2018 Tasmania SuperSprint
# 2018 Tasmania SuperSprint

The 2018 Tyrepower Tasmania SuperSprint was a motor racing event for the Supercars Championship, held on the weekend of 6 to 8 April 2018. The event was held at Symmons Plains Raceway in Launceston, Tasmania, and was scheduled to consist of one race of 120 kilometres and one race of 200 kilometres in length. It was the third event of sixteen in the 2018 Supercars Championship and hosted Races 7 and 8 of the season. The event was the 46th running of the Tasmania SuperSprint.

## Report

### Background

Shane van Gisbergen of Triple Eight Race Engineering entered the event as the championship leader, 49 points ahead of Erebus Motorsport's David Reynolds and 61 points ahead of DJR Team Penske's Scott McLaughlin.

The event would see the introduction of a new qualifying format. Similar to MotoGP, there will be three sessions. The fastest ten drivers across the Friday practice sessions will get a bye into the second stage, with the other sixteen drivers required to go through Q1. The fastest six will join the other ten for Q2, with the other ten already having set their starting positions. Q2 will see the top ten advance to Q3, with the slowest six confirming their starting positions. Q3 will see the top ten drivers fight for pole position.

## Results

### Practice

Practice summary :

| Session | Day | Fastest lap | Fastest lap | Fastest lap | Fastest lap | Fastest lap |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Session | Day | No. | Driver | Team | Car | Time |
| Practice 1 | Friday | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | 50.7894 |
| Practice 2 | Friday | 1 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | 50.5609 |
| Practice 3 | Saturday | 1 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | 50.7396 |
| Practice 4 | Sunday | 1 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | 50.6094 |
| Sources: |||||||

### Race 7

**Qualifying**

| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Car | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Grid |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | | 50.8417 | 50.6381 | 1 |
| 2 | 1 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | | 50.7789 | 50.6897 | 2 |
| 3 | 17 | Scott McLaughlin | DJR Team Penske | Ford Falcon FG X | | 50.7876 | 50.7573 | 3 |
| 4 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | | 50.6740 | 50.7824 | 4 |
| 5 | 25 | James Courtney | Walkinshaw Andretti United | Holden Commodore ZB | | 50.9739 | 50.8428 | 5 |
| 6 | 9 | David Reynolds | Erebus Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | | 50.8894 | 50.8498 | 6 |
| 7 | 2 | Scott Pye | Walkinshaw Andretti United | Holden Commodore ZB | | 50.9701 | 50.8640 | 7 |
| 8 | 14 | Tim Slade | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | | 50.9665 | 50.9604 | 8 |
| 9 | 19 | Jack Le Brocq | Tekno Autosports | Holden Commodore ZB | 50.9166 | 50.8614 | 51.0832 | 9 |
| 10 | 33 | Garth Tander | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 51.0544 | 50.9717 | 51.2352 | 10 |
| 11 | 12 | Fabian Coulthard | DJR Team Penske | Ford Falcon FG X | | 50.9890 | | 11 |
| 12 | 18 | Lee Holdsworth | Team 18 | Holden Commodore ZB | 51.0751 | 50.9951 | | 12 |
| 13 | 6 | Cameron Waters | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 50.9587 | 51.0249 | | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | Rick Kelly | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 51.1059 | 51.0655 | | 14 |
| 15 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | | 51.0992 | | 15 |
| 16 | 7 | Andre Heimgartner | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 51.0387 | 51.2326 | | 16 |
| 17 | 55 | Chaz Mostert | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 51.1186 | | | 17 |
| 18 | 8 | Nick Percat | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 51.2085 | | | 18 |
| 19 | 56 | Richie Stanaway | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 51.2120 | | | 19 |
| 20 | 99 | Anton de Pasquale | Erebus Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 51.2268 | | | 20 |
| 21 | 23 | Michael Caruso | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 51.2687 | | | 21 |
| 22 | 35 | Todd Hazelwood | Matt Stone Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 51.3603 | | | 22 |
| 23 | 34 | James Golding | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 51.3621 | | | 23 |
| 24 | 230 | Will Davison | 23Red Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 51.4583 | | | 24 |
| 25 | 78 | Simona de Silvestro | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 51.5509 | | | 25 |
| 26 | 21 | Tim Blanchard | Tim Blanchard Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 51.6511 | | | 26 |
| Source: |||||||||

**Race**

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Car | Laps | Time / Retired | Grid | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 1 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | 50 | 44:04.7354 | 2 | 150 |
| 2 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | 50 | +2.3457 | 4 | 138 |
| 3 | 25 | James Courtney | Walkinshaw Andretti United | Holden Commodore ZB | 50 | +3.5874 | 5 | 129 |
| 4 | 9 | David Reynolds | Erebus Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 50 | +4.7927 | 6 | 120 |
| 5 | 12 | Fabian Coulthard | DJR Team Penske | Ford Falcon FG X | 50 | +8.7263 | 11 | 111 |
| 6 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | 50 | +14.3481 | 1 | 102 |
| 7 | 14 | Tim Slade | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 50 | +14.6397 | 8 | 96 |
| 8 | 2 | Scott Pye | Walkinshaw Andretti United | Holden Commodore ZB | 50 | +15.0225 | 7 | 90 |
| 9 | 17 | Scott McLaughlin | DJR Team Penske | Ford Falcon FG X | 50 | +15.8197 | 3 | 84 |
| 10 | 19 | Jack Le Brocq | Tekno Autosports | Holden Commodore ZB | 50 | +16.3784 | 9 | 78 |
| 11 | 18 | Lee Holdsworth | Team 18 | Holden Commodore ZB | 50 | +16.5533 | 12 | 72 |
| 12 | 8 | Nick Percat | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 50 | +19.6312 | 18 | 69 |
| 13 | 33 | Garth Tander | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 50 | +23.8659 | 10 | 66 |
| 14 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 50 | +24.0998 | 15 | 63 |
| 15 | 15 | Rick Kelly | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 50 | +25.7530 | 14 | 60 |
| 16 | 23 | Michael Caruso | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 50 | +26.0549 | 21 | 57 |
| 17 | 7 | Andre Heimgartner | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 50 | +33.4381 | 16 | 54 |
| 18 | 230 | Will Davison | 23Red Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 50 | +34.4240 | 24 | 51 |
| 19 | 99 | Anton de Pasquale | Erebus Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 50 | +34.9266 | 20 | 48 |
| 20 | 21 | Tim Blanchard | Tim Blanchard Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 50 | +39.7353 | 26 | 45 |
| 21 | 35 | Todd Hazelwood | Matt Stone Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 50 | +40.2498 | 25 | 42 |
| 22 | 78 | Simona de Silvestro | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 50 | +42.7756 | 24 | 39 |
| 23 | 34 | James Golding | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 50 | +47.0689 | 23 | 36 |
| 24 | 6 | Cameron Waters | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 50 | +48.6915 | 13 | 33 |
| 25 | 56 | Richie Stanaway | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 43 | +7 laps | 19 | 30 |
| NC | 55 | Chaz Mostert | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 22 | Fire | 17 | |
| Fastest lap: Scott Pye (Walkinshaw Andretti United) 51.2622 (on lap 24) |||||||||
| Source: |||||||||

**Race**

**Notes**

* ^1 – Cameron Waters received a 15-second post-race Time Penalty for Careless Driving, making contact with James Golding.

**Championship standings after Race 7**

| | Pos | Driver | Pts | Gap |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| | 1 | Shane van Gisbergen | 588 | |
| | 2 | David Reynolds | 557 | -31 |
| 3 | 3 | Jamie Whincup | 529 | -59 |
| 1 | 4 | Scott McLaughlin | 509 | -79 |
| 2 | 5 | James Courtney | 504 | -84 |
| | Pos | Team | Pts | Gap |
| | 1 | Triple Eight Race Engineering (1, 97) | 1117 | |
| | 2 | Walkinshaw Andretti United | 991 | -126 |
| 1 | 3 | DJR Team Penske | 928 | -189 |
| 1 | 4 | Brad Jones Racing | 837 | -280 |
| 2 | 5 | Tickford Racing (5, 55) | 808 | -309 |

* Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

### Race 8

**Qualifying**

| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Car | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Grid |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | | 50.8794 | 50.5790 | 1 |
| 2 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | | 50.6250 | 50.5870 | 2 |
| 3 | 1 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | | 50.8025 | 50.6882 | 3 |
| 4 | 17 | Scott McLaughlin | DJR Team Penske | Ford Falcon FG X | | 50.8498 | 50.7808 | 4 |
| 5 | 19 | Jack Le Brocq | Tekno Autosports | Holden Commodore ZB | | 50.8735 | 50.7860 | 5 |
| 6 | 12 | Fabian Coulthard | DJR Team Penske | Ford Falcon FG X | | 50.8483 | 50.8099 | 6 |
| 7 | 25 | James Courtney | Walkinshaw Andretti United | Holden Commodore ZB | | 50.9336 | 50.8156 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | David Reynolds | Erebus Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | | 50.7294 | 50.8608 | 8 |
| 9 | 33 | Garth Tander | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | | 50.9275 | 50.9681 | 9 |
| 10 | 2 | Scott Pye | Walkinshaw Andretti United | Holden Commodore ZB | 51.0003 | 50.8598 | 51.0092 | 10 |
| 11 | 55 | Chaz Mostert | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 51.1193 | 50.9462 | | 11 |
| 12 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 51.0917 | 50.9530 | | 12 |
| 13 | 15 | Rick Kelly | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | | 50.9866 | | 13 |
| 14 | 6 | Cameron Waters | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 51.1154 | 51.0344 | | 14 |
| 15 | 230 | Will Davison | 23Red Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 51.1427 | 51.0967 | | 15 |
| 16 | 14 | Tim Slade | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 51.0924 | 51.1394 | | 16 |
| 17 | 8 | Nick Percat | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 51.1781 | | | 17 |
| 18 | 18 | Lee Holdsworth | Team 18 | Holden Commodore ZB | 51.1911 | | | 18 |
| 19 | 7 | Andre Heimgartner | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 51.2027 | | | 19 |
| 20 | 23 | Michael Caruso | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 51.2567 | | | 20 |
| 21 | 35 | Todd Hazelwood | Matt Stone Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 51.3257 | | | 21 |
| 22 | 99 | Anton de Pasquale | Erebus Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 51.3434 | | | 22 |
| 23 | 78 | Simona de Silvestro | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 51.3531 | | | 23 |
| 24 | 56 | Richie Stanaway | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 51.3922 | | | 24 |
| 25 | 21 | Tim Blanchard | Tim Blanchard Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 51.4411 | | | 25 |
| 26 | 34 | James Golding | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 51.5887 | | | 26 |
| Source: |||||||||

**Race**

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Car | Laps | Time / Retired | Grid | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | 84 | 1:14:41.1457 | 1 | 150 |
| 2 | 17 | Scott McLaughlin | DJR Team Penske | Ford Falcon FG X | 84 | +2.3571 | 4 | 138 |
| 3 | 1 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | 84 | +3.6000 | 3 | 129 |
| 4 | 25 | James Courtney | Walkinshaw Andretti United | Holden Commodore ZB | 84 | +5.5988 | 7 | 120 |
| 5 | 19 | Jack Le Brocq | Tekno Autosports | Holden Commodore ZB | 84 | +15.7860 | 5 | 111 |
| 6 | 2 | Scott Pye | Walkinshaw Andretti United | Holden Commodore ZB | 84 | +16.5096 | 10 | 102 |
| 7 | 33 | Garth Tander | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 84 | +23.4884 | 9 | 96 |
| 8 | 9 | David Reynolds | Erebus Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 84 | +24.2924 | 8 | 90 |
| 9 | 8 | Nick Percat | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 84 | +24.7776 | 17 | 84 |
| 10 | 55 | Chaz Mostert | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 84 | +39.3819 | 11 | 78 |
| 11 | 15 | Rick Kelly | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 84 | +39.4912 | 13 | 72 |
| 12 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 84 | +39.9953 | 12 | 69 |
| 13 | 6 | Cameron Waters | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 84 | +40.2848 | 14 | 66 |
| 14 | 14 | Tim Slade | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 83 | +1 lap | 16 | 63 |
| 15 | 99 | Anton de Pasquale | Erebus Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 83 | +1 lap | 22 | 60 |
| 16 | 21 | Tim Blanchard | Tim Blanchard Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 83 | +1 lap | 25 | 57 |
| 17 | 12 | Fabian Coulthard | DJR Team Penske | Ford Falcon FG X | 83 | +1 lap | 6 | 54 |
| 18 | 34 | James Golding | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 83 | +1 lap | 26 | 51 |
| 19 | 7 | Andre Heimgartner | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 83 | +1 lap | 19 | 48 |
| 20 | 35 | Todd Hazelwood | Matt Stone Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 83 | +1 lap | 21 | 45 |
| 21 | 78 | Simona de Silvestro | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 83 | +1 lap | 23 | 42 |
| 22 | 230 | Will Davison | 23Red Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 83 | +1 lap | 15 | 39 |
| 23 | 18 | Lee Holdsworth | Team 18 | Holden Commodore ZB | 83 | +1 lap | 18 | 36 |
| 24 | 23 | Michael Caruso | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 83 | +1 lap | 20 | 33 |
| 25 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | 83 | +1 lap | 2 | 30 |
| NC | 56 | Richie Stanaway | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 0 | Suspension | 24 | |
| Fastest lap: James Courtney (Walkinshaw Andretti United) 51.4977 (on lap 24) |||||||||
| Source: |||||||||

**Race**

**Notes**

* ^1 – Michael Caruso received a 15-second post-race Time Penalty for Careless Driving, causing contact with Will Davison.

**Championship standings after Race 8**

| | Pos | Driver | Pts | Gap |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 2 | 1 | Jamie Whincup | 658 | |
| 2 | 2 | Scott McLaughlin | 647 | -11 |
| 1 | 3 | David Reynolds | 647 | -11 |
| 1 | 4 | James Courtney | 624 | -34 |
| 4 | 5 | Shane van Gisbergen | 618 | -40 |
| Pos | Team | Pts | Gap |
| 1 | Triple Eight Race Engineering (1, 97) | 1276 | |
| 2 | Walkinshaw Andretti United | 1213 | -63 |
| 3 | DJR Team Penske | 1120 | -156 |
| 4 | Brad Jones Racing | 984 | -292 |
| 5 | Tickford Racing (5, 55) | 955 | -321 |

* Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
