Round 2 of the Adelaide University Pedal Prix Racing Championship heads to Shell V-Power Motorsport Park this Saturday, 23 May, with The Bend 6 Hour set to deliver another major test for the nation’s best human powered vehicle teams. Racing will run from 9:30am to 3:30pm on the venue’s 2.8km West Pedal Prix Circuit, a fast, flowing layout that blends long straights with technical corners and has quickly built a reputation as one of the most exciting and safest tracks on the calendar. With scrutineering scheduled for Friday and teams arriving from across South Australia, Victoria and beyond, the stage is set for a high-speed second chapter to the 2026 season.
The form guide from Mount Gambier in March gives this weekend’s C7 contest enormous intrigue. Wattle Racing’s Gunyah opened the year in brilliant fashion, winning the eight-hour season opener with 165 laps and edging GTrikes MkII Carbon Matrix Pro by just 1:24.757 after more than eight hours of racing. ELEMNT Racing’s ION was third with 157 laps, while Adelaide University’s EVO finished ninth in C7 on 142 laps and will be aiming to climb the order on a circuit that rewards efficiency, clean rider changes and outright pace. C7 is traditionally the benchmark community division, and at The Bend that usually means relentless pressure from the green flag to the chequered. The shorter six-hour format adds another layer: there is less time to recover from a slow stop, a mistimed strategy call or a mechanical issue, so every lap and every transition matters.
The S3 battle also shapes as a highlight after a strong opening round at McNamara Park. Pembroke School’s Phoenix claimed the category win there with 145 laps and showed impressive speed with a best lap of 2:48.712, making them the obvious early pacesetters heading into Tailem Bend. Norwood International High School’s Team XP8 took second on 137 laps, while Bendigo Senior Secondary College’s Dry Weet Bix completed the Mount Gambier podium with 134 laps. Blackfriars Priory School’s GHound 1 and Hills Christian Community School’s Sir Hubert were close behind, underlining how competitive S3 could become as more teams settle into the season. On a track as wide and smooth as Shell V-Power Motorsport Park, rider confidence through the faster sections can make a significant difference, and that should produce an aggressive, entertaining contest among the leading school teams.
Beyond the racing, The Bend offers one of the most complete event experiences in the championship. Spectators can follow the action from the pit straight precinct and viewing areas above the pits, while teams and supporters make use of the circuit’s accommodation, dining and camping options across the weekend. It is a venue that adds a sense of scale to every race, and that suits a round which may already prove pivotal in the early championship picture. If Mount Gambier was the season’s opening statement, Tailem Bend now becomes the first real pressure point. Can Wattle Racing keep control of C7? Can Pembroke School back up its S3 breakthrough? By Saturday afternoon, the answers should tell us plenty about who is building a genuine title campaign in 2026.
