There were plenty of theatrics in Tasmania for the seventh and eighth race of the 2019 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship season with field’s two high profile New Zealanders taking top honours in the Tyrepower Tasmania SuperSprint.

Scott McLaughlin silenced the critics, van Gisbergen put a horrible Albert Park weekend behind him and seven teams suffered penalties on a hectic first day of racing.

With the iconic Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit to host the next set of races in a short turnaround, cams.com.au has a look at some of key facts ahead of the WD-40 Phillip Island SuperSprint.

The Fallout from Tas

Tickford’s engine woes

In all bar one of the Championship’s first six races of the year, Tickford Racing had at least one of their drivers in Chaz Mostert and Cam Waters on the podium, but come Tasmania, its highest finish across the weekend was Lee Holdsworth's ninth place in Sunday’s race.

Following a disappointing outing on the apple isle, both Waters and Mostert were less than impressed with the performance of their Ford Mustangs, especially when it came to the power of the engine.   

"We're getting beaten down the straight a bit at the moment, which is a bit of a deficit with that and it doesn't rotate quite well enough at the hairpin,” Waters said. 

Holden bounces back

McLaughlin may have won the first race, but Holden were well and truly back in the mix, offering more competition as they had eight cars in the top 10 on Saturday and six on Sunday, including race winner van Gisbergen. 

The Championship

Tasmania offered a mixed weekend for the current leader McLaughlin, with the Kiwi winning the first race of the weekend. Suffering from the flu, McLaughlin slipped to fourth in the second race.

Race 8 winner van Gisbergen finds himself back in the top 10 after a disappointing outing at the Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix 2019 saw him drop out. Sitting in fourth outright, the Kiwi trails teammate Jamie Whincup by six points after the 2017 champion had a race to forget in Tasmania.

Going into the round only 30 points behind McLaughlin, Whincup’s last place in Race 7 saw him drop down the standings, but he was able to recover and finish fifth in the second race.

Tasmania also offered a positive weekend for McLaughlin’s teammate Fabian Coulthard whose two podiums saw him climb into second from sixth.

After a promising weekend in Albert Park, Mostert has dropped down the standings from third to sixth, just one position ahead of Race 7 pole sitter Mark Winterbottom who jumped from 10th to seventh after the weekend. 

Championship Top 10

1 Scott McLaughlin 770 points
2 Fabian Coulthard  646   
3 Jamie Whincup  610       
4 Shane van Gisbergen 604         
5 David Reynolds 599              
6 Chaz Mostert 593                 
7 Mark Winterbottom  556  
8 Tim Slade 555
9 Nick Percat 541       
10 Will Davison 524

This round last year:

Race 1:

Pole: Scott McLaughlin
Winner: Scott McLaughlin
Runner Up: Rick Kelly
Third: Shane van Gisbergen

Race 2 

Pole: Scott McLaughlin
Winner: Scott McLaughlin
Runner Up: David Reynolds
Third: Rick Kelly 

The Grid

#2 Holden ZB - Scott Pye
#3 Nissan Altima - Garry Jacobson
#5 Ford Mustang - Lee Holdsworth
#6 Ford Mustang - Cameron Waters
#7 Nissan Altima - Andre Heimgartner 
#8 Holden ZB - Nick Percat
#9 Holden ZB - David Reynolds
#12 Ford Mustang - Fabian Coulthard
#14 Holden ZB - Tim Slade
#15 Nissan Altima - Rick Kelly
#17 Ford Mustang - Scott McLaughlin
#18 Holden ZB - Mark Winterbottom
#19 Holden ZB -  Jack Le Brocq 
#21 Holden ZB - Macauley Jones
#22 Holden ZB - James Courtney
#23 Ford GT - Will Davison
#33 Holden ZB - Richie Stanaway
#34 Holden ZB - James Golding
#35 Holden ZB - Todd Hazelwood
#55 Ford Mustang - Chaz Mostert
#78 Nissan Altima - Simona De Silvestro
#88 Holden ZB - Jamie Whincup
#97 Holden ZB - Shane van Gisbergen
#99 Holden ZB - Anton De Pasquale  

The Schedule 

Friday 12 April  
11:35 – 12:05: Practice 1 
15:10 – 15:40: Practice 2
Saturday 13 April
10:40 – 11.10: Practice 3
13:15 – 13:55: ARMOR ALL Qualifying - Race 9
15:50 – 16:45: Race 9
Sunday 14 April
09.20 – 09:50: Practice 4
11.10 – 11.50: ARMOR ALL Qualifying - Race 10
14:15 – 15:40: Race 10

The WD-40 Phillip Island SuperSprint takes place at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit on 12-14 April.