Strategy Guide: The possible race strategies for Tasmania

Supercars returns to sprint mode for the NED Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint, in what is the final round before the enduro season gets underway.

After Sydney and Townsville, which hosted races of 200km or longer, Tasmania will see drivers tackle 55-lap, 132km sprints.

Tasmania isn't tough on tyres, but with the Super Soft tyre returning, and cold temperatures expected, it will be a head-scratching weekend for teams and drivers. Then, there's the threat of rain, which at Symmons Plains, can blow at in a moment's notice.

Supercars.com explains the keys to strategy for this weekend's sprints, and the fastest way to the finish.

What tyres do we have?

Dunlop’s Soft Soft tyre compound, which was last sed at June's betr Darwin Triple Crown, is back. Each car will have 28 Super Soft tyres (seven sets) for qualifying and the races. Eight (two sets) pre-marked event tyres must be handed back after practice. Each car also has 28 wet weather tyres (seven sets).

What is the circuit like?

It's the shortest lap of the season, and at 52 seconds, goes by in a flash.

The hero corner of the circuit, which has hosted the championship since 1969, is the 60km/h Turn 4 hairpin, while there are also big stops into Turn 2 and Turn 6. There are a variety of options to attack Turn 4, with the high and low lines creating passing and defending opportunities.

Drive traction is everything at Symmons Plains, while braking from high speed to low speed creates error probability. There are brake lock risks at Turn 1 (right front), Turn 2 (left front), Turn 2 (front and rear), with the right rear copping the most punishment.

Rear tyres are also prone to wheel spin on exit, notably at Turn 2 and Turn 4.

The keys to practice and qualifying

There are three practice sessions this weekend; 60 minutes on Friday afternoon, and 20 minutes on Saturday and Sunday morning.

Teams will be testing the impact of new minimum tyre pressure on Friday, but rain could undo that opportunity.

Three-part elimination qualifying is tense and spectacular, with Q1 featuring all 24 cars. In all three parts, finding space for clear track run is critical. However, watch for cars to get a tow between Turns 5 and 6, which proves to be highly advantageous.

Qualifying goes by quickly, and with five minutes between segments, there is a very small time window to make changes if the car isn't balanced.

Tyre warming will be the talking point, so expect aggressive warming procedures and two flying laps. Date from the 2023 event suggests the second lap was the fastest lap.

Expected strategies

Per compulsory pit stop (CPS) rules, there is a minimum change of two tyres, permitted after the commencement of lap 5. The cost of a stop is approximately 30 seconds, plus stationary time.

The 2023 races were 11 laps shorter, with the races broken up into two equal stints. There was no obvious advantage with either the undercut or overcut, but that doesn't mean there aren't risks with strategy.

Timing the gap for pit stops needs careful management to avoid traffic, given the risky post pit stop rejoin blend at the exit of Turn 2 to Turn 3.

If teams opt to evenly split strategy, drivers can pit at approximately halfway, or lap 27. An undercut will see drivers pit earlier than lap 27, but it lends itself to a longer second stint.

Then, there could be drivers who opt for an overcut, pitting later than lap 27. If they manage to find speed at the end of the race, they could be hard to stop.

Strategy choices are traffic dependent, but Safety Cars could see drivers opt for safety. However, that also poses a double stack risk.

The cars start with approximately 100kg fuel and will respond to lower fuel levels in the second stint of the race. Rubber marbles from the Super Soft and build up offline is a passing risk, so drivers must be committed and under control when trying to overtake.

Safety Car probability

Of the 49 races held at Symmons Plains since 2004, the Safety Car has appeared in 26 of them (53 percent). There were no Safety Car periods in 2023.

What about the weather?

It's cold, but not desperately cold with highs of 17 degrees across all three days. Regardless, cold conditions present tyre temperature management questions. The circuit is also subject to large wind direction and strength variations.

At present, there is a wet weather threat for all three days, with up to 6 mm on Friday and Saturday, and 2 mm on Sunday.