The Bend Motorsport Park has announced that the venue will be renamed Shell V-Power Motorsport Park.
Today’s announcement is a landmark moment for The Bend, now in its 6th year of operation, to proudly partner with Shell V-Power, an iconic and internationally renowned brand. The Bend joins the likes of the Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 team, Team Penske Nascar/IndyCar operations, Hyundai’s factory World Rally Championship team and Australia’s own Dick Johnson Racing in the Shell motorsport family.
The Shell V-Power Motorsport Park nameplate was unveiled today with The Bend Welcome Centre’s fascia now sporting the venue’s new logo and a powerful new coating of Shell V-Power red, which is synonymous with the brand. Shell V-Power comes onboard at the busiest time in the history of the precinct with over 310 on-track days expected in 2023 including this weekend’s OTR SuperSprint, a round of the Australian Superbike Championship and the hosting of the 3-week-long Michelin Passion experience and various events for Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini, Audi and BMW.
The Dragway at The Bend will also commence operations in the final quarter with more than 15,000 people expected on the opening day of the Spring Nationals featuring the Burson Auto-Parts Top Fuel Championship. Sam Shahin, managing director Shell V-Power Motorsport Park: “We are absolutely honoured that a powerful global brand has committed to such a strong and lengthy partnership with our business.
It’s a testament to The Bend brand that we have developed since we set about building this venue close to a decade ago.” Alistair MacDonald, CEO Shell V-Power Motorsport Park: “We are excited and eager to work with Viva Energy & and Shell V-Power to create a partnership that is hugely beneficial for all parties and is representative of the combination of a world-class venue and a world- class brand.”
Jevan Bouzo, CEO Convenience & Mobility, Viva Energy Australia: “The Shell V-Power Motorsport Park at the Bend is an internationally award- winning venue and we are so proud to partner with them. This fantastic partnership brings together the quality and performance of Shell V-Power with state-of-the-art facilities, setting new benchmarks and fuelling a passion for motorsports.”
Zoe Bettison, tourism minister, South Australia: “Signing a powerful global brand like Shell V-Power not only signals how strong The Bend is as a venue, but also how much confidence the market has in the long-term success of this terrific South Australian business. Since 2016 when the first sod was turned, until now, the team at The Bend has been laser-focused on growing the venue as a world-class motorsport facility and a must-see destination in SA. We know events give people a reason to visit our tourism regions – and motorsport events like this weekend’s OTR SuperSprint are just what we want to keep people visiting and spending in this region.
In fact, last year, major events at The Bend contributed in excess of $14 million of economic benefit to the state. More broadly, tourism in this region is worth more than $274 million. We’ve got Monarto Safari Park, the incredible Murray River just a few kilometres away, and we’re not far from the Coorong or the Langhorne Creek wine region. We’ve also just experienced River Lights at Mannum – more than 20,000 people came through over the 10-day event, supporting the community as it recovers from the floods. And soon we’ll have the Santos Tour Down Under coming to Murray Bridge in January – so lots happening and plenty of reasons to visit.”
