The Bend's not a bad motorsport facility. It has a big welcome centre with a range of modern and historic racing cars on display, a hotel and a restaurant that looks out on pit straight. There are good viewing positions on the level 2 outdoor balcony and a few grandstands. The circuit actually has a bit of elevation change, enough to make the corners a little blind.
The GT3s had a very small field, only 10 cars, 2 of which were GT4 KTM's, with Whincup and Van Gisbergen in two separate teams. The cars sounded great. Interestingly, in the Australian GT3 series, the cars have a set handicapped pitstop time, based on qualifying position and driver rating.
The TCR racing was entertaining, with 19 starters and the usual touring car bump and grind. Ingall, Tander, Bright, D'Alberto, Moffat and Heimgartner were among the drivers. The cars sound a lot more dynamic than on TV, with a lot of backfire and snap, crackle and pop. In our next season, the Seat Leon has got the raspy, poppy sound down pretty accurately.