Hazelwood aiming for MSR Tassie form repeat

Todd Hazelwood believes Matt Stone Racing is well-positioned to repeat its 2021 Tasmania heroics.

The team impressed at Symmons Plains last April; notably, Zane Goddard qualified fourth and finished seventh.

In recent year, the 2.41km circuit has favoured Triple Eight-built cars, which have won 23 of the last 33 races.

A new and improved MSR showed glimpses of speed in Sydney, with Hazelwood and Le Brocq both spending time at the pointy end.

Hazelwood remained wary of the challenge of repeating MSR’s 2021 efforts in Tasmania.

However, he was adamant the team’s hard work following Sydney will pay dividends.

“Tassie will be interesting for us; we went into Sydney with eyes wide open,” he told Supercars.com.

“Sydney was previously a bogey track for MSR, and we came out of the weekend with solid results.

“Any race you finish better than you started is a positive.

“Tassie was the team’s best event last year, but that doesn’t mean we’ll bounce straight into that form this weekend.

“We’re hoping to go even better than last year, we’ve been working hard behind the scenes.

“Hopefully that hard work takes care of itself.”

Hazelwood finished 13th in Race 2 in Sydney

Hazelwood’s 2021 efforts in Tasmania were curtailed by poor one-lap pace in his Brad Jones Racing Commodore.

However, he was a force in the three sprints; Hazelwood gained 10 positions in the first race, seven in the second and five in the third.

The 2017 Super2 champion acknowledged his chances this weekend will hang on MSR getting it right in qualifying.

“Qualifying is so important in Tassie,” said Hazelwood, who is 14th in the championship.

“Based off my form guide from last year, qualifying was something I struggled with.

“There’ll be a lot of emphasis on phasing the tyre and getting it ready for that ultimate lap.

Three races, 22 positions gained in 2021

“We haven’t qualified the new Super Soft tyre before; it rolled in Sydney in the race. It’s very much an unknown.

“With such a short lap, that means a short out lap; with low ambient temperatures, it’s hard to push on the first flying lap.

“It’s always tight in Tassie, so it’ll be a talking point for sure.”

The 2022 Repco Supercars Championship will resume at the NED Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint. CLICK HERE to purchase your tickets.

Every session of the event will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 506 and streamed on Kayo.

The Seven Network will broadcast highlights on Saturday and Sunday.