Brad Schumacher heads to fourth GT World Challenge Australia round with championship lead

Bathurst driver Brad Schumacher only got his first taste of South Australia's The Bend Motorsport Park less than a fortnight ago during testing, but he loved the challenge it provided.

Schumacher heads back to the circuit for this weekend's third round of World GT Challenge Australia hoping to build upon his excellent round at last month's home race at Mount Panorama.

The Bend has only been operational for a little over three years but it has quickly garnered a great reputation among the motorsport community, and Schumacher said it was exciting to finally get behind the wheel at the track.

"Testing was really positive. I'd never been to The Bend prior to the test day. I'd spent some time in the simulator and it's a pretty tricky circuit," he said.

"It was only opened in 2018 so it hasn't rubbered up much and it's fairly sandy around there. Grip level isn't high and it's not as wide as it looks on TV.

"There's also a lot of off-camber corners so you'll come into a turn that looks like it's on-camber but then halfway through the turn it goes off-camber and all of a sudden the exits seem to tighten up a lot faster.

"It's a hoot to drive around. Once you get that muscle memory down, it's great. There's sections that are super high paced, and there's one section of the circuit that's a flurry of right hand turns after each other and you're on the tyre the whole way through flat out in fourth gear."

Schumacher was joined by full-time Supercars Championship driver Tim Slade during the April 27 test day and was able to gain some extra insights in handling his Audi R8 around the circuit.

The Bathurst driver got himself into the high 1:47s, which he believes bodes well for his upcoming round.

Schumacher comes to the track at Tailem Bend with a lead in the GT Trophy Series - his 68 points keeping him clear of nearest rival Brett Hobson (55).

With three rounds of solid performances and a great day of testing Schumacher will head to South Australia confident he can do the job.

"While the times weren't publicised, judging off our times against other cars on the circuit I was on the money. I now know the circuit like the back of my hand and I don't have to think about what I'm doing there anymore, it's just a matter of getting in the car and driving," he said.

"The track has a lot of opportunities for passing and it's certainly going to be a great circuit to watch cars race on this weekend."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: