The 'question mark' hanging over Mostert's title hopes

Unlocking speed on the Super Soft tyre is the next “question mark” for Chaz Mostert, with Tasmania looming as the title hopeful's biggest hurdle yet.

Mostert has been the form driver in recent rounds, claiming four consecutive podiums, headlined by two wins in Sydney.

The Walkinshaw Andretti United driver is now the closest rival to championship leader Will Brown, sitting 105 points behind with 1510 still to win in the final five rounds.

Mostert is currently leading a Supercars.com poll, which asked fans who is currently the favourite to win the championship.

The next two rounds in Tasmania and Sandown will be held on the Super Soft tyre, which brought WAU undone in Darwin.

The Super Soft was a headache for WAU, with Mostert only 22nd and 20th in qualifying at Hidden Valley. While Mostert charged to fifth in the first race, a run to 16th in the finale cost him valuable ground.

It led to scepticism over Mostert's title hopes for Garth Tander, who labelled Tasmania a "real teller" for WAU's championship chances. Mostert, meanwhile, isn't keen on thinking about the championship just yet.

However, with Tasmania the next stop, Mostert is hopeful WAU can find a “philosophy” to extract speed out of the Super Soft.

“That’s going to be the big question mark for us,” said Mostert, who later described WAU’s performance in Darwin as “really poor."

“Super Soft tyre again, have we turned our cars around or come up with a philosophy that’s going to suit that.

“And then you’ve got the ‘lamb chop’ as we like to call it, Tassie, it's a very unique place.

“We’ve had a couple of good runs there in the past, I had my first win with WAU there [in 2021], which was really cool. But it’s a different era. We’ve got to make sure we roll out good there.”

Despite recent form, championship leaders Triple Eight appear the heavy favourites in Tasmania, thanks to 26 of the last 39 wins at Symmons Plains, as well as a recent test.

However, WAU knows it must focus on itself first, team CEO Carl Faux adding: “We need to be good again when we go onto the Super Soft tyre in Tasmania. We’re chipping away at it.

"That will be the telltale for us on whether we can challenge for the championship.”

The 2024 Repco Supercars Championship will resume at the NED Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint on August 16-18. Tickets for the event are on sale now.

Live coverage can be found on Foxtel, with live streaming available on Kayo. Highlights will be shown on the Seven Network and 7plus. International viewers can follow all the action on Superview.