Triple Eight working to solve missing link

Triple Eight is determined to solve its qualifying inconsistencies as it aims to close the gap to Erebus Motorsport.

Brodie Kostecki and Erebus lead the drivers’ and teams’ standings by 100 and 180 points respectively.

Shane van Gisbergen and Broc Feeney are 136 and 220 points behind Kostecki, with Triple Eight second in the teams’ points.

Triple Eight has Erebus’ measure in the wins column five to three, but van Gisbergen and Feeney have both been stung by poor qualifying performances.

Notably, van Gisbergen qualified 21st for the Perth finale a day after taking pole, with Feeney qualifying 21st for the first Sunday race.

At Albert Park, van Gisbergen was 11th and 12th in the last two qualifying sessions, with Feeney 21st for Race 5.

All the while, Kostecki and Will Brown rarely missed out in qualifying, leaving Triple Eight playing catch-up.

After three rounds, Kostecki (5.0) and Brown’s (7.4) qualifying averages are both ahead of van Gisbergen (7.7) and Feeney (8.4).

Walkinshaw Andretti United Ford star Chaz Mostert is second on the list — and in the championship — with a 7.0 average.

Feeney has two poles, but also two starts of 21st

After Perth, Triple Eight boss Jamie Whincup said his team "can't ignore" its qualifying inconsistencies as it aims for a third straight championship double.

“Coming from Perth, I think our qualifying results show that we need to work on the consistency in qualifying,” van Gisbergen said.

"I mean one minute Broc was running at the back and next he’s up front in pole killing everybody.

"The team’s working hard to figure out how we can find that consistency, so for Tassie we’ll see if we can improve this.”

Triple Eight will be under the microscope in Tasmania, given the team’s recent form — the team has won 16 of the last 20 races at the historic venue.

On Symmons Plains, van Gisbergen added: “The track is an easy one on paper, but it can actually be quite technical and difficult.

"The team usually perform pretty well there, so hopefully we can keep this going this season.

“There aren’t a lot of corners at this track. Only three of them, but each corner is different.

"The set up of the car has to be comprised in a way that will help suit all of them, and of course, then making sure you get down the straights.

Van Gisbergen down the pack in Perth

"There are a lot of different parts that need to come together.”

For Feeney, learning about the new Gen3 cars is still ongoing, and isn’t playing into Triple Eight’s Tasmania form.

“Tassie is similar to Perth in the sense that it’s a short track which means the times are super tight,” Feeney said.

"It’s been a successful track for Triple Eight in the past, but these new cars are quite different as we’re all still learning.

"So, it will be interesting to see if it carries over, but I’m just looking forward to going racing again.

“The whole category is still learning so much about these cars, but hopefully we can keep the momentum rolling from Perth.

"We finished very strong in Perth, and certainly made gains on the Sunday, so that shows just how hard the team are working to make those changes to the cars to put us at the front.

"Hopefully we can keep the good results going for Tassie.”

The 2023 Repco Supercars Championship will resume at the NED Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint this weekend.

Supercars will hit the track for the first time on Saturday for Practice 1 at 9:00am local time.

Tickets for the event are on sale on Supercars.com and Ticketek.com.