Symmons Plains International Raceway, located approximately 30 kilometres South of Launceston, Tasmania, is the second stop on the International V8 Supercar calendar for 2013. Races 3, 4 and 5 of the season will compile the Tasmania Microsoft Office 365, taking place around the narrow 2.4 kilometre circuit. Capping off the extensive changes to the category for the 2013 season (other than Car of the Future) will be the debut of the 60/60 Sprint format for race 3 on Saturday. Essentially, it will involve 2, 60 kilometre races, whereby the results of the first race determine the grid for the second. However, points will only be awarded for the second race, which will also feature a double-file rolling start. Two 100km races, each featuring a 15 minute qualifying session beforehand, will take place on Sunday.
Image: Zimbio
The Form Guide
Craig Lowndes leads the championship following his strong performance at the Clipsal 500, clinching the first race of the season and placing third in the second race. He leads Red Bull Racing Team-mate Jamie Whincup by 12 points, who took third position in the opening 250km race, and second in Race 2. Red Bull Racing has started their 2013 campaign where they left off in 2012, with both drivers occupying the first two places in the standings. Shane Van Gisbergen, having defected to Tekno Autosports for the 2013 season, has also shown blistering pace in his Triple8 Racing built VF Commodore. Van Gisbergen rebounded strongly following a difficult opening race of the season, where he recorded a DNF, to take Race 2 in convincing fashion. Jonathon Webb will also look to challenge the leaders in the second Tekno Autosports entry, having taken two top-10 finishes in Adelaide.
Brad Jones Racing has also shown blistering pace at the start of 2013, particularly through Fabian Coulthard’s performance at the non point-scoring event at Albert Park. Coulthard and Bright will look to convert their pace into strong points finishes at Symmons Plains following complications at the first round in Adelaide. Garry Rogers Motorsport has also stepped up their pace for the 2013 season, much like Brad Jones Racing. Alexandre Premat took a fourth place finish in race 1 of the season to open his 2013 campaign, while his 19 year old teammate Scott McLaughlin took two solid top 10 finishes and sits 6th in the championship standings.
After what has been an utterly dominant start to the year for Holden, the remaining manufacturers have been left scrambling to find pace to compete with the VF Commodore. Will Davison, campaigning a Ford Performance Racing Falcon, is the only non-Holden driver in the top 10 of the championship standings. The highest placed driver in a factory-backed Nissan is Rick Kelly currently 11th in the standings, while Lee Holdsworth leads the Mercedes charge in 18th place. Both Nissan and Mercedes/Erebus will look to find more pace this weekend following their vital track time at Albert Park.
The Circuit
Symmons Plains is one of the shortest circuits on the calendar at just 2.4 kilometres per lap. It is also one of the narrowest, tending to bunch the field into big groups with extremely close racing, especially when tyre degradation comes into play (however this is unlikely to be a big factor given the sprint format). In terms of overtaking opportunities, the long straight leading into the turn 4 hairpin can provide opportunities under heavy braking, however the cambered surface of the hairpin can often allow the front driver to defend around the outside of the corner, and achieve a faster run onto the proceeding straight. The braking approach into turn 6 can also present an opportunity to pass providing plenty of speed is carried out of the turn 4 hairpin. Overtaking moves have also been attempted under brakes approaching the extremely bumpy Turn 1, however it requires extreme skill and often results in an excursion through the sand for both drivers. Expect to see desperate attempts here late in race 2 of the 60/60 format!
Predictions (Feel free to leave your predictions in the comments below!)
It’s very hard to look past another strong performance from Red Bull Racing, especially with added motivation for Craig Lowndes, who is targeting the most race wins in the history of the series. Expect to see Garry Rogers Motorsport contending for top 5 finishes, especially with Scott McLaughlin growing in confidence following a race win at Albert Park. If Fabian Coulthard can turn his luck around in point scoring races, he will be one of the major challengers to the potential Red Bull Racing dominance. Shane Van Gisbergen is also likely to contend for race wins in his Triple8 built Tekno Autosport VF, and looms as another driver who can challenge Whincup and Lowndes for the round win. Also expect FPR’s Mark Winterbottom to rebound after a disappointing opening round of the season. My dark horse prediction for a win and podium result overall this weekend is James Courtney! Be sure to tune in however/wherever you can for the second (point scoring) outing for the Car of the Future and the debut of the 60/60 race format. Anything can happen!
