Paul Weel sweeps SST Tasmania practice and qualifying
Paul Weel is off to a good start with the 2021 Boost Mobile Super Trucks season opener from Symmons Plains Raceway just hours away. He was the fastest driver in Saturday’s lone practice session, followed by leading the six-driver field in qualifying to win the pole.
Practice
Weel set the fastest lap time of 1:13.8277 on his fifth run around Symmons Plains. The 41-year-old, who made his stadium truck début in the 2020 opener at Adelaide, set the tone early on with an opening lap time at 1:18.6183, the second fastest behind Shae Davies‘ 1:21.3465. He also led all drivers in Sectors #2 and #3 with times at 24.2614 and 22.1313 seconds, respectively.
Davies, who won Race #3 at Adelaide in his maiden SST weekend, recorded just two practice laps before exiting after a jump ended with his truck bouncing off its nose and landing on its wheels. The impact evoked memories of Matt Brabham‘s landings at Gold Coast in 2016, which was affectionately nicknamed the “Tooth Chipper” by commentator Matt Naulty.
2017 SST champion Paul Morris was the second-quickest driver overall. Turning a grid-high nine practice laps, his fastest was 1:14.9830 on lap three.
Of Shaun Richardson‘s six laps, his best was 1:15.4931 on his final run. Although his opening lap was the slowest of those who made a flying run at 1:27.1507, he consistently racked up times within the 1:15 and 1:16 range.
Morris’s son Nash ended his first SST practice in fourth. Across eight laps, his best was on lap three at 1:16.7190 with his next five placing between 1:17 and 1:19.
Dave Casey, also an SST newcomer, had seven practice laps. His fastest overall came on lap six at 1:19.4011, though he saw strong runs in Sector #1 with a fastest sector time of 23.3327 seconds on lap two.
| Position | Number | Driver | Best Time (Fastest Lap) | Margin | Laps |
| 1 | 50 | Paul Weel | 1:13.8277 (5) | Leader | 8 |
| 2 | 67 | Paul Morris | 1:14.9830 (3) | + 1.1553 | 9 |
| 3 | 12 | Shaun Richardson | 1:15.4931 (6) | + 1.6654 | 6 |
| 4 | 94 | Nash Morris | 1:16.7190 (3) | + 2.8913 | 8 |
| 5 | 121 | Dave Casey | 1:19.4011 (6) | + 5.5734 | 7 |
| 6 | 88 | Shae Davies | 1:21.3465 (1) | + 7.5188 | 2 |
Qualifying
Weel’s strong pre-race session continued with a fastest qualifying time of 1:12.8812 on his second of twelve laps; the lap also saw him notch the best Sector #1 time at 26.8318 seconds. However, it was not just smooth sailing for Weel as he was on pace to set another fast sector time before near contact with Casey foced him to dodge and miss the ramp.
Davies rebounded on his ten qualifying laps with the second-fastest time coming on the fifth at 1:12.9449. His 21.5755-second Sector #3 time on lap five was the fastest in the area.
Richardson and Casey had the most laps at thirteen apiece, with the former being the faster in third overall at 1:13.0881 (lap four) to 1:16.6735 (lap seven).
Paul Morris was unable to set a time due to a transmission failure in his #67. When Nash exited the session because of back pain stemming from a pulled muscle weeks prior, his father took over his #94, during which he reported issues with the truck that may have exacerbated his son’s back. The elder Morris would set a fastest time of 1:13.5432 on his eighth and final lap, while his 23.9722-second time in Sector #2 on lap five was the fastest there.
| Position | Number | Driver | Best Time (Fastest Lap) | Margin | Laps |
| 1 | 50 | Paul Weel | 1:12.8812 (2) | Leader | 12 |
| 2 | 88 | Shae Davies | 1:12.9449 (5) | + .0637 | 10 |
| 3 | 12 | Shaun Richardson | 1:13.0881 (4) | + .2069 | 13 |
| 4 | 94 | Nash Morris* | 1:13.5432 (8) | + .6620 | 8 |
| 5 | 121 | Dave Casey | 1:16.6735 (7) | + 3.7923 | 13 |
| N/A | 67 | Paul Morris | No Time | N/A | N/A |