Blanchard | Tim Blanchard Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 41 | +1:22.0579 | 23 | 42 |
| 22 | 56 | Richie Stanaway | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 41 | +1:36.0884 | 28 | 39 |
| 23 | 78 | Simona de Silvestro | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 41 | +1:45.0074 | 21 | 36 |
| 24 | 34 | James Golding | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 41 | +1:45.5867 | 25 | 33 |
| 25 | 35 | Todd Hazelwood | Matt Stone Racing | Holden Commodore VF | 40 | +1 lap | 27 | 30 |
| NC | 18 | Lee Holdsworth | Team 18 | Holden Commodore ZB | 20 | Retirement | 22 | |
| NC | 7 | Andre Heimgartner | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 4 | Retirement | 11 | |
| NC | 42 | Kurt Kostecki | Kostecki Brothers Racing | Holden Commodore VF | 1 | Retirement | 26 | |
| Fastest lap: Jamie Whincup (Triple Eight Race Engineering) 1:50.5833 (on lap 40) |||||||||
| Source: |||||||||

#### Championship standings after Race 23

| | Pos | Driver | Pts | Gap |
| 1 | 1 | Shane van Gisbergen | 2778 | |
| 1 | 2 | Scott McLaughlin | 2759 | -19 |
| | 3 | Jamie Whincup | 2416 | -362 |
| | 4 | Craig Lowndes | 2229 | -549 |
| | 5 | David Reynolds | 2213 | -565 |
| | Pos | Team | Pts | Gap |
| | 1 | Triple Eight Race Engineering (1, 97) | 5193 | |
| | 2 | DJR Team Penske | 4681 | -512 |
| 1 | 3 | Brad Jones Racing | 3435 | -1758 |
| 1 | 4 | Tickford Racing (5, 55) | 3424 | -1769 |
| | 5 | Erebus Motorsport | 3325 | -1868 |
* Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.