Opinion
From the abrasive, tyre hungry track surface of Wanneroo Raceway out west to the cold and short Symmons Plains, the Supercars circus continues to roar, impress and surprise at the Tasmania SuperSprint.
A cracking teammate battle atop the standings, frustration for a key contender and the birth of a new Mr Sunday, here are all the talking points from another three races of the Supercars championships.
Will Brown stitched together another solid weekend with two wins at the Tasmania SuperSprint and a second placing, to further close the gap atop the championship standings between he and teammate Brodie Kostecki.
Saturday’s Race 10 saw the 25-year old lead off pole position and keep Matt Stone Racing’s Jack Le Brocq at bay into Turn 3, while teammate Kostecki’s race was ruined at Turn 4 after contact with Cam Waters.
Brown commanded the 42-lap sprint to his second win of the season, backing up a strong round in Perth. Race 11 saw the Toowoomba native enjoy a battle for the lead with Kostecki, before ultimately both being trumped by Broc Feeney.
Race 12 was another inter-team battle between the Erebus Camaros, with polesitter Kostecki being displaced by his teammate at the start. With pace in hand, Brown pulled out a 5-second lead after the pit-stop and again saw the chequered flag first.
Unfortunately for Kostecki, there was late tyre troubles with both Red Bull Camaros looking to throw him off the podium. Feeney was indeed able to, but while Shane van Gisbergen was initially able to pass his rival – Kostecki took third back.
It’s a 87-point margin at the top of the standings now between the two teammates, with Brown having moved into second through the weekend. An exciting prospect overall, with two fresh challengers and a different team in the hunt for the championship.
Dubbed the new Mr Sunday, Feeney recovered after being displaced from the front-row of the grid at the start of Race 11, to take another Sunday victory and increase his career tally to four.
The 20-year old then nailed an overcut strategy with a fast pit-stop to leapfrog the likes of the Erebus Camaros and the high-rating Matt
Stone Racing duo of Jack Le Brocq and Cameron Hill, to emerge in the lead for a third win of 2023.
Feeney was hung out wide by Kostecki at Turn 1, which allowed Erebus teammate Brown to capitalise. Both the Coca-Cola Camaros put on a show with a back and forth exchange of positions between Kostecki and Brown.
However, with solid pace Feeney was able to make his gains through the pit-stop on Lap 22 where he rejoined the race to lead Kostecki and Brown. The young Red Bull racer showing a great ability for manage his race and pull off sensible wins to gain further momentum in fifth.
Despite having won the opening race of the season in Newcastle, because of both Red Bull Ampol Racing cars being disqualified, it has been a frustrating and inconsistent run of events for Tickford’s Cam Waters.
The struggles for all the Ford teams have been well documented so far in 2023, though the weekend at Symmons Plains for Waters did seem like one of wasted potential for the frontrunning Mustang racer.
Waters showed strong pace on Saturday, setting the fastest time of the weekend during the three-phase qualifying, but then in Part 3 ended up 0.202-seconds off pole position which went to Brown and locking out the front-row was Le Brocq; who’s had a strong weekend for Matt Stone Racing.
Then Race 11 saw Waters entangled with championship leader Kostecki at Turn 4, to no detriment of the Monster Energy Mustang. The 28-year old was jumped in the pit-stops by André Heimgartner, who celebrated 100 round starts with a podium and then to add further misery, was knocked off the podium by the fast van Gisbergen on the final lap.
Where it seems the frustration really boiled over though was during the qualifying sessions on Sunday, where not once – Waters found himself colliding with a Dick Johnson Racing Mustang in both sessions.
Congestion is always a talking point at a short track like Symmons, however for a car that could’ve potentially been on pole twice with the speed that Waters showed, make it even more of a let down for the Ford driver.
In a series where points are paid for even last position, failing to be classified really has a negative impact on a driver’s spot in the standings.
Particularly for key championship contenders who can ill-afford failing to score points.
Two key contenders at Symmons Plains found themselves not classified in separate incidents, across Race 10 and 11 while their immediate rivals continued to solidify themselves in the standings.
First it was Chaz Mostert, who’s still yet to claim another podium finish since the season opener in Newcastle, who in Race 10 found himself tagged by Feeney at Turn 4 – which saw various incidents – on Lap 3. Having been spun, Mostert was then hit by Scott Pye – with both cars on the grass.
Championship leader Kostecki was also hit by Waters on the outside exit of Turn 4, but was more fortunate to have been able to be a classified finisher despite being six laps down. Steering damage meant Mostert was out.
Van Gisbergen in Race 11 was handed his first DNF since Townsville 2020, when his Red Bull Camaro connected with David Reynolds’ Penrite Mustang at Turn 6. In what was an unexpected racing incident, the Kiwi’s car ended up with more damage having been fired off into the tyre wall.
Van Gisbergen will make his highly anticipated debut in the NASCAR Cup Series; with confirmation the three-time Supercars champion will steer the Project91 Chevrolet Camaro in Chicago.
The inaugural Chicago street race for America’s premier stockcar racing series will take place on July 2 and just a week out from the Townsville 500 Supercars round.
“It’s one of the biggest motor racing series in the world and to get an opportunity to be part of it, and jump straight into the top level in America, it’s unbelievable,” said the 34-year old during the announcement.
Project91 run by Justin Marks’ Trackhouse Racing outfit is a wildcard scheme, which invites international superstars to ply their trade in
NASCAR. Most notably, 2007 Formula One world champion Kimi Räikkönen races in the #91 Camaro at two rounds including Circuit of the Americas in March.
It’s no secret that van Gisbergen has a desire to race long term in NASCAR and while he’s signed a fresh deal with incumbent Triple Eight in Supercars beyond the end of 2023, there’s consensus he may not stick around beyond 2024 and instead follow former two-time Supercars champ Marcos Ambrose’s footsteps in pursuing a career in NASCAR.
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