Winners and losers: Beaurepaires Tasmania SuperSprint

The return to Symmons Plains saw Chaz Mostert and Walkinshaw Andretti United steal the headlines after an enthralling weekend weekend of racing.

Shane van Gisbergen enjoyed a record-breaking and record-equalling Saturday, but it was no walk in the park for the series leader on Sunday.

The all-new qualifying format and three 44-lap sprints unearthed some great storylines, including Zane Goddard’s standout showing, and the reemergence of the Shell V-Power Racing Team.

Check out those who nailed it and those who fell short in the Beaurepaires Tasmania SuperSprint.

WINNERS

Chaz Mostert

A first win in 62 starts. A first win in 35 WAU starts. The first non-Red Bull Ampol Racing win of 2021.

Sunday was a great day for Mostert, who delivered WAU its first win since 2018 with a dominant victory in Race 8.

The win, coupled with van Gisbergen’s sixth-placed finish, saw Mostert slash the gap to the championship lead to 165 points.

Mostert will have confidence heading to The Bend, where he claimed a pole position last season.

Jamie Whincup

Sunday was also a strong day for Whincup, who pipped van Gisbergen in both races.

It marked Whincup’s 123rd career win, his 13th at Symmons Plains, and first since Townsville last August.

Any time you can beat your teammate and cut his championship lead, it’s a good day.

Shell V-Power Racing Team

The weekend was the perfect tonic for the team after a frustrating run at Sandown.

All three races featured at least one Shell V-Power Racing Team entry, with Anton De Pasquale and Will Davison scoring two podiums each.

In Race 8, both drivers took home trophies, with De Pasquale joining Davison in the top 10 in the standings.

Heading to The Bend, where the team dominated last season, both De Pasquale and Davison will be ones to watch.

Matt Stone Racing

Zane Goddard’s brilliant run on Sunday was more proof that MSR is making gains, with the 21-year-old scoring career-best qualifying and race results.

Jake Kostecki could be regarded a winner solely for how he avoided a major accident in the chaotic start to Race 7.

However, he was much more than that, Kostecki rising a whopping eight places from 23rd to 15th in the race.

Will Brown

It was a career-best weekend for Brown, who shook off his rookie tag to score two top 10 finishes and a second-row start for Race 7.

Brown rose to 10th overall after Race 7, before he and teammate Brodie Kostecki fell away in Race 8.

Regardless, it was a weekend which again proved Erebus wasn’t mucking around in pairing up two main game rookies.

LOSERS

Cameron Waters

Three front row starts, yet no podiums. Waters was pleased with his one-lap pace, which is up there, if not the best of the field.

However, finishes of sixth, fourth and fourth highlighted Waters’ troubles with tyre life.

Andre Heimgartner

After a standout Sandown showing, Heimgartner suffered a poor weekend at Symmons Plains, and dropped out of the top 10 in the standings.

A top 10 finish in Race 7 was sandwiched by finishes of 22nd in Races 6 and 8, seeing Heimgartner drop from seventh to 11th overall.

Brad Jones Racing

Nick Percat had supreme race pace on Sunday to make up a combined 19 spots in the two races, but all four cars suffered over one lap.

Percat’s qualifying results make for miserable reading (19th, 20th and 20th), with Todd Hazelwood 24th, 21st and 21st.

Jack Smith qualified a brilliant 10th on Saturday, but copped a three-place grid penalty for impeding Jack Le Brocq.

Should the team find one-lap pace at The Bend, expect BJR cars to feature in the top half of result sheets.

Shane van Gisbergen

Perhaps an unfair addition to this grouping, but ceding points to title rivals on Sunday wouldn’t have been the plan for van Gisbergen.

Van Gisbergen was brilliant on Saturday, setting a new qualifying lap record and winning a record-equalling sixth race to kick of season 2021.

He forecasted a struggle with tyres at some stage on Sunday, yet still finished second behind Whincup; but therein lies the sole reason he’s in this grouping.

After one-pace eluded him on Sunday, van Gisbergen was pipped by Whincup in both races, with the gap in the standings closing to 139 points.

The Repco Supercars Championship field will return to The Bend Motorsport Park for the OTR SuperSprint across May 8-9.

The event will be broadcast live on Foxtel and will be streamed on Kayo with highlights on 7 and 7 Plus.