TRUCK ASSIST TEKNO RACING THE BEND PREVIEW

PRESS RELEASE/Truck Assist TEKNO Racing – Photo: Velocity Magazine (Darin Mandy) QR 2019

• This weekend marks the second time the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship has visited South Australia’s The Bend Motorsport Park.
• Despite being forced off the track on the opening lap of each race last year, Le Brocq rebounded to register results of 16^th and 18^th.
• Le Brocq holds the distinction of winning the very first ever race contested at the venue, claiming victory in the opening Group A and C race from last year’s Shannons Nationals event.
• Le Brocq went on to claim three victories that weekend aboard an ex-Colin Bond Ford Sierra.

Jack Le Brocq, your thoughts on The Bend?
 
“The Bend is actually a really cool track, I like it, it’s open, fast and it’s got a bit of everything, hopefully with the rain the south of Australia has had in recent times it won’t be as dusty as last year!” Said Le Brocq.
 
“That dust certainly threw a lot of curve balls at us, because every time you would arrive at a corner there would be a different grip level to deal with.
 
“It really made putting together a lap in qualifying a bit of a lottery.
 
“It’s so wide and open, it really reminds me of racing over in Europe at places like Silverstone.”
 
Hopefully 12 months on the track has bedded in with some rubber…
 
“It should be good, I think it’s something of a trait with new track surfaces – Bathurst was very similar, the way the car reacts was unpredictable, especially in the rear.
 
“Hopefully that has calmed down a bit, making it a little bit easier to drive.
 
“Last year everyone was chasing massive corner-entry instability, which started to calm down as more laps were completed.”
 
The layout really has a mix of everything, fast and slow, how much of the car setup is a compromise?
 
“There’s a lot going on with the car in terms of setup, you’ve really got to focus on the areas that give you the biggest gain, often sacrificing other sections.
 
“Last year there was no tyre degradation, I think I wound up doing my fastest lap on the last lap!
 
“As the fuel load comes off, everyone gets faster, so practice is going to be important to see which direction the track has moved in 12 months.
 
“As it was, every race lap was a qualifying lap, there was no need to hold back, always trying to get the best out of it.”
 
Last year you were lucky enough to get a run in an historic Group A Sierra to learn the track prior to the Supercars event.
 
“The Sierra was absolutely unreal, a little nimble car, slick tyres, a lot of horsepower, massive turbo lag, it was a blast to drive!
 
“We still have the lap record there in the old girl, and I loved every moment there, an awesome track with a very cool car.”

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