Heimgartner beats Feeney for first Toyota win in Tasmania

Heimgartner led the lion’s share of the 100th Supercars race at Symmons Plains, surviving an early attack from Triple Eight Race Engineering’s Broc Feeney before the pit stop sequence.

It’s the first win for Heimgartner since the inaugural Taupo Super400 two years ago and his first win on Australian soil since The Bend in 2021 a whopping 1841 days ago.

It was a big day on the whole for Brad Jones Racing, takings its first pole position, race win, and podium with the new Toyota GR Supra.

“It’s a big credit to all the guys. A flawless stop got us back out there,” he said.

“Honestly, it’s been a bit of a hard slog. It’s been years since I won a race.

“We’re starting to get a handle on the GR Supra and I’m over the moon, couldn’t have executed that race much better.”

From pole position, Heimgartner holeshot while Payne lost out to Feeney for second.

Matt Stone Racing driver Zach Bates wound up facing the wrong way at Turn 2 thanks to a hit from Grove Racing’s Kai Allen. Race control confirmed it would investigate the incident post-race.

Feeney kept Heimgartner honest in the opening laps, repeatedly threatening to take the lead away between the hairpin and Turn 6.

Heimgartner couldn’t shake Feeney, which created a top-seven road train, though the top contenders soon began to string out as the race settled into a rhythm and drivers began thinking about pitting.

By Lap 13, Heimgartner led Feeny to the tune of half a second with Payne another half-second further afield Wood was fourth, and Kostecki fifth while the top 10 was completed by David Reynolds, Anton De Pasquale, Cameron Hill, Will Brown, and Cameron Waters.

Chaz Mostert clashed with Jayden Ojeda at the end of Lap 14 at Turn 6, which tipped the #31 PremiAir Racing Chevrolet Camaro into a spin and out of 13th. That plummeted Ojeda to 23rd while Mostert copped a 15-second penalty for his misdemeanour.

De Pasquale was the first of the top 10 contenders to pit on Lap 15.

On Lap 20, Kostecki briefly took fourth from Wood at Turn 6 before the Walkinshaw TWG Racing driver returned serve at Turn 7 when the Dick Johnson Racing star went wide and onto the grass.

Their battle opened up an even bigger gap to third-placed Payne, who was more than two seconds up the road.

On Lap 23, Reynolds drilled the back of Kostecki at the hairpin and stoved in the rear bumper of the #17 Mustang.

The nose-to-tail contact sent Kostecki into Wood, who briefly lost a position to the DJR driver out of the hairpin.

Damage from the hit caused sparks to fly as part of the rear diffuser dragged on the ground, and a lap later Kostecki pitted for a lengthy stop for repairs. Kostecki wound up finishing last.

For the clash, Reynolds was handed a 15-second penalty. However, he pitted on Lap 26 before he could serve the sanction. He was ultimately demoted to 17th after his post-race penalty was applied.

Feeney pitted on Lap 28 out of second place for four tyres with a one-second deficit to Heimgartner. A lap later, Heimgartner responded with Payne in tow – Heimgartner for four and Payne for two.

When they returned to the race, Heimgarnter had the effective lead of the race with Payne second and Feeney third.

After several laps of trying, Feeney’s tyre advantage finally paid dividends on Lap 35 – getting a side draft out of the hairpin on the run up to Turn 6 where he completed the pass on Payne for second.

By then, Heimgartner’s advantage had blown out to 3.5 seconds.

PremiAir Racing’s Declan Fraser wound up facing the wrong way at Turn 6 on Lap 36 when he got tipped into a spin by Blanchard Racing Team driver Aaron Cameron for 16th.

The closing stanza of the race was a quiet affair at the front of the field as Heimgartner cruised his way to the chequered flag.

All told, he was 3.6860s clear of Feeney while Payne held off De Pasquale to take the final place on the podium.

The last lap wasn’t without drama. As De Pasquale tried to pass Payne, the Team 18 Chevrolet Camaro locked up into Turn 6 and went touring through the grass.

Will Brown was the quiet achiever in fourth, up five places on where he began while De Pasquale wound up fifth.

Kai Allen was sixth and up 11 places, although he had the question mark of an investigation over his head.

Cameron Waters was seventh (up four places), Ryan Wood was seventh (down four places), Cameron Hill ninth (down two places), and Thomas Randle the last of the top 10 runners (up four places).

Supercars continues on Sunday with qualifying for Race 3 at 11:35am AEST. That will be followed by the Top 10 Shootout at 12:30pm. Race 3 is scheduled for 2:45pm AEST.

Results: Tyrepower Tasmania Super440, Race 2