Toyota has enjoyed a historic Supercars day at Symmons Plains with two wins, with Walkinshaw TWG's Chaz Mostert and Brad Jones Racing's Andre Heimgartner each taking their first victories in a GR Supra in the opening two races in Tasmania.
The defending champion and the New Zealander both started from pole position and took convincing victories.
The opening 50-lap race saw Mostert dominate, taking the lead from the Team 18 Chevrolet Camaro of Anton De Pasquale – who at the same time had team-mate David Reynolds barge past, on his way into second.
That is how they finished, with Mostert taking the win by 5.3s ahead of the rejuvenated Reynolds, with the Ford Mustangs of Brodie Kostecki (Dick Johnson Racing) third ahead of Broc Feeney (Triple 8). De Pasquale struggled in the second half of the race and dropped to sixth.
In the second race it was Heimgartner's turn to lead away from pole, with Feeney immediately challenging after a great getaway from the second row. The Supra eased away and after the pit cycle, Heimgartner kept the lead.
A bold two-tyre stop vaulted Matt Payne ahead of Feeney temporarily but it did not take long for the Triple 8 Ford to find a way past, and seize second for good.
That is how it played out, with Heimgartner taking the win by 3.68s to take his first win in two years and first in dry conditions. In doing so, vindicating team owner Brad Jones's decision to swap his Chevrolets for Toyotas during the off-season.
“It’s a big credit to all the guys. A flawless stop got us back out there,” said Heimgartner. “Honestly, it’s been a bit of a hard slog. It’s been years since I won a race. We’re starting to get a handle on the GR Supra and I’m over the moon, couldn’t have executed that race much better.”
Feeney took second place, well clear of Payne, with Triple 8's Will Brown in fourth.
De Pasquale completed a solid day for Team 18, taking fifth in spite of taking to the dirt on the final lap while trying to pass Payne. Sixth was a great return for Grove Racing's Kai Allen, who made up 11 places after making an early pitstop of making his super soft Dunlop tyres retain their grip for 37 laps.
Mostert had a tougher time in the second race than in the first. After qualifying 13th he dropped a couple of spots at the start, then had contact with the PremiAir Racing Chevrolet of Jayden Ojeda. As a result he copped a 15-second penalty, turning a bad race into a complete write-off, and he was classified 20th at the finish.
Racing continues on Sunday, with a single race over 84 laps of the 2.4km circuit.
Supercars Symmons Plains - Race results
RACE2
| Cla | Driver | Car | Laps | Time | Interval | Retirement | Points | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  A. Heimgartner Brad Jones Racing |
Toyota GR Supra | 50 | - |
|||||||
| 2 | B. Feeney Triple Eight Race Engineering | Ford Mustang S650 | 50 | +3.686 3.6860 |
3.686 | ||||||
| 3 | M. Payne Grove Racing | Ford Mustang S650 | 50 | +7.895 7.8949 |
4.209 | ||||||
| 4 |  W. Brown Triple Eight Race Engineering |
Ford Mustang S650 | 50 | +16.289 16.2889 |
8.394 | ||||||
| 5 | A. De Pasquale Team 18 |
Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6 | 50 | +17.626 17.6260 |
1.337 | ||||||
| 6 | K. Allen Grove Racing | Ford Mustang S650 | 50 | +18.427 18.4265 |
0.801 | ||||||
| 7 | C. Waters Tickford Racing |
Ford Mustang S650 | 50 | +18.580 18.5798 |
0.153 | ||||||
| 8 | R. Wood Walkinshaw TWG Racing | Toyota GR Supra | 50 | +19.513 19.5129 |
0.933 | ||||||
| 9 | C. Hill Brad Jones Racing | Toyota GR Supra | 50 | +20.191 20.1905 |
0.678 | ||||||
| 10 | T. Randle Tickford Racing |
Ford Mustang S650 | 50 | +20.720 20.7196 |
0.529 | ||||||
| 11 | J. Le Brocq Matt Stone Racing |
Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6 | 50 | +25.093 25.0933 |
4.374 | ||||||
| 12 | J. Golding Blanchard Racing Team |
Ford Mustang S650 | 50 | +27.213 27.2134 |
2.120 | ||||||
| 13 | Z. Bates Matt Stone Racing | Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6 | 50 | +27.837 27.8373 |
0.624 | ||||||
| 14 | J. Ojeda PremiAir Racing | Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6 | 50 | +29.321 29.3206 |
1.483 | ||||||
| 15 | A. Cameron Blanchard Racing Team | Ford Mustang S650 | 50 | +30.802 30.8022 |
1.482 | ||||||
| 16 | R. Gray Dick Johnson Racing | Ford Mustang S650 | 50 | +32.693 32.6930 |
1.891 | ||||||
| 17 | D. Reynolds Team 18 |
Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6 | 50 | +34.701 34.7009 |
2.008 | ||||||
| 18 | C. Murray Erebus Motorsport Penrite | Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6 | 50 | +35.315 35.3149 |
0.614 | ||||||
| 19 | M. Jones Brad Jones Racing |
Toyota GR Supra | 50 | +36.655 36.6548 |
1.340 | ||||||
| 20 | C. Mostert Walkinshaw TWG Racing |
Toyota GR Supra | 50 | +36.809 36.8086 |
0.154 | ||||||
| 21 | J. Walls Triple Eight Race Engineering | Ford Mustang S650 | 50 | +39.113 39.1131 |
2.305 | ||||||
| 22 | J. Stewart Erebus Motorsport Penrite | Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6 | 50 | +39.505 39.5051 |
0.392 | ||||||
| 23 | D. Fraser PremiAir Racing | Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6 | 50 | +44.799 44.7990 |
5.294 | ||||||
| 24 | B. Kostecki Dick Johnson Racing | Ford Mustang S650 | 50 | +48.453 48.4525 |
3.654 | ||||||
| View full results | |||||||||||
RACE1
| Cla | Driver | Car | Laps | Time | Interval | Retirement | Points | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C. Mostert Walkinshaw TWG Racing |
Toyota GR Supra | 50 | 44'14.514 |
80 | ||||||
| 2 | D. Reynolds Team 18 |
Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6 | 50 | +5.322 44'19.836 |
5.322 | 74 | |||||
| 3 | B. Kostecki Dick Johnson Racing | Ford Mustang S650 | 50 | +6.279 44'20.793 |
0.957 | 68 | |||||
| 4 | B. Feeney Triple Eight Race Engineering | Ford Mustang S650 | 50 | +6.815 44'21.329 |
0.536 | 67 | |||||
| 5 | A. Heimgartner Brad Jones Racing |
Toyota GR Supra | 50 | +8.477 44'22.991 |
1.662 | 57 | |||||
| 6 | A. De Pasquale Team 18 |
Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6 | 50 | +9.695 44'24.209 |
1.218 | 53 | |||||
| 7 | C. Hill Brad Jones Racing | Toyota GR Supra | 50 | +11.541 44'26.055 |
1.846 | 49 | |||||
| 8 | M. Payne Grove Racing | Ford Mustang S650 | 50 | +11.775 44'26.289 |
0.234 | 45 | |||||
| 9 | W. Brown Triple Eight Race Engineering |
Ford Mustang S650 | 50 | +13.989 44'28.503 |
2.214 | 41 | |||||
| 10 | J. Ojeda PremiAir Racing | Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6 | 50 | +14.838 44'29.352 |
0.849 | 38 | |||||
| 11 | Z. Bates Matt Stone Racing | Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6 | 50 | +16.011 44'30.525 |
1.173 | 35 | |||||
| 12 | C. Waters Tickford Racing |
Ford Mustang S650 | 50 | +17.909 44'32.423 |
1.898 | 32 | |||||
| 13 | J. Golding Blanchard Racing Team |
Ford Mustang S650 | 50 | +18.216 44'32.730 |
0.307 | 29 | |||||
| 14 | R. Wood Walkinshaw TWG Racing | Toyota GR Supra | 50 | +19.759 44'34.273 |
1.543 | 27 | |||||
| 15 | T. Randle Tickford Racing |
Ford Mustang S650 | 50 | +24.629 44'39.143 |
4.870 | 25 | |||||
| 16 | D. Fraser PremiAir Racing | Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6 | 50 | +25.424 44'39.938 |
0.795 | 23 | |||||
| 17 | J. Le Brocq Matt Stone Racing |
Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6 | 50 | +27.000 44'41.514 |
1.576 | 21 | |||||
| 18 | R. Gray Dick Johnson Racing | Ford Mustang S650 | 50 | +32.566 44'47.080 |
5.566 | 19 | |||||
| 19 | K. Allen Grove Racing | Ford Mustang S650 | 50 | +33.069 44'47.583 |
0.503 | 18 | |||||
| 20 | M. Jones Brad Jones Racing |
Toyota GR Supra | 50 | +35.012 44'49.526 |
1.943 | 16 | |||||
| 21 | J. Stewart Erebus Motorsport Penrite | Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6 | 50 | +43.402 44'57.916 |
8.390 | 15 | |||||
| 22 | J. Walls Triple Eight Race Engineering | Ford Mustang S650 | 50 | +43.682 44'58.196 |
0.280 | 14 | |||||
| 23 | A. Cameron Blanchard Racing Team | Ford Mustang S650 | 50 | +44.324 44'58.838 |
0.642 | 13 | |||||
| C. Murray Erebus Motorsport Penrite | Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6 | 26 | +24 Laps 44'25.138 |
24 Laps | Retirement | ||||||
| View full results | |||||||||||
