It’s been five long weeks since engines fell silent in Christchurch and over two months since Supercars last raced on Australian soil.
The silence will be broken this weekend, though, when the Supercars Sprint Cup resumes on the Apple Isle.
The Super440 format will be used for the Symmons Plains event with practice on Friday, two 120-kilometre races on Saturday and a 200-kilometre finale on Sunday.
As usual, drivers will jump between the soft and soft compound tyres depending on the race.
As for the form guide, there are some fascinating question marks heading into the weekend.
Grove Racing was near unstoppable in Christchurch, however, despite Matt Payne winning the Sunday race in Tasmania last year, that was more about strategy than car speed.
In fact, until that Sunday victory the Penrite-backed Mustangs had struggled for car speed. How the form team performs this weekend could go a long way to cementing its title-contending credentials.
Walkinshaw TWG Racing will be another team to watch. Following Ryan Wood’s breakthrough win for Toyota in Taupo, the Supra platform will face a fresh challenge in Tasmania due to Symmons Plains’ two long straights.
With ongoing question marks over engine power and reliability, will the Supra continue to be a front-runner, or fall back to the pack?
The Chevrolet teams have been buoyed by another parity change ahead of this weekend, following the tweak made before Christchurch.
Given crews and drivers have been chasing repeatability on set-up, something that couldn’t be truly tested on the new-to-Supercars Ruapuna circuit, Symmons Plains will be intriguing test for the Camaros.
And finally, there is Triple Eight. Broc Feeney left New Zealand leading the championship, but admitted the team is still getting its head around the Mustang package.
Symmons Plains was a stronghold for Triple Eight during its GM era, so how will it perform for the Blue Oval this weekend?
When is the Tasmania Super440?
The Tyrepower Tasmania Super440 takes place on May 22-24 at Symmons Plains, near Launceston.
Tasmania Super440 Supercars sessions
| Friday, May 22 | Duration | Local (AEST) | ACST | AWST | NZST |
| Practice 2 | 25 minutes | 14:05 | 13:35 | 12:05 | 16:05 |
| Practice 2 | 25 minutes | 14:45 | 14:15 | 12:45 | 16:45 |
| Saturday, May 23 | |||||
| Qualifying for Race 2 | 30 minutes | 10:00 | 9:30 | 8:00 | 12:00 |
| Qualifying for Race 3 | 30 minutes | 10:50 | 10:20 | 8:50 | 12:50 |
| Race 1 | 50 laps | 13:00 | 12:30 | 11:00 | 15:00 |
| Race 2 | 50 laps | 16:00 | 15:30 | 14:00 | 18:00 |
| Sunday, May 24 | |||||
| Qualifying for Race 3 | 30 minutes | 11:35 | 11:05 | 9:35 | 13:35 |
| Top 10 Shootout | 30 minutes | 12:30 | 12:30 | 10:30 | 14:30 |
| Race 3 | 80 laps | 14:45 | 14:15 | 12:45 | 16:45 |
Supercars Tasmania Super440 qualifying explained
Supercars will use two qualifying formats for the Tasmania Super440.
Two-part qualifying – Format 2 – will be used for Race 1 and Race 2.
That will feature two, back-to-back sessions. Part one will feature all 24 cars on track for 12 minutes. The top 10 cars from part one will advance to part two, where they will take to the track for eight minutes.
Three-part qualifying – Format 3 – will be used for Race 3.
The slowest six cars will be eliminated after part one, leaving 18 cars for part two. After part two, the eight slowest cars will be eliminated while 10 fastest cars will advance to the Top 10 Shootout. Part one and part two will each last 12 minutes and 10 minutes respectively.
How long is each Supercars race at Tasmania?
Race 1 and Race 2 at the Tasmania Super440 are 50 laps (120km) apiece. Race 3 is the longest at 84 laps (200km).
Saturday’s two races will require one pit stop for a minimum of two tyre changes while Sunday’s finale will feature a minimum of two pit stops for fuel and tyres.
Tyre compounds at Supercars Tasmania Super440 explained.
Supercars will use soft compound tyres for Race 1 and Race 3 at Symmons Plains as well as the corresponding qualifying session.
Race 2 of the weekend will feature super soft compound tyres.
Teams are not allowed to mix tyre compounds in-race.
Supercars Tasmania Super440 schedule (AEST/local time)
| Friday, May 22 | ||||
| Start | Finish | Category | Duration | Session |
| 8:30 | 8:50 | Touring Car Masters | 0:20 | Practice |
| 9:00 | 9:20 | Aussie Racing Cars | 0:20 | Practice |
| 9:30 | 9:50 | Tasmanian Tin Tops | 0:20 | Practice |
| 10:00 | 10:20 | V8 SuperUtes | 0:20 | Practice |
| 10:25 | 10:40 | Events | 0:15 | Entertainment |
| 10:45 | 11:05 | Touring Car Masters | 0:20 | Qualifying |
| 11:20 | 11:40 | Aussie Racing Cars | 0:20 | Qualifying |
| 11:50 | 12:10 | Tasmanian Tin Tops | 0:20 | Qualifying |
| 12:20 | 12:40 | V8 SuperUtes | 0:20 | Qualifying |
| 12:45 | 12:55 | Events | 0:10 | Entertainment |
| 13:00 | 1 lap after 13:18 | Touring Car Masters | 0:20 | Trophy Race |
| 13:30 | 1 lap after 13:48 | Aussie Racing Cars | 0:20 | Race 1 |
| 14:05 | 14:30 | Supercars | 0:25 | Practice 1 |
| 14:45 | 15:10 | Supercars | 0:25 | Practice 2 |
| 15:25 | 1 lap after 15:43 | Tasmanian Tin Tops | 0:20 | Race 1 |
| 15:55 | 16:05 | Supercars | 0:10 | TV Track Time |
| 16:15 | 16:45 | Supercars | 0:30 | Event Rides |
| Saturday, May 23 | ||||
| Start | Finish | Category | Duration | Session |
| 8:05 | 8:25 | Supercars | 0:20 | |
| 8:35 | 1 lap after 8:53 | Aussie Racing Cars | 0:20 | Race 2 |
| 9:05 | 1 lap after 9:23 | Tasmanian Tin Tops | 0:20 | Race 2 |
| 9:45 | 9:57 | Supercars | 0:12 | Q1 Race 14 |
| 10:05 | 10:15 | Supercars | 0:10 | Q2 Race 14 |
| 10:20 | 10:30 | Events | 0:10 | Entertainment |
| 10:40 | 10:52 | Supercars | 0:12 | Q1 Race 15 |
| 11:00 | 11:10 | Supercars | 0:10 | Q2 Race 15 |
| 11:25 | 1 lap after 11:43 | V8 SuperUtes | 0:20 | Race 1 |
| 11:50 | 12:00 | Events | 0:10 | Entertainment |
| 12:05 | 1 lap after 12:23 | Aussie Racing Cars | 0:20 | Race 3 |
| 12:55 | 1 lap after 13:53 | Supercars | 50 laps | Race 14 |
| 14:00 | 14:10 | Events | 0:10 | Entertainment |
| 14:15 | 1 lap after 14:33 | Touring Car Masters | 0:20 | Race 1 |
| 14:45 | 1 lap after 15:08 | V8 SuperUtes | 0:20 | Race 2 |
| 15:55 | 1 lap after 16:53 | Supercars | 50 laps | Race 15 |
| Sunday, May 24 | ||||
| Start | Finish | Category | Duration | Session |
| 8:20 | 1 lap after 8:38 | Tasmanian Tin Tops | 0:20 | Race 3 |
| 8:50 | 1 lap after 9:08 | V8 SuperUtes | 0:20 | Race 3 |
| 9:20 | 9:40 | Events | 0:20 | |
| 9:45 | 1 lap after 10:03 | Touring Car Masters | 0:20 | Race 2 |
| 10:10 | 10:20 | Events | 0:10 | Entertainment |
| 10:25 | 1 lap after 10:43 | Tasmanian Tin Tops | 0:20 | Race 4 |
| 10:55 | 1 lap after 11:13 | Aussie Racing Cars | 0:20 | Race 4 |
| 11:35 | 11:47 | Supercars | 0:12 | Q1 Race 16 |
| 11:55 | 12:05 | Supercars | 0:10 | Q2 Race 16 |
| 12:10 | 12:20 | Events | 0:10 | Entertainment |
| 12:30 | 12:50 | Supercars | 0:20 | |
| 13:05 | 1 lap after 13:23 | V8 SuperUtes | 0:20 | Race 4 |
| 13:30 | 13:35 | Events | 0:05 | Entertainment |
| 13:40 | 1 lap after 13:58 | Touring Car Masters | 0:20 | Race 3 |
| 14:45 | 1 lap after 16:13 | Supercars | 78 laps | Race 16 |
How to watch the Tasmania Super440 on TV in Australia
Live coverage of the Tasmania Super440 will be live on Foxtel via Fox Sports across all three days. There is no live free-to-air coverage.
How to live stream the Tasmania Super440 in Australia
The Tasmania Super440 will be broadcast live on subscription streaming services Foxtel Go and Kayo Sports from Friday through to Sunday.
How to watch the Tasmania Super440 in New Zealand
Viewers in New Zealand can watch the Tasmania Super440 via Sky Sports or live stream it on Sky Sports Now and Sky Go.
Tasmania Super440 TV broadcast start times (AEST)
Friday, May 22
Foxtel/Kayo – 1:00pm AEST
Saturday, May 23
Foxtel/Kayo – 8:45 am AEST
Sunday, May 24
Foxtel/Kayo – 8:15am AEST
Tasmania Super440 ticket details
Tickets for the Supercars Tasmania Super440 are available via Ticketek or the Supercars website.
What are the support categories at the Tasmania Super440?
The Repco Supercars Championship will be supported at Symmons Plains by Touring Car Masters, V8 SuperUtes, Aussie Racing Cars, and Tassie Tin Tops.
Will there be live updates?
Speedcafe will provide real-time, live updates from every Supercars session at the Tasmania Super440.
Repco Supercars Championship points after Christchurch Super440
This article first appeared on Speedcafe.com, a sister site to MotorRacing.com.