Barry Oliver | Symmons up to speed as TCR battles return

Round two at Symmons Plains and round three at Baskerville were cancelled due to COVID-19, so the championship will now be decided over four rounds instead of six.

After this weekend, the next round will be at Baskerville on October 18 with the final round at Symmons Plains on November 15.

The MG Car Club of Tasmania, who organises the Symmons Plains rounds, has received 80 entries for the six categories with four events per category.

In Formula Vee points leader Callum Bishop will be under immense pressure from multiple-Australian champion Wade McLean, out to make amends for being beaten twice by the newcomer in round one.

Tactics and slipstreaming are major factors for success in FV at Symmons Plains and this is where McLean's greater experience could prove tough to overcome.

Bishop leads by nine points from McLean with the consistent Chris Neil in third place a further 13 points behind.

After round one just 11 points separate the top three in the HQ Holden category with Phil Ashlin six points up on Otis Cordwell who is five points in front of Andrew Toth.

Apart from Neville Rattray, who finished third in the Laurie Kelly Memorial race, those three took all podium places in their three races.

Historic Touring Cars will combine with the HQs and it's difficult to see anyone challenging points leader John Talbot in his beautifully presented Ford Mustang.

Michael Cross is second in the point score in his Torana XU1 just nine points behind, but the inclusion of Phil Shepherd and the returning Peter Smith in their EH Holdens could spice things up for six-cylinder honours.

There are 13 entries in IP, which is double the number that fronted up at the first round, so points leader and defending champion Matthew Grace is facing some serious opposition against his Nissan 200SX.

Alex Williams in his Series 8 Mazda RX7 and Brad Chick in his 6.0 litre Commodore should prove a thorn in the side for Grace who has developed the Nissan with the help of his father and former racer Trevor.

Defending Hyundai Excel champion Josh Webster comes into this round with a 22-point lead over Jamie Keeling with just five points back to Jeremy Bennett who is only six points ahead of Callum Mitchell.

The Hyundai races could well be among the highlight categories of the day, despite the fact the cars are almost standard without much power.

Liam Hooper leads the Sports GT A category by nine points in his very fast Subaru WRX from Steve Noble in his Nissan 350Z but this time round it's going to be a much tougher assignment.

Brad Sherriff scored a first and a second in Hobart before some issues sidelined the R32 Nissan Skyline, so Sunday will be his best opportunity to move up from fifth place in the points and reduce the 47-point deficit to Hooper.

Symmons Plains is a power circuit which will suit the 6.0 litre Commodore of Layton Barker and, just to keep the traditional Holden versus Ford battle going, Ben Creed has entered his very quick V8 Falcon.

Roger White is in fourth place in his Nissan Skyline, 31 points behind Hooper, so consistency and finishing all four races will be the key.

Scott Smith makes a welcome return in his Porsche GT3 Cup car, and his aim will be to take advantage of the traction afforded by the rear engine layout to make a demon start.

In SGT B David Wrigley should be able to cruise in his Ford Mustang as second-placed Denis Howard has not entered his Nissan 350Z and it's unlikely Wrigley will be threatened.

Sports Sedans will run with the Sports GT cars and it's hard to see Danny Slater being beaten in his turbocharged Torana by the Holden Gemini of veteran John Douglas.

In the Regularity events drivers are required to nominate a lap time after their practice session which they then have to try and match over four flying laps.

There is a very small margin either side of the nominated time before you lose points from your 50-point allocation, and after four events, the driver who accumulates the most points is the winner on the day.

Any form of on-board timing assistance is banned so it's up to the driver to be extremely consistent.

After round one only six points separated the top four drivers with Bruce Thomas in his Ford Falcon equal on top with Mick Williams in his Datsun 240Z.

Williams is a non-starter this weekend so it will be an opportunity for Rick Burt in his Mitsubishi Mirage and Brett Mansfield in his Commodore to move up.

Practice and qualifying commence at 9am with the first of the 24 events starting at 10.30am.