A Cold, Windy and Wild Weekend at The Bend

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The Bend proved a difficult challenge for the 2022 Supercars season drivers.

Cold, windy and wild. That was The Bend last weekend for Round 8 of the 2022 Supercars Championship.

The weather played it’s part across the whole weekend which lead to Bryce having to contend with low visibility and some extremely dangerous conditions.

The Bend is one of those tracks where you just never know what the conditions are going to bring. The wet weather made it even more difficult to overtake, making it vital to have a good qualifying session. Also, with the Supersprint format over the weekend, it made it even more difficult to make any adjustments and / or to change things up.

Car balance and tyre management was always going to be crucial across the three races. As they were back on the softs and The Bend is the second longest circuit on the Supercars calendar, behind the Mountain.

Saturday’s racing saw the No.14 Middy’s Supercar eliminated after part two of the three-part knock-out quals, leaving Bryce to start Race 21 in P19. Bryce ran longish in Race 21 where he had a good battle with Kostecki, but got stuck in traffic after his pit stop and finished in 17th place.

Bryce did a great job in the qualifying session for Race 22 gaining a P9 start position.

The every changing elements and conditions led to difficulties with grip across the morning, however Fullwood still finished with a P11 starting place for Race 23.

Unfortunately Race 22 saw Bryce’s teammate Andre Heimgartner end up in a serious accident at the start of the Race. Andre was taken to hospital but luckily had no serious injuries. His car on the other hand, required a total rebuild. The delayed restart meant it became a time-ensured race, with Bryce driving consistently and with good pace leading to a P10 finish in Race 22.

As the fog rolled in for Race 23 it made the racing conditions very difficult. Particularly for the No#14 Middy's car and it’s right-hand side. As most of the corners at this circuit are right-handers, seeing the apex and knowing where to point the car was a challenge in low to no visibility. This led to Bryce shooting off the road at one point in the Race.

Overall, he crossed the line in P17.

The results:
Race 21
• Qualifying knockout- eliminated after part two – p19
• Race finish – p17

Race 22
• Qualifying – p9
• Race finish – p10
 
Race 23
• Qualifying – p11
• Race finish – p17