Monthly Archives: May 2025

Supercars

Snowy River Caravans Tasmania Super440 2025

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of May 9 -11 of was the Snowy River Caravans Tasmania Super 440, round 4 of the 2025 Supercars Championship.

The event was held at Symmons Plains Raceway.

Symmons Plains Raceway opened in 1960. After the closure of the Longford Road circuit in 1969, Symmons Plains quickly became known as Tasmania’s premier racing venue. It was also 1969 when it was added to The Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC is now known as Supercars).

 While the circuit was temporarily removed from the Supercars calendar in 2000. It returned in 2004 after upgrades were completed more than one million Fans have attended Supercars events at Symmons Plains since 1995.

The weekend marked a special milestone for a few drivers. Broc Feeney started his 100th race on Saturday and his 50th event rounds. Richie Stanaway also reached 100 race starts in Race 13.

Anton de Pasquale and Macauley Jones reached 100 round starts. Thomas Randle recorded his 50th round start.

In the weekend’s pre-race sessions:

  • Broc Feeney was fastest in Practice 1
  • Broc Feeney was also fastest in Practice 2
  • Thomas Randle was fastest in Qualifying

In Race 11 Thomas Randle started on pole position with Broc Feeney alongside him.

Thomas Randle got the jump off the start line and led into turn 1 for the first of 50 laps. Broc Feeney stayed close behind.

Between turns 1 and 2 James Golding ran wide into the dirt, which cost him 2 spots placing him10th.

At turn 4 Thomas Randle went slightly wide but recovered quickly so that Broc Feeney’s takeover attempt was squashed. Will Brown was in third place.

By lap 11 Randle caused Broc Feeney to side draft through turn 4. Feeney used it to shoot ahead and take the lead. Shortly after Will Brown tapped Thomas Randle causing him to go wide and Brown slipped through on the inside.

The first car to pit was Nick Percat on lap 19. He was at the rear of the pack.

On lap 24 Richie Stanaway made heavy contact with the wall coming out of turn 3. The car was smashed in but there was no major mechanical damage.

Broc Feeney was still leading over Will Brown but only by 0.979 seconds. Feeney’s incredibly fast 5.6 second pit stop on lap 25 helped him get clear track and maintain the lead.

By lap 35 the 6 cars ahead of Feeney had taken their pit stops so he was back in the lead 6.7 seconds ahead of Bryce Fullwood in 2nd place.

With 11 laps to go Thomas Randle moved into 2nd place pushing Bryce Fullwood back to 3rd. Broc Feeney still had a 6.5 second lead.

On lap 51 Broc Feeney secured his number 1 spot with the fastest lap of the race, 51.539 seconds. It was incredible.

A little further back in the pack, Will Brown was making attempts to get a podium finish and took 4th place from Cameron Waters.

Broc Feeney once again showed maturity in his driving talents beyond his years. He faultlessly kept his lead and crossed the finish line 7.938 seconds ahead of Thomas Randle in 2nd place. Bryce Fullwood came in at 3rd.

It was a great finish and earned Feeney his 14th career win in Supercars.

Results for Race 11:

1st Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
2nd Thomas Randle – Castrol Racing
3rd Bryce Fullwood – Brad Jones Racing

In Race 12 Broc Feeney started on pole position. Alongside him was Thomas Randle.

At the start of the race Broc Feeney led into turn 1 for the first of 50 laps followed by Thomas Randle and James Golding.

Ryan Wood got turned around by Aaron Cameron which put him to the back of the pack. Bryce Fullwood ran wide exiting turn 7 and dropped down to 8th place.

On lap 4 Cooper Murray helped Richie Stanaway spin to the back of the pack.

On lap 7 David Reynolds made contact with Bryce Fullwood. No major damage was done so officials let it go without penalty. Meanwhile, Cameron Waters recorded the fastest lap of the race so far, 51.863 seconds.

On lap 10 Thomas Randle beat the fastest lap with 51.823 seconds.

The first car to pit in this race was Ryan Wood on lap 14.

As the pit stops were taken by the other drivers the track was cleared and once again Feeney was in the lead. Nick Percat and Cam Waters were commanding 2nd and 3rd place throughout the second half of the race.

The front of the pack were quite spread out with 2+ seconds between the top five drivers.

Broc Feeney crossed the finish line 2.621 seconds clear of Nick Percat. Cameron Waters followed in 3rd place 2.37 seconds later.

Feeney now had 2 wins of 2 races. Was he going to do it again in the 3 race of the event?

Results for Race 12:

1st Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
2nd Nick Percat – Matt Stone Racing
3rd Cameron Waters – Monster Castrol Racing

In Race 13 Will Brown was on pole position. Ryan Wood next to him on the front row of the start grid for the 78 lap race.

As they took off James Golding and Richie Stanaway got an amazing start from 4th and 6th place. It was James Golding who took the lead before the first turn.

Will Brown was in 2nd followed by Cameron Waters who started in 3rd on the grid. Richie Stanaway moved up to 4th so Ryan Wood had been pushed back to 5th after he had started 2nd on the grid.

A few laps into the race Anton de Pasquale who started 10th made contact with Kai Allen. Both cars spun and ended up at the back of the pack.

Broc Feeney passed Ryan Wood taking over 3rd place. Thomas Randle stole past Will Brown who was now back in 6th place.

Kai Allen copped it again on lap 4. This time by Cooper Murray. Kai Allen had to take his car into the pits for repairs. Cooper Murray was issued a 15 second time penalty.

Things settled down. The leaders had not changed places. The only exception was Will Brown stealing back 5th place from Thomas Randle.

On the approach to turn 4 of lap 9 Mostert bumps James Courtney causing him to hit Will Davison in front of him as they come into the turn. Davison then hits the inside rear of Jack le Brocq spinning him around. It took a the two cars several seconds to reorientate and take off again but were now at the back of the pack.

Chaz Mostert later received a 15 second penalty for his helping hand in the incident.

Broc Feeney managed to get up the inside of Cameron Waters for second place but was still 2.7 seconds away from the lead.

Ryan Wood had managed to fight his way back up to 3rd and was right behind Broc Feeney.

Chaz Mostert pitted on lap 20 to serve his penalty and also top up fuel fuel.   

Bryce Fullwood made contact with Brodie Kostecki causing him to spin across the track into the concrete barricade. The damage was severe and although he could move he was in a blind spot after a bend so the safety car was deployed.

In the middle of the race Broc Feeney had the lead over James Golding in 2nd place and Will Brown in 3rd.

Broc Feeney maintained his lead. Towards the end of the race Matt Payne was in second place and closing in. When he finally caught up with Feeney he didn’t rush into an attack. With 3 laps remaining he saw an opportunity and took the lead.

Feeney had won the first two races of this event and it put him at the top of the season championship ladder. He knew an aggressive defence now could go sour and cost him a podium finish. Although he really wanted to make it his 3rd wins for the weekend he chose to play it safe and get 2nd place and keep at the top of the season standings.

In the end Matt Payne crossed the finish line 0.055 seconds ahead of Feeney. They were followed by Feeney’s teammate Will Brown.

It was a tense but exciting finish for the weekend.

Results for Race 13:

1st Matt Payne – Grove Racing
2nd Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
3rd Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing

Broc Feeney is now the new championship leader by 33points over Will Brown.

The next event is the Bosch Power-Tools Perth Super 440, June 6 – 8 2025.

Supercars

ITM Taupo Super 440 2025

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of April 11-13 was the ITM Taupo Super 440, round 3 of the 2025 Supercars championship.

It was held at the Taupo International Motorsport Park in Taupo, New Zealand.

Taupo raceway was first opened in 1959 by the Taupo Car Club. It was basically a dirt track in the countryside with the volcanic mountain Mount Tauhara in the background.

After changing hands in 2022 and finally in 2024 hosted it’s first Australian V8-Supercars event. After this event (in 2025) Supercars will be hosting next year’s NZ event at a different circuit.

This event started on Friday the 11th of April and the weather was sunny all weekend.

In the pre-race sessions:

  • Andre Heimgartner was fastest in Practice 1
  • Ryan Wood was fastest in Practice 2
  • Matt Payne was fastest in Qualifying

In Race 8 Matt Payne started on pole position with Brodie Kostecki alongside him.

Matt Payne got the jump off the start line and led into turn 1 for the first of 37 laps.

Cooper Murray and Cameron Hill came into contact on lap 3. Cameron Hill was later deemed at fault and issues a 15 second time penalty.

After numerous attempts Ryan Wood finally passed Will Davison for 4th place.

Chaz Mostert was turned around by Thomas Randle at turn 1 dropping Mostert from 7th to 21st place. Thomas Randle received a 15 second time penalty for his actions.

Matt Payne then did the fastest lap of the race 1.28.075 seconds. He had a 1.3 second lead over Brodie Kostecki in second place.

Nick Percat was the first to pit on lap 9.

Macauley Jones was slowing approaching turn 2 and finally came to a stop. The safety car was deployed to remove his car because it was in an awkward spot of the turn. Excepting the front runners the whole field took the opportunity to take their pit-stops. The pit lane was chaotic.

The restart was on lap 16 and Matt Payne still had control followed by Cameron Waters and Anton de Pasquale in 3rd place. Kostecki had lost 2nd place when he chose to pit while the race was under safety car.

Ryan Wood passed Thomas Randle for 5th place his next target was Jack le Brocq in 4th place.

It was the middle of the race and Cameron Waters was applying maximum pressure on Matt Payne for the lead.

With 9 laps remaining James Courtney gave Cooper Murray a helping hand off the track. The safety car was not needed so the race continued.

The leading cars remained the same. In the last laps Ryan Wood was desperately attacking Cam Waters for second place. With Waters on the defence, Matt Payne was able to keep well ahead of the two.

Matt Payne’s faultless driving took him over the finish line 4.1 seconds ahead of Cameron Waters. Ryan Wood was right on Waters’ tail just 0.797 seconds behind in 3rd place.

Results for Race 8:

1st Matt Payne – Grove Racing

2nd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing

3rd Ryan Wood – Walkinshaw Andretti United

In Race 9 Brodie Kostecki started on pole position alongside him was Chaz Mostert.

At the start of the race Chaz Mostert got the jump over Brodie Kostecki and led into turn 1 and 2 for the first of 37 laps.

Broc Feeney got away to an unbelievable start from the second row of the grid but soon lost the places he had gained. Will Brown gained 1 spot up to 4th.

Officials were busy investigating a false start for Matt Payne and further back in the pack there was contact between Cooper Murray and David Reynolds.

Brodie Kostecki stuck close to Chaz Mostert in the lead. On lap 18 Kostecki found a gap and used it to overtake Mostert.

In the middle of the race Chaz Mostert was driving aggressively to take back his lead from Brodie Kostecki. It was so aggressive that when Mostert passed Kostecki, Kostecki left the track onto the grass. He kept the chase on Mostert going.

Soon after the two leaders came into the pits. Kostecki made some sort of judgement error and hit the wall reasonably hard coming into pit lane. The right side of his car was pretty smashed in.

As the race was reaching its conclusion, Brodie Kostecki ran wide after a nudge from Chaz Mostert. Mostert stayed in the lead but the incident allowed Will Davison to slip past Kostecki.

With a clear track and clean air Mostert was able to build on his lead. In the end he crossed the finish line 6.476 seconds ahead of Will Davison in 2nd place.  Brodie Kostecki managed to keep 3rd place and came across the line 2.715 seconds later.

Results for Race 9:

1st Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United

2nd Will Davison – Shell V-Power Racing Team

3rd Brodie Kostecki – Shell V-Power Racing Team

In Race 10 Brodie Kostecki started on pole position with Anton de Pasquale alongside him.

As they took off Brodie Kostecki got the jump into turn 1 for the first of 61 laps. Anton de Pasquale ran wide and Kai Allen got turned around at turn 1 sending both down the order. Ryan Wood was trying to take the lead off Brodie Kostecki but with both drivers running wide, Cameron Hill was able to overtake them for the lead in one manoeuvre. Brodie Kostecki had now dropped down to 7th place.

Ryan Wood was later issued a time penalty for a driving infringement when trying to overtake Kostecki.

Matt Payne was in 2nd place and was in a prime spot to win the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy for the event. Thomas Randle passed Ryan Wood for 3rd place at turn 1 on lap 2.

On lap 5 the Ryan Wood recorded the fastest lap of the race, 128.5 seconds.

Kia Allen had smoke coming out of the right rear mud guard of car 26. He kept going until he had to come in for his pit stop.

Matt Payne took the race lead at turn 3 on lap 8  and was now followed by Thomas Randle while Cameron Hill dropped into 3rd place.

Further back Brodie Kostecki was keen to regain his position up the front and passed Anton de Pasquale for 6th place.

Macauley Jones was turned around by Cameron Waters on lap 11. Somehow, he managed to rescue himself without the safety car intervening.

The first car to pit was Will Brown in 10th place on lap 12. He returned to the track in 24th place.

In the middle of the race Matt Payne was leading by 1.4 seconds over Cameron Hill. Thomas Randle was back in third 1.9 seconds away from the race lead.

Towards the end of the race Matt Payne was looking strong to claim another victory for the weekend and therefore have enough points to claim the Jason Richards memorial trophy. He had enough of a lead so he wasn’t under immediate threat. He had a clear track and clean air. He only had to focus on maintain his speed and not making any errors of his own.

He crossed the finish line 3.194 seconds ahead of Cameron Hill. It was 5.094 seconds back to Chaz Mostert in 3rd place. After initially losing so much ground, Brodie Kostecki amazingly managed to climb back to 4th place ahead of Thomas Randle in 5th. Although the front runners were spread apart it was still a very exciting finish.

Results for Race 10:

1st Matt Payne – Grove Racing

2nd Cameron Hill – Matt Stone Racing

3rd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United.

The next event is the Snowy River Caravans Tasmania Super 440 May 9 – 11, 2025.

Till I catch ya next time, keep revving!