The Virgin Australia Supercars will hit the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit this weekend for races nine and 10 of the championship season.

Brad Jones Racing driver Tim Slade heads into the weekend in 10th place in the championship after a consistent start to the year.

He said he was aiming to move up a few spots this weekend.

“It’s been a funny start to the championship as we haven’t had [the] ultimate pace that we wanted, but it hasn’t been a disaster either,” Slade said.

Tim Slade’s #14 Holden Commodore.

“We’re going into Phillip Island with a bit of a different set-up philosophy, so it will be a good test for us to see exactly where we are at.

“Ideally, I want to be challenging for the top 10 this weekend. Anything less will be disappointing.”

“The most challenging part of the track is normally staying on top of the changing weather conditions and wind direction as that affects the car set-up,” Slade said.

“Tyre wear is probably the biggest issue to manage for this weekend.”

Red Bull Holden Racing Team driver Jamie Whincup leads the championship ahead of his Ford Penske rival Scott McLaughlin and Erebus driver David Reynolds, who are both 11 points behind in equal second.

Slade said he expected the championship front runners would be fast this weekend.

Supercars driver Tim Slade.

“Red Bull and Penske will be quick, and probably [Dave] Reynolds,” he said.

There have been six different race winners already this year from eight races.

Red Bull drivers Jamie Whincup and Shane van Gisbergen lead the way with two wins each.

Perth’s only competitor Garth Tander sits 12^th in the championship.

The Supercars event runs for three days from April 20 to 22, and both races will be a total of 250km.

The action kicks off on Friday April 20 with practice one at 11.25am EST.