The 2025 Supercars Championship returns to Australian soil this weekend as the field heads to Symmons Plains for Round 4 of the season: the Tasmania Super440.
Following a thrilling debut of the new Super440 format at the ITM Taupō Super440 last month, teams and drivers are set to do it all again in a packed three-race schedule.
Held from April 11–13 at Taupō International Motorsport Park, the Taupō Super440 delivered a weekend of high drama, on-track fireworks, and a significant shake-up in the championship standings.
The format introduced in New Zealand featured two 120-km sprint races on Saturday and a 200-km feature race on Sunday—a structure that will be mirrored this weekend in Tasmania.
Payne Dominates Taupō
New Zealand’s own Matt Payne was the standout performer at his home event, claiming two victories across the three races and walking away with the prestigious Jason Richards Memorial Trophy.
Payne kicked off the weekend in dominant style, converting pole into victory in Race 8 and leading from start to finish. Cam Waters finished second, while fellow Kiwi Ryan Wood made it a double New Zealand podium in third.
In Race 9, Chaz Mostert surged to victory, while pole-sitter Brodie Kostecki settled for third behind Will Davison. Payne narrowly missed out on another podium, finishing fourth after a hard-fought battle.
Sunday’s Race 10 saw Payne produce one of the drives of the season so far. Starting from sixth, the Grove Racing driver sliced through the field and took the lead by Lap 8, never looking back and securing the win.
Mostert followed up his earlier victory with a strong second-place finish, while Cameron Hill continued his impressive form by claiming his third podium of the season in third.
Payne’s standout weekend vaulted him to third in the drivers’ standings, now just 46 points adrift of series leader Will Brown.
The Taupō event also brought back the much-loved “Track to Town” parade, where all 24 Supercars toured the streets of Taupō, delighting fans with a rare up-close look at the cars and drivers outside the racetrack.
Focus Shifts to Tasmania
Attention now turns to Symmons Plains for the Tasmania Super440, where the Supercars field will once again tackle the new format for 2025.
The schedule will mirror the structure seen in Taupō: two sprint races on Saturday, followed by a longer feature race on Sunday. However, teams will face fresh strategic challenges with a reversed tyre compound allocation.
This time, drivers will use the grippier super-soft Dunlop tyre for Race 1 before switching to the soft compound for Race 2 later that day. Sunday’s 78-lap feature race will see the field return to the super-softs for the two-stop showdown.
Teams have only two sets of soft tyres for the entire weekend, making tyre management and qualifying performance critical.
Due to fuel range concerns, Sunday’s race distance has been slightly shortened.
On a Kiwi note, Richie Stanaway will hit his 100-race milestone this weekend in Tasmania.
Weekend Weather and Support Classes
Weather conditions are forecast to be cool but largely dry across the weekend. Friday is expected to be partly cloudy, while Saturday should be mostly sunny. Sunday may bring patchy cloud cover and a slight chance of showers, but no significant rain is anticipated.
The Tasmania Super440 will also feature a strong support program headlined by Super2. Fans can also look forward to action from Touring Car Masters, Aussie Racing Cars, and the V8 SuperUtes.
Supercars Tasmania Super 440 Schedule (NZT)
Friday, May 9:
- Practice 1 – 1:55pm (30 mins)
- Practice 2 – 5:00pm (30 mins)
Saturday, May 10
- Qualifying for Race 1 – 11:05am
- Qualifying for Race 2 – 11:55am
- Race 1 – 2:05pm (50 laps)
- Race 2 – 5:55pm (50 laps)
Sunday, May 11
- Qualifying for Race 3 – 11:35am (30 mins)
- Top 10 Shootout – 1:55pm
- Race 3 – 4:45pm (78 laps)
You can find the full schedule including details on support class times HERE
With momentum, strategy, and tyres all in play, the Tasmania Super440 promises to be another dramatic chapter in what’s already shaping up as a tightly contested 2025 Supercars season.
Header Image: Mark Horsburgh
