Transporter parade gets Tailem Bend into gear for Supercars race

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The Murraylands has roared to life this week in the lead-up to the region’s biggest annual event.

About 400 people crowded Tailem Bend’s main street on Wednesday afternoon to watch a parade of Supercars transporter trucks, blowing their horns, soon after their arrival for this weekend’s OTR Super Sprint.

A few onlookers knocked off work early or paused on their way home from school, but many came from surrounding towns just for the spectacle.

DJ Hills, from Murray Bridge, said the supermarket where he worked had been busy all week, despite the school holidays having ended.

“(The race) is huge for the Bend, and even for Murray Bridge,” he said.

“Surrounding communities are benefiting … and now that COVID (restrictions) have been lifted we’ll get interstaters as well.

“City people might complain that they have to drive for an hour to get out here, but it’s good for us to turn the tables on them.”

Kevin Neumann said he lived close enough to the Bend Motorsport Park to hear the noise whenever there was an event or a practice day.

This weekend, he and his family will be cheering on Irwin Racing’s Mark Winterbottom down at the track.

“We go every year – we love it,” his daughter Katherine Lambe said.

“Dad raised me from a child to be into motor racing, so we didn’t have a choice.”

Thousands of people are expected to roll into Tailem over the next few days to watch the nation’s top drivers battle it out.

Supercars teams will compete in three 24-lap races over Saturday and Sunday, while Porsches, Aussie racing cars, sports sedans, historic touring cars and super utes will also be on the bill.

Sam Shahin, managing director of the Bend Motorsport Park, said the event would give South Australians a chance to show the value of motor sport to the state’s economy.

“The Bend Motorsport Park has responded to this opportunity to making the first of these two South Australian races (alongside the Adelaide 500) bigger and better than ever before, with more racing, more entertainment and more amenities for spectators over the three days,” he said.

• More information: www.thebend.com.au/otr-supersprint-the-bend.
• Tickets: From $29/19 at premier.ticketek.com.au.

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