2024 NED Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint – Bendix Racing Round Wrap-Up

The eighth stop on the 2024 Supercars Championship calendar brought Bendix Racing across the Bass Strait to Tasmania for the 2024 NED Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint. Symmons Plains Raceway in Launceston would host Race 17 and 18 of the 2024 Championship with Nick Percat piloting the Bendix Racing Camaro yet again.

The race weekend opened on Friday with Practice 1 taking place in the afternoon. Nick Percat would show good pace, claiming the 6^th fastest lap amongst the pack with a best time of 51.333s. A second practice session plagued by heavy wet weather would kick off Saturday’s festivities and see Nick Percat drive the 22^nd fastest lap with a 55.280s best time thanks to the perilous conditions.

Race 17 Qualifying would take place shortly after Practice 2 and with weather conditions having improved, the teams were free to turn the wick back up. The session would see Nick Percat earn himself a P4 start on the grid for the weekend’s first race thanks to a 51.124s best lap.

Saturday’s race would see Nick Percat claim his second victory of the season after a thrilling weekend opener. A lightning-fast 3.8s pit stop in the later stages of Race 17 would provide Bendix Racing with the race-winning edge, propelling Nick Percat ahead of Broc Feeney and Cameron Waters.

Nick would then go on to hold off his rivals for the remainder of the race, ultimately crossing the chequered flag in P1. Nick had the following to say to cap off a fantastic outing for the team.

Nick Percat: “The Bendix Racing car has been on rails since we rolled out the truck. It is a pleasure to drive. I can't thank Matt Stone, Jack Bellotti, everyone on my car enough. The faith is there, and when you've got the faith you go well. The thing was a jet. When I realised how fast the pit stop was, I was like ‘we’re going to come out in the lead here’ because that was seriously quick. Credit to the team, because they got me the track position and effectively the race win - and I could manage what I was doing from there.”

Sunday’s action would kick off with Race 18 Qualifying and prove itself to be a frustrating outing for Nick Percat coming off the back of Saturday’s win. The team would take a gamble on using a used tyre to set their qualifying lap, which would ultimately backfire with Nick getting knocked out of the session in Q1. This would see him placed at 24^th on the grid to start Race 18 after only managing a best time of 51.360s.

Race 18 Qualifying was an enormous setback for Bendix Racing, but Nick was able to salvage the weekend in spectacular fashion after a heroic effort in Tasmania’s final race. Nick would scratch and claw up the field, ultimately fighting his way back into the top ten to a P7 finish for Race 18. Nick had the following to say to round out an epic end to the Tassie round.

Nick Percat: “It was action packed. Obviously when you win one day and end up last the next it’s probably not a true indication of where you are at. I knew I had a really fast car so I really just took my time. We didn’t really start making our moves until about 15 laps to go; we grabbed a couple in the pit stop - the boys were mega again - and a couple off the start. I think I got four or five positions in the last six laps — it was a pleasure all weekend the Bendix car, so big shout out to the MSR crew."

With the 2024 NED Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint done and dusted, we see Nick Percat climb to 6^th on the leaderboard with 1368 points. In the team standings, Matt Stone Racing stays at 6^th place on the leaderboard with a total of 2434 points.

The 2024 Supercars Championship continues next month when the series makes its way down to Melbourne for the 2024 Penrite Oil Sandown 500, running from September 13^th – 15^th.

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