Toyota pair Mostert and Heimgartner share wins

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

1	A. Heimgartner Brad Jones Racing		Toyota GR Supra	50
2	B. Feeney Triple Eight Race Engineering		Ford Mustang S650	50		3.686
3	M. Payne Grove Racing		Ford Mustang S650	50		4.209
4	W. Brown Triple Eight Race Engineering		Ford Mustang S650	50		8.394
5	A. De Pasquale Team 18		Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6	50		1.337
6	K. Allen Grove Racing		Ford Mustang S650	50		0.801
7	C. Waters Tickford Racing		Ford Mustang S650	50		0.153
8	R. Wood Walkinshaw TWG Racing		Toyota GR Supra	50		0.933
9	C. Hill Brad Jones Racing		Toyota GR Supra	50		0.678
10	T. Randle Tickford Racing		Ford Mustang S650	50		0.529
11	J. Le Brocq Matt Stone Racing		Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6	50		4.374
12	J. Golding Blanchard Racing Team		Ford Mustang S650	50		2.120
13	Z. Bates Matt Stone Racing		Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6	50		0.624
14	J. Ojeda PremiAir Racing		Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6	50		1.483
15	A. Cameron Blanchard Racing Team		Ford Mustang S650	50		1.482
16	R. Gray Dick Johnson Racing		Ford Mustang S650	50		1.891
17	D. Reynolds Team 18		Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6	50		2.008
18	C. Murray Erebus Motorsport Penrite		Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6	50		0.614
19	M. Jones Brad Jones Racing		Toyota GR Supra	50		1.340
20	C. Mostert Walkinshaw TWG Racing		Toyota GR Supra	50		0.154
21	J. Walls Triple Eight Race Engineering		Ford Mustang S650	50		2.305
22	J. Stewart Erebus Motorsport Penrite		Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6	50		0.392
23	D. Fraser PremiAir Racing		Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6	50		5.294
24	B. Kostecki Dick Johnson Racing		Ford Mustang S650	50		3.654

1	C. Mostert Walkinshaw TWG Racing		Toyota GR Supra	50				80
2	D. Reynolds Team 18		Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6	50		5.322		74
3	B. Kostecki Dick Johnson Racing		Ford Mustang S650	50		0.957		68
4	B. Feeney Triple Eight Race Engineering		Ford Mustang S650	50		0.536		67
5	A. Heimgartner Brad Jones Racing		Toyota GR Supra	50		1.662		57
6	A. De Pasquale Team 18		Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6	50		1.218		53
7	C. Hill Brad Jones Racing		Toyota GR Supra	50		1.846		49
8	M. Payne Grove Racing		Ford Mustang S650	50		0.234		45
9	W. Brown Triple Eight Race Engineering		Ford Mustang S650	50		2.214		41
10	J. Ojeda PremiAir Racing		Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6	50		0.849		38
11	Z. Bates Matt Stone Racing		Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6	50		1.173		35
12	C. Waters Tickford Racing		Ford Mustang S650	50		1.898		32
13	J. Golding Blanchard Racing Team		Ford Mustang S650	50		0.307		29
14	R. Wood Walkinshaw TWG Racing		Toyota GR Supra	50		1.543		27
15	T. Randle Tickford Racing		Ford Mustang S650	50		4.870		25
16	D. Fraser PremiAir Racing		Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6	50		0.795		23
17	J. Le Brocq Matt Stone Racing		Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6	50		1.576		21
18	R. Gray Dick Johnson Racing		Ford Mustang S650	50		5.566		19
19	K. Allen Grove Racing		Ford Mustang S650	50		0.503		18
20	M. Jones Brad Jones Racing		Toyota GR Supra	50		1.943		16
21	J. Stewart Erebus Motorsport Penrite		Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6	50		8.390		15
22	J. Walls Triple Eight Race Engineering		Ford Mustang S650	50		0.280		14
23	A. Cameron Blanchard Racing Team		Ford Mustang S650	50		0.642		13
	C. Murray Erebus Motorsport Penrite		Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6	26		24 Laps	Retirement

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