Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!
On the weekend of July 10 – 12 was the NTI Townsville 500, round 7 of the 2026 Supercars championship.
The Townsville street circuit first opened in 2009 and in the same year hosted the inaugural supercars championship event.
Jamie Wincup holds the record of 12 wins at this venue.
This year’s Townsville 500 marked a milestone for Chaz Mostert. He started his 200th race for Walkinshaw TWG Racing.
In Race 20 Brodie Kostecki started on pole position with Cameron Waters alongside him.
As the race went green Cameron Waters led into turns 1 and 2 for the first of 35 laps.
Chaz Mostert jumped 2 spots into second place. Broc Feeney gained 5 places to 13th on the opening lap. Will Brown gained 6 spots and was in 11th place.
Chaz Mostert then dropped 2 positions to Matt Payne and Brodie Kostecki.
The first car to pit in this race was Anton de Pasquale on lap 12.
In the middle of the race Kai Allen was the first out of the front runners to pit. Matt Payne and Chaz Mostert pitted on the following lap. Kai Allen then had the undercut advantage which meant he was able to pass Matt Payne on the track.
As they cycled through the pit stops Matt Payne returned to the front followed by Chaz Mostert.
Towards the end of the race Cameron Waters and Brodie Kostecki (right behind) pushed past Matt Payne to take up positions 1 and 2.
Brodie Kostecki stayed right on Cameron Waters tail and didn’t let up. The leaders were close together and you had the feeling that anything could happen. Brodie Kostecki really fought hard to get the number 1 spot from Waters but just couldn’t find the opportunity.
Cameron Waters crossed the finish line with a 0.2 second win over Brodie Kostecki. Matt Payne followed to take 3rd place 1.365 later.
Race 20 results:
1st Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing
2nd Brodie Kostecki – Shell V-Power Racing Team
3rd Matt Payne – Grove Racing
In Race 21 Brodie Kostecki started on pole position. Next to him on the front row of the grid was Matt Payne.
Brodie Kostecki got the jump and led into turns 1 and 2 for the first of 68 laps.
Further back in the pack James Golding had smoke coming from the back of his car due to a cut tyre after a lap 1 skirmish. He had to take an early pit stop to have the damage looked at.
Aaron Cameron ran wide at turn 6 on the opening lap. He also had to come into the pits straight away to replace the damaged right rear wheel.
The leader Brodie Kostecki was closely followed by Matt Payne and then Thomas Randle.
On lap 12 Reuben Goodall hit and spun Zac Bates. The stewards gave Reuben Goodall a 15 second time penalty for his actions.
The first of the leaders to pit were Matt Payne and Chaz Mostert on lap 19.
Brodie Kostecki pitted on the next lap. His stop was slowed due to a cross threaded wheel nut. The delay cost him the lead which was now held by Matthew Payne.
By the middle of the race Matt Payne had a 10+ seconds lead over Thomas Randle in second place.
Matt Payne held onto the number 1 spot while Anton de Pasquale and Brodie Kostecki slipped into 2nd and 3rd place.
Matt Payne kept edging ahead and extending his lead. He finally crossed the finish line with a 15.288 second lead over Anton de Pasquale in second place. Brodie Kostecki followed closely to take 3rd.
Race 21 results:
1st Matt Payne – Grove Racing
2nd Anton de Pasquale – Team 18
3rd Brodie Kostecki – Shell V-Power Racing Team
In Race 22 Cameron Waters started on pole position with Brodie Kostecki alongside him.
Cameron Waters took the lead in the first of 68 laps.
Macauley Jones hit Ruben Goodall. Macauley Jones’s car was all smashed up at the front and moving slow. Goodall’s car stopped on the track and the safety car was deployed.
The restart was on lap 4. Cameron Waters still had the lead. Ryan Wood was in second place.
Broc Feeney moved up 4 spots up to 8th position.
Brodie Kostecki soon got up the inside of Ryan Wood for second place at turn 2. Moments later Ryan Wood lost another spot to Kai Allen.
In the middle of the race while drivers cycled through their pit stops, Brodie Kostecki held the lead 7.1 seconds clear of Matt Payne in second place.
Towards the end of the race Brodie Kostecki still had the lead followed by Matt Payne. The leaders were spread out and racing at top speeds.
Noone could catch Brodie Kostecki and he crossed the finish line 9.348 seconds ahead of Matt Payne. Cameron Waters came in third 5.457 seconds later. It was a great finish for the weekend.
Race 22 results:
1st Brodie Kostecki – Shell V-Power Racing Team
2nd Matt Payne – Grove Racing
3rd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing
The next event is the Bosch Power Tools Perth Super 440 on 31 July – 2 August.
Matt Payne will head into the event as the championship leader with Broc Feeney trailing by 92 points.