Remember When? Old dogs teach Super2 young guns Tassie tricks

As the Dunlop Super2 Series prepares to return to Symmons Plains, we take a look back to the last time the development series took to the historic venue.

Whilst this year's Super2 field is dominated by a crop of young stars looking to establish themselves as the next big thing in the Supercars paddock, the previous Tasmanian event was dominated by two veterans.

In this flashback, Supercars.com goes back to April 6-8 in 2018, and Round 2 of the 2018 Dunlop Super2 Series at the Tasmania SuperSprint.

Setting the scene

A pole and two race wins out of three at the opening round in Adelaide saw two-time champion Paul Dumbrell enter Tasmania as the points leader, with a slim margin of eight points over MW Motorsport pilot Garry Jacobson, who claimed two seconds and a win. One of the big stories to come out of the opening round was the step forward taken by Kostecki Brothers Racing, with Kurt Kostecki claiming third for the round with two podium placings, the first for the family team, and was 40 points behind Dumbrell.

Race 1

After a quiet Adelaide round saw him enter Tasmania seventh in points, Chris Pither secured his first pole of the season for Garry Rogers Motorsport, however a poor start saw Dumbrell's Eggleston Motorsport Commodore waltz into a lead that was never conceded. Pither's start was so poor that Jack Smith launched third on the grid to round up Pither on the run to the hairpin, though the GRM veteran worked his way back past the Brad Jones Racing entry on Lap 9 of 24. Whilst the top three remained unchanged, there was plenty of action further back in the pack, with several incidents at the Turn 4 hairpin. Shae Davies made a clumsy move on Jacobson, which eventually led to Davies being fed into the wall down the back straight after slowing with a puncture, leaving Adam Marjoram with nowhere to go. Jake Kostecki brought out the race's sole Safety Car after misjudging a move in a heavy battle pack at the tail of the field, ripping out the right rear corner after spearing into Tyler Greenbury.

Race 2

Pither didn't make the same mistake twice in the first of the two Sunday races, nailing the start and steamrolling to a five and a half second victory over Brodie Kostecki. Dumbrell could only manage 10th in qualifying, however he sliced his way through the field to finish a fine fifth, helped by a lack of Safety Car appearance. Dumbrell's young Eggleston Motorsport teammate Will Brown started on the front row alongside Pither, but faded through the field with limited top speed due to exhaust damage, finishing eighth. Second was Kostecki's maiden Super2 podium finish, whilst Jacobson overhauled Macauley Jones for third after the BJR driver made a mistake and slipped off the road at the exit of Turn 6.

Race 3

Dumbrell was back on the front row for the finale, and duly converted to once again lead home pole-sitter Pither for the entirety of the race, however there was drama further back in the pack at the start and even before the start. Leaving the grid for the warm-up lap, Greenbury's wild weekend continued, as he was caught unawares by a weaving Brenton Grove, tipping the Grove Commodore into the pit wall. There was more chaos as the race began, as Smith was pushed wide by Kurt Kostecki, and then turned by Jacobson with more than half the field following. Matt Chahda launched off the side of Nathan Morcom's Commodore forcing both into retirement along with Jacobson. Although one BJR Commodore was sent to the rear of the field, another found redemption, as Jones rebounded to claim third. Second was enough for Pither to claim round honours ahead of Dumbrell, whilst future Supercars champion Kostecki rounded out the round podium after a consistent weekend.

Round Results

Round 2 of the 2025 Dunlop Super2 Series will take place at the Snowy River Caravans Tasmania Super 440 from May 9-11. Tickets for the event are on sale now.