All posts by admin

Supercars

NTI Townsville 500 2025

Leave a comment

Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of July 11 – 13 was round 7 of the 2025 Supercars Championship, the NTI Townsville 500.       

The Townsville street circuit was first opened in 2009 for the Townsville 400, a Supercars championship event. Lee Holdsworth and Garth Tander scored the first 2 pole positions back in 2009. Jamie Whincup and James Courtney shared the wins.

Jamie Whincup holds the record of most wins at Townsville with a total of 12. He also holds the most podiums record of 23. Shane Van Gisbergen is second with 8 wins.

This year was the 19th occasion that the Supercars have raced on the streets of Townsville and the venue didn’t let anyone down with perfect weather.

In the pre-race sessions:

  • Ryan Wood was fastest in Practice 1
  • Thomas Randle was fastest in Practice 2
  • Brodie Kostecki was fastest in Qualifying

In Race 20 Brodie Kostecki started on pole position with Cameron Waters alongside him.

At the start of the race Brodie Kostecki got the jump and led into turns 1 and 2 for the first of 35 laps. He was followed by Cameron Waters, Will Davison and Anton de Pasquale.

Jaxson Evans received damage to the front right corner of his car #12 from contact with David Reynolds. They both dropped down to 22nd and 24th place respectively.

A few laps into the race James Courtney made contact with Aaron Cameron dropping James Courtney back to 16th and Aaron Cameron to 23rd place.

The Red Bull Ampol Racing drivers Broc Feeney and Will Brown qualified 14th and 20th on the grid. They made easy work of moving up to 10th and 14th place.

Brodie Kostecki still had the lead but was shadowed by Cameron Waters in second place.

Will Davison was passed by Anton de Pasquale and then by Matt Payne dropping him back to 5th place.

The first car to pit was Ryan Wood on lap 10 from 23rd place and when he came back out he was still in 23rd place.

Both Broc Feeney and Will Brown were still making gains and in 9th and 11th place.

Brodie Kostecki maintained control and by the middle of the race had increased his lead to 3.171 seconds over Cameron Waters.

With 11 laps remaining, the leading 3 cars of Brodie Kostecki, Cameron Waters and Anton de Pasquale finally took their mandatory pit stops.

On return to the track, the 3 drivers still held the lead and it was a mad dash to the finish line. Cameron Waters and Anton de Pasquale couldn’t make any gains on the super-fast Brodie Kostecki and he flew across the finish line with 3.7 second lead.

Race 20 Results:

1st Brodie Kostecki – Shell V-Power Racing Team
2nd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing
3rd Anton de Pasquale – Team 18

In Race 21 David Reynolds started on pole position with Matt Payne alongside him.

Matt Payne got the jump off the start line and led into turns 1 and 2 for the first of 70 laps.

Exiting turn 3 James Golding, Thomas Randle, Cameron Waters and Jaxson Evans all made contact and cars were spinning out of control everywhere. Cars behind them had to take evasive action. When the dust settled James Golding was stranded out in the middle of the track and the safety car had to be deployed. Thomas Randle, Ryan Wood and Cameron Waters had all dropped to the back of the field. Later, the officials declared it was a racing incident and no penalties were issued.

The restart was on lap 6 with Matt Payne still in control of the race, followed by David Reynolds and Jack le Brocq. Soon after, Broc Feeney passed Jack le Brocq to take 3rd place.

The first car to pit was Thomas Randle from 22nd place on lap 8. His car needed repair work done after being involved in the lap 1 pile up.

Brodie Kostecki was moving up and passed James Courtney for 5th place.

By lap 10 Thomas Randle was still in the pits and the crew declared that a shock absorber was broken. Once the repair was completed he rejoined the race but was way behind.

Will Davison had his rear guard smashed and pushed against the tyre by Will Brown making an aggressive pass. Davison had to pit early. After official investigation Will Brown was later issued a 5 second time penalty for his actions.

On lap 12 James Courtney’s engine failed and the safety car was deployed once again. Everyone pitted to take advantage of yellow flag. Broc Feeney did a really quick stop of 4 seconds which gave him track position.

The restart was on lap 18. Broc Feeney was in the lead followed by Matt Payne and David Reynolds.

By the middle of the race Broc Feeney had a 1.163 second lead over Matt Payne. Brodie Kostecki was 0.926 seconds adrift in third place. Chaz Mostert was 4th, up an amazing 13 places after starting 17th on the grid.

As the race continued Chaz Mostert still had more to offer. Towards the end of the race he worked his way up to 2nd place. Broc Feeney was driving faultlessly and increased his lead to 5.557 seconds. Matt Payne was still managing to hold 3rd place.

In the final laps the top 5 drivers were quite spread out giving them clean air and space to reach top speeds. However, Broc Feeney was flying and it seemed no one was able to catch him. In fact he gained even more lead over the others.

Broc Feeny crossed the finish line 6.429 seconds ahead of Chaz Mostert to earn his 21st career win. Matt Payne came in 3rd 1.963 seconds later. Will Brown led the rest of the pack across the line 13+ seconds later.

It was another spectacular finish for Feeney.

Race 21 Results:

1st Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
2nd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United
3rd Matt Payne – Grove Racing

In Race 22 Broc Feeney started on pole position with Matt Payne alongside him on the front row of the grid.

Broc Feeney got the jump off the start line leading for the first of 70 laps.

Anton de Pasquale went up to second place.

On lap 3 Will Brown clocked the fastest lap of the race so far, 115.088 seconds.

On the next lap Ryan Wood outdid him recording a 114.821 second lap time.

On lap 12 the front runners were still close together. Matt Payne found the space and regained his former 2nd position from Anton de Pasquale.

The first car to pit was Cameron Waters from 4th place on lap 15. Jack le Brocq pitted on the same lap.

Will Brown got up the inside of Anton de Pasquale for third place around lap 20. He was 1.6 seconds behind Matt Payne and Broc Feeney was 2.9 seconds ahead of him.

Jack Le Brocq then recorded the fastest lap of the race 114.621 seconds.

In the middle of the race Cameron Waters had a 1.5 second lead over Broc Feeney. However, Cameron Waters was still yet to pit so it wouldn’t be long before Feeney resumed the lead. Will Brown was 2.1 seconds back, followed by Anton de Pasquale.

The top 6 cars waited till the last part of the race to take their pit stops. Once back on the track, Broc Feeney was leading over Will Brown by 1.5 seconds. Cameron Waters was following in 3rd place.

Once again Chaz Mostert was moving up through the pack and now in 4th place. It didn’t take him too long to pass Cameron Waters in 3rd.

Meanwhile, the two Red Bull Ampol Racing drivers Broc Feeney and Will Brown were in the lead and breaking away from the pack. They created a huge lead and it seemed no one could keep up. In fact, Will Brown seemed to be having trouble keeping up with Broc Feeney.

Feeney crossed the finish line with a lead of 3.019 seconds over Will Brown. Nearly 10 seconds later Chaz Mostert who had kept ahead of Cam Waters, crossed the line to take 3rd place.

It was an incredible finish for the weekend.

Race 22 Results:

1st Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing

2nd Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing

3rd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United

Broc Feeney has extended his championship lead to 220 points over Will Brown.

Red Bull Ampol Racing still have command of the Teams Championship by 830 points over Grove Racing.

The next event will be the Century Batteries Ipswich Super 440 on August 8 – 10 2025.

I’m looking forward to it already and hope you will join me.

Till then, Keep Revving!

Supercars

Betr Darwin Triple Crown 2025

Leave a comment

Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the 20 – 22 June was the Betr Darwin Triple Crown held at Hidden Valley Raceway in Darwin, Northern Territory.

Hidden Valley Raceway was first opened in 1986 and originally was not much more than a dust bowl for small scale events. It would be another 12 years before Supercars started racing at this venue.

Mark Skaife holds the record for the most Supercars race wins at the venue with a total of eight wins.

This event was round 6 of the 2025 Supercars Championship, starting on the Friday. Typical for Darwin, the weather was hot and sunny.

In the pre-race sessions:

  • Ryan Wood was fastest in Practice 1
  • Andre Heimgartner was fastest in Practice 2
  • Broc Feeney was fastest in Qualifying

In Race 17 Broc Feeney started on pole position with Cameron Waters alongside him.

Broc Feeney got the jump off the start line and led into turn 1 for the first of 42 laps.

At turn 1 Jaxson Evans went off the track and sustained such severe damage he couldn’t compete for the remainder of the weekend.

The safety car left the track on lap 7 and the race resumed. Almost immediately Macauley Jones got turned around by Anton de Pasquale. Jones dropped down to 17th. Later Pasquale was issued a 15 second time penalty to be served in the pits.

Further back Ryan Wood and Jack Le Brocq made contact. Ryan Wood’s car was damaged badly. He was in the middle of the pack without “fresh air”. The car quickly overheated and stopped. Le Brocq car lost it’s rear left wheel.

Seconds later Nick Percat made contact with David Reynolds at turn 5. Bryce Fullwood copped a hit while in 6th place. Richie Stanaway had smoke coming out of the left rear of car 62 while in 12th place.

The second safety car was deployed for the 2 cars (Wood and Le Brocq) to be cleared from the track, along with lots of debris left behind. Both cars would not be returning to finish the race.

The restart was on lap 12 and Broc Feeney still had control followed by Cameron Waters and Matt Payne. Brodie Kostecki used an un-sportsman-like bump and pass on Matt Payne. Officials requested he ‘redress’ the position to Payne. Later they also issued him a 5 second time penalty.

Broc Feeney then recorded the fastest lap of the race, 108.093 seconds.

Macauley Jones went off the track at turn 1, dropping him down to 21st place.

In the middle of the race two front runners Matt Payne and Cameron Hill pitted. There were still 12 cars yet to take their stops.

Broc Feeney only had 0.772 second lead.

With 15 laps to go Broc Feeney, Cameron Waters and Brodie Kostecki all pitted. Feeney changed the 2 rear tyres in 2.9 seconds. He returned on track in 6th place with the 5 cars in front yet to pit.

Once the cars took their pit stops Feeney assumed the lead once again.

The front runners were close together and Feeney couldn’t increase and secure his lead.

In the final lap he gave it his all and managed to create an astonishing 1.5+ second gap.

He crossed the finish line 1.727 seconds over Cameron Waters followed by Matt Payne.

It was exciting to the last second.

Race 17 Results:

1st Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
2nd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing
3rd Matt Payne – Grove Racing

In Race 18 Broc Feeney was on pole position again. Anton de Pasquale was next to him on the front line.

Broc Feeney led into turn 1 for the first of 42 laps followed by Anton de Pasquale. Kai Allen pushed Cameron Waters back a spot to take 3rd.  At turn 1 Richie Stanaway was spun around by Matt Payne and dropped to 24th place.

On lap 4 Will Davison in 12th place did the fastest lap of the race so far, 107.968 seconds.

The Hidden Valley Raceway is known for its high speeds. The driving on the day was fast and aggressive.

Before they reached lap 10, the fastest lap record was broken by Broc Feeney, 107.811 seconds. He was still in the lead by 1.214 seconds over Anton de Pasquale.

The first 2 cars to pit were Nick Percat on lap 10 and Richie Stanaway due to steering issues on lap 11.

The first of the front runners to pit was Brodie Kostecki on lap 16 for 4 tyres. He returned to the track in 20th place but there were still 18 cars yet to pit.

By the middle of the race Broc Feeney had increased his lead to 3.9 seconds over Anton de Pasquale. Not an easy task on such a fast track. Pasquale is also known for his fast driving.

The speed and aggression continued but Broc Feeney, Anton de Pasquale and Kai Allen kept hold of the top 3 places.

With 2 laps to go David Reynolds car couldn’t restart after being hit. The safety car was deployed to rescue Reynolds. The race unfortunately finished under safety car conditions (limited to 60km p/h and drivers have to stay in formation).

So at 60km p/h Broc Feeney took his second win for the weekend.

It was tense in those last laps in the hope the safety car would clear off before the end of the race. It would have made for a crazy last dash to the finish line.

Race 18 Results:

1st Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
2nd Anton de Pasquale – Team 18
3rd Kai Allen – Grove Racing

In Race 19 Broc Feeney started on pole position for the 3rd time out of 3 races this weekend. Alongside him was Cameron Hill.

The high speed track took its toll on the drivers and the opening stages of this race were very messy.

Broc Feeney took the lead from the start line and led through turn 1 for the first of 70 laps.

Chaz Mostert had engine issues and started the race from the pit lane because he was worried the car wasn’t going to start on the grid.

At turn 1 of lap 1 Macauley Jones ran very wide and went to the back of the pack. Andre Heimgartner dropped to 10th place.

Soon after Ryan Wood passed Anton de Pasquale for 3rd place.

Broc Feeney had a slender lead of just 0.338 seconds over Jack le Brocq in 2nd place, followed by Ryan Wood.

Cameron Hill had dropped to 7th and was struggling to hold back Will Brown who was up 3 spots in 8th place.

David Reynolds tried avoiding contact with Thomas Randle but couldn’t avoid it, then ran wide and went into the dirt.

A few laps into the race Rylan Gray ran extremely wide at turn 1. He came back on track down in 23rd place behind Chaz Mostert.

Thomas Randle ran wide and dropped spots to Nick Percat, Cooper Murray and Cameron Waters. He was now back in 19th place.

On lap 11 Broc Feeney had a 0.729 second lead over Jack le Brocq.

The pit stop sequence was yet to begin and while Feeney was still out front recorded the fastest lap of the race, 108.030 seconds on lap 12.

The first car to pit in this race was Matt Payne on lap 16. James Courtney followed him in.

Cameron Hill came in to the pits from 4th place returning on track in 22nd place.

Broc Feeney had used the last 5 laps to create a 3.5 second lead over Jack le Brocq.

On lap 26 Will Davison spun James Courtney around, dropping them both to 20th and 22nd place. Will Davison was soon issued a 15 second time penalty for the driving infringement.

In the middle of the race Kai Allen and Chaz Mostert were yet to pit but once they did, Broc Feeney took back the lead.

With 9 laps remaining Broc Feeney was in his stride. He had Matt Payne and Kai Allen behind him with a 42 second lead but was still to take his second mandatory pit stop.

Cameron Waters took a corner wide and spun around losing the left rear wheel. The wheel loss was due to a missed task in his final pit stop. The mistake dropped him down to 21st place.

Feeney took his final stop. He was so far ahead he returned to the track still in the lead with a decent buffer.

Meanwhile, rookie Kai Allen managed to pass Matt Payne for 2nd place.

Noone could catch Broc Feeney. He crossed the finish line leading 7.9 seconds ahead of Kai Allen followed by Matt Payne.

Congratulations to Broc Feeney for 3 wins of 3 races and receiving the Betr Darwin Triple Crown Trophy for 2025.

Race 19 Results:

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

Broc Feeney’s 3 of 3 wins at the event extended his series lead out to 183 points over Red Bull teammate, Will Brown.

Red Bull Ampol Racing are also at the top of the team’s ladder and lead by 632 points.

The next event is the NTI Townsville 500 on July 11 – 13.

Till then, Keep Revving!

Supercars

Bosch Power Tools Perth Super440 2025

2 Comments

Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of June 6 – 8 was the Bosch Power Tools Perth Super 440, round 5 of the 2025 Supercars championship.

It was held at Barbagallo Raceway which celebrated its 100th V8 Supercars race at this event.

Barbagallo Raceway was opened on the 2nd March 1969. The Supercars championship formally known as the Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) first raced at the venue in 1973. Since 1978 the circuit has hosted a Supercars round every year except 2010.

The Supercars record of the most race wins at Barbagallo Raceway is held by Craig Lowndes with a total of 16 victories. He also finished on the podium 7 out of the remaining 9 races he competed in at the venue.

This year, Ex-Supercars driver Mark Winterbottom made his TV debut working with Fox Sports.  

The weekend kicked off with some of the pre-race sessions on the Friday.

  • Jaxson Evans was fastest in Practice 1
  • Matt Payne was fastest in Practice 2
  • Chaz Mostert was fastest in Qualifying

In Race 14 Chaz Mostert started on pole position with his teammate alongside him, 21 year old New Zealander Ryan Wood.

Chaz Mostert led into turn 1 for the first of 50 laps followed by Ryan Wood. Broc Feeney was third after passing Brodie Kostecki off the start line.

Aaron Cameron was off the track after making contact with James Courney at turn 5.

On lap 11 Ryan Wood took the lead off Chaz Mostert. Broc Feeney was still holding third place.

James Courtney made contact with Aaron Love. Aaron Love got a puncture. After pitting for repair, he returned to the back of the pack in 25th place.

Ryan Wood did the fastest lap in 55.77 seconds but only had a 0.263 second lead over Chaz Mostert. Broc Feeney was also right behind.

Will Brown put a move on Matt Payne for 5th place. He was now only 1.494 seconds behind Brodie Kostecki in 4th place.

Broc Feeney was the first of the front runners to pit on lap 22. He did 2 tyres in a quick 4 second pit stop. He came back out in 18th place.

In the middle of the race Chaz Mostert assumed the lead while the top 9 drivers were yet to take to their pitstops. Once those drivers pitted, Ryan Wood took the race lead back from Mostert.

Towards the end of the race, Will Brown had pushed Chaz Mostert out of 2nd place and was putting pressure on Ryan Wood for the number 1 spot.

Ryan Wood is only in his second year as a driver in the big game. To his credit he held his own and didn’t choke when under attack from far more experienced drivers.

He kept the lead and crossed the finish line a mere 0.612 seconds ahead of Will Brown. It was another 3.3 seconds back to Chaz Mostert in 3rd place.

Congratulations to Ryan Wood on his first Supercars win. Spectacular!

Results for Race 14:

1st Ryan Wood – Walkinshaw Andretti United
2nd Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing
3rd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United

In Race 15 Ryan Wood had earned himself the pole position. Alongside him was Cameron Waters.

At the start of the race Cameron Waters got the jump and led into turn 1 for the first of 50 laps, followed by Matt Payne and Ryan Wood in third place.

Andre Heimgartner went to the back of the pack after running wide at turn 1.

Will Brown moved up into 7th place after passing Kai Allen.

Aaron Cameron made contact with Andre Heimgartner which bent the steering on Heimgartner’s car. After repairs he returned to the race last, down in 25th place.

Chaz Mostert also passed Kai Allen dropping him back another spot to 9th place.

On lap 8 Will Brown did the fastest lap of 55.174 seconds.

Kai Allen and Aaron Love received bad sportsmanship flags for exceeding track limits on turn 7 of lap 16.

Ryan Wood repeated his performance of the previous race and took the lead off Cameron Waters on lap 20. It was fast becoming a great weekend for the newbie, Wood.

Wood’s lead didn’t last long. On lap 22 he ran massively wide due to a suspension failure putting Cameron Waters back in the lead. Waters was followed by Matt Payne, Broc Feeney and Will Brown.

Will Brown pitted on lap 24 for 4 tyres in a 7 second stop. Broc Feeney pitted on the next lap, also for 4 tyres in a 7.52 second stop. He came back out on the track in 17th position just in front of Will Brown.

There were 16 cars yet to take pit stops. Once they did the two Red Bull drivers, Broc Feeney and Will Brown took control of the race.

From that point on the challenge was between the two drivers. The leaders were tightly packed and Feeney was not able to break away.

Towards the end of the race Broc Feeney had a slender lead of just 0.527 seconds over Will Brown.

Cameron Waters in 4th position had dropped back and was having issues closing the gap.

Cooper Murray had the same issue as Ryan Wood earlier in the race, a suspension failure and was heading to the garage.

In the final laps Feeney managed to marginally creep ahead, but the 3 front drivers were still tightly packed. They had broken away from the main group behind reducing the pressure but it still felt very intense.  

True to his form, Broc Feeney held up and took the win with 1.576 seconds over his teammate Will Brown. Chaz Mostert was a further 0.415 seconds behind in 3rd place.

Cameron Waters crossed the finish line 5.67 seconds later in 4th place.

For Broc Feeney it was his 4th win of the 2025 Supercars season.

Results for Race 15:

1st Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
2nd Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing
3rd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United

In Race 16 Broc Feeney started on pole position with Cameron Waters alongside him.

Broc Feeney got jump off the start line and led into turn 1 for the first of 83 laps.

Cameron Hill’s car wouldn’t start under its own power so had to be towed to the pitlane and prove it could start on its own. It was unfortunate, he was now a long way behind the others.

David Reynolds lost 3 spots in one manoeuvre which dropped him back to 10th place.

James Courtney was looking to pass David Reynolds, but he couldn’t make the move stick.

Thomas Randle ran wide at turn 6 which allowed David Reynolds to pass and regain 1 lost spot.

Will Brown was 2.3 seconds away from the lead in 4th place but then he dropped 2 spots.

James Golding made contact with David Reynolds at turn 6, then Reynolds made contact with Ryan Wood exiting turn 7.

When they reached double digits laps, the first car to pit in the race was Nick Percat from 24th place.

Broc Feeney was 1.1 seconds ahead of Cameron Waters, with Matt Payne following 0.321 seconds behind.

Chaz Mostert was the first of the top 10 drivers to take his pit stop and returned to the track in 22nd place.

Matt Payne pitted on lap 20 to get clear track and the benefit of the undercut on the front runners. There were 12 cars yet to make their first of two mandatory pit-stops.

Jack le Brocq’s left hand side door came open on its own. He automatically received a mechanical black flag. i.e. official instruction to get it resolved immediately.

On lap 33 Will Brown made contact with James Golding at turn 7. It slowed them momentarily allowing Chaz Mostert to close the gap from behind, but he chose not to pass during that moment of mayhem.

In the middle of the race Kai Allen was the only driver yet to complete his first of 2 stops. Once he pitted Broc Feeney would assume the race lead followed by Ryan Wood, Cameron Waters and then Will Brown.

With 19 laps to go Cooper Murray had stopped on the track due to an electrical problem in car 99 and the first safety car of the weekend was deployed.

Matt Payne and James Courtney were the final 2 cars to execute their second stops.

On lap 74 of 83 Ryan Wood and James Golding made contact and both cars went off track. Ryan Wood managed to get back to the pits for repairs but it couldn’t get done in time. He unfortunately received an NC (Not Complete with no points for the race).

With 7 laps remaining Matt Payne closed in on the race leader Broc Feeney. He was only 0.411 seconds behind and James Courtney was third 2.601 seconds a drift.

Once again Broc Feeney held his number 1 spot and crossed the finish line 0.567 seconds ahead of Matt Payne. It was another 5.2 seconds back to James Courtney in third place.

It was such a tight and epic finish.

Results for Race 16:

1st Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
2nd Matt Payne – Grove Racing
3rd James Courtney – Snowy River Caravans.

With 2 wins for the weekend Broc Feeney has extended his championship lead out to 72 points over Will Brown.

The Betr Darwin Triple Crown Triple Crown is the next event on June 20 – 22 2025.

Supercars

Snowy River Caravans Tasmania Super440 2025

2 Comments

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

Leave a comment

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!

Supercars

Mss Melbourne Supersprint 2025

Leave a comment

Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

Round 2 of the 2025 Supercars championship, the MSS Security Melbourne Supersprint was run Thursday to Sunday, March 13 to 16 2025.

The 4 short races that make up this event were a support category to the famous Australian F1 Grand Prix held at Albert Park, Melbourne.

Supercars have been a support category since 1996, the year after the F1 Grand Prix moved to Melbourne from Adelaide.

As a support category, the Supercars races are kept short (thus the name “SuperSprint”) and are time certain.

In the pre-race sessions:

  • Ryan Wood was fastest in Practice 1
  • James Golding was fastest in Practice 2
  • Broc Feeney was fastest in Qualifying for all 4 races. That is pretty good going.

In Race 4 Broc Feeney started on pole position and alongside him was teammate Will Brown.

Cameron Waters who won all 3 races at the 1st event of the season (the Sydney 500)  started 22nd on the grid because of a bad run in Qualifying.

Broc Feeney got the jump off the start line and led into turns 1 and 2 for the first of 19 laps. He was followed by Will Brown and Cameron Hill in 3rd.

A few laps in, yellow flags were flown to warn drivers of “obstacles” ahead. A group of ducks were meandering on the track and must have been a surprise to the race leader Broc Feeney as he came screaming down the track.

Soon after they reached the middle of the race Macauley Jones tapped the back wheels out from under Aaron Cameron. Cameron spun off the track into the sand-trap and got stuck. The first safety car was deployed for his rescue.

On the restart Broc Feeney was still leading. His teammate Will Brown putting in a good challenge. They created a few seconds gap back to the rest of the pack.

Feeney held strong and kept the lead over Will Brown. In the end he crossed the finish line 1.093 seconds ahead of Brown. It was then 3.7 seconds back to Cameron Hill in 3rd place.

A really nice finish for Feeney and Brown of the Red Bull Ampol Racing Team.

Race 4 Results:

1st Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
2nd Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing
3rd Cameron Hill – Matt Stone Racing

For Race 5 Broc Feeney was once again on pole position with Cameron Hill alongside him.

Cameron Hill got the jump off the start line and led into turns 1 and 2 for the first of 19 laps. Nick Percat got away to an amazing start from position 3 on the grid and tried to go around the outside of Cameron Hill. It didn’t work so he had to stay put for the time being.

Ryan Wood made contact with Jack Le Brocq sending him into the fence at turn 5. The safety car was deployed to remove Le Brocq. He would not be returning to the race.

The restart was on lap 4. The front runners were still the same, Hill, Feeney then Percat.

On lap 7 the next safety car was deployed to rescue David Reynolds out of the turn 1 sandtrap after being hit by Thomas Randle. The second safety car deployment was affecting the race flow as it was such a short race of only 19 laps.

On the restart the leaders had not changed places and the field was tightly packed.

Feeney lost second place to Nick Percat and then lost another spot to his own teammate, Will Brown.

Cameron Hill held his lead from that very first lap. Leaders were packed close together so there was no room for error.

In the end Cameron Hill crossed the finish line a mere 0.574 seconds over teammate Nick Percat. Will Brown follow in at 3rd place .25 of a second later. Now, that is a tight finish!

Race 5 Results:

1st Cameron Hill – Matt Stone Racing
2nd Nick Percat – Matt Stone Racing
3rd Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing

Will Brown was 2nd on the grid alongside pole sitter Broc Feeney for the start of race 6.

As they took off Will Brown got the jump and led into turn 1 and 2 followed by Broc Feeney for the first of 19 laps.

The first lap turned into a bit of a calamity. Matt Payne was spun around at turn 1. Thomas Randle was also spun around sending him to the very back of the field. David Reynolds got spun around at turn 6. Brodie Kostecki was trying to go around the outside of Ryan Wood but he ran wide at the second last corner losing a few spots. Cooper Murray had a massive lockup after out-breaking himself. James Golding went off the track at turn 11 and got stuck in the gravel trap. The safety car was then deployed and the first lap wasn’t even completed.

Soon after the restart Nick Percat passed Broc Feeney for second place and was 0.508 seconds behind the leader Will Brown.

The second safety car was triggered on lap 7 after Cooper Murray got bogged in the gravel trap at turn 11.

On the restart there was only 4 minutes left on the clock. Will Brown was looking strong for his first race win of the year, while Broc Feeney was being rear gunner so that Nick Percat wasn’t able to attack the leader.

Percat then ran into power steering issues. With less than 4 minutes to go he chose to press on. After all, he was in a podium finish position.

It took the pressure off the two Red Bull Ampol Racing drivers in the lead. Percat was busy staving off Will Davison and Brodie Kostecki’s attempts to take his podium finish.

Will Brown crossed the finish line first and Broc Feeney followed just over half a second later.

Even with the power steering problems, Nick Percat held the other contenders back and took a very well earned 3rd place. He was 4.703 seconds behind Feeney.

It was so tense watching Percat’s last lap and hoping he could hang in there.

Race 6 Results:

1st Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing
2nd Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
3rd Nick Percat – Matt Stone Racing

It had already started raining before Race 7 began and conditions were looking hazardous.

Once again Broc Feeney was to start from pole position with Cameron Hill alongside him.

When it was time to start the conditions worsened and the decision was made to start under safety car (rolling start). As they commenced the warm up lap the rain really came down and sheets of water were covering the track.

Due to the busy schedule of the AGP weekend there was no time to ‘wait it out’ and the race was called off.

It was a big disappointment with no points awarded for the final race.

Never mind, we have the Taupo Super 440 coming up on April 11-13.

I can’t wait. Till then, keep revving!

Supercars

Thrifty Sydney 500 2025

Leave a comment

Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

The opening round of the 2025 Supercars Championship, the Thrifty Sydney 500 was held on February 21 – 23, at the Sydney Motorsport Park (SMSP). What an opening round it was.

For older readers, you may remember SMSP under its original name, “Eastern Creek International Raceway”.

Legend Mark Skaife holds the record for the most wins at this venue. He achieved his 10th win back in 2007 and the record still hasn’t been beaten.

It was last year at this location that James Courtney made his retirement announcement. Sadly, this will be his 20th and final season as a full time driver.

It will also be Triple Eight’s final season driving Carmaro’s before moving to Ford Mustangs.

The pre-race sessions kicked off the event on Friday. Anton de Pasquale was fastest in Practice 1 and Cameron Waters was fastest in Qualifying earning pole position for the first race.

Broc Feeney was on the starting grid front row alongside the pole sitter.

Last years’ champion Will Brown started 11th on the grid because he missed his last run in qualifying.

As the lights turned green for the first race of the year, Cameron Waters got the jump on Broc Feeney and led into turn 1 for the first of 26 laps.

On lap 4 Chaz Mostert clocked the fastest lap of the race so far, 30.932 seconds.

It wasn’t long before Cameron Waters made a new lap record, 130.657 seconds. He had the lead and was 1.5 seconds clear of Broc Feeney.

On lap 7 the first 3 cars pitted early; Kai Allen, David Reynolds and Brodie Kostecki.

Broc Feeney in 2nd place started to slow with a puncture on the left rear. He had to head to the pits knowing in such a short race there would be no catching up and cost him a podium finish.

Feeney’s exit from 2nd place on the track left a bigger gap between leader Cameron Waters and Andre Heimgartner who inherited 2nd place from Feeney.

There were 6 cars left to pit and once they did, Cameron Waters assumed the lead with a 17.815 second gap over Andre Heimgartner.

With 9 laps to go Andre Heimgartner was the last to take his mandatory pit stop. This handed 2nd place over to Chaz Mostert and again increased Cameron Waters lead.

Waters continued to drive in winning form. Nobody could make much of a dent on his lead.

Cameron Waters crossed the finish line 16.8 second ahead of Chaz Mostert in 2nd. It was a further 21.3 seconds back to Thomas Randle in 3rd place.

A spectacular win considering how short the race was.

Results for Race 1:

1st Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing
2nd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United
3rd Thomas Randle – Castrol Racing

In Race 2 Cameron Waters started on pole position again. Broc Feeney was also alongside him again.

As they took off Cameron Waters led through turn 1 for the first of 52 laps.

The opening laps were totally out of control.

At turn 2 James Golding went off the track costing him 10 places and finding himself at the back of the pack.

Aaron Love and Kai Allen ran wide exiting turn 7. Kai Allens’ front right tyre was peeled off and he drove back to the pits on a bare wheel rim. The officials then gave him a 15 second time penalty for causing the incident.

The mayhem continued and culminated on lap 8 when Richie Stanaway had a fire coming from underneath his car and the safety car was deployed. Most of the field took this opportunity to pit.

Broc Feeney was in the pit bay with Will Brown double stacked and waiting. However, Brown was blocking Cameron Waters from exiting his pit bay, so Feeney returned to the track in the lead.

The safety car left the track on lap 13 with Broc Feeney in control.

Around the middle of the race Broc Feeney pitted from the number 1 spot. Cameron Waters was now out front and had clear track, but he wasn’t able to gain enough time to hold the lead.

On lap 35 Cameron Waters finally pitted leaving Matt Payne as the only driver yet to take his stop. Once Payne did pit Broc Feeney assumed the lead.

Cameron Waters returned on track and was soon up the front again. He made it look too easy when he passed Will Brown for second place.

With 13 laps remaining Broc Feeney had 5.7 seconds over Cameron Waters, with Will Brown 1.8 seconds adrift.

Waters kept creeping up on Feeney. By the time they reached lap 45 there was a mere 1 second between them.

On the 4th last lap Cameron Waters closed the gap too much and actually made contact with Broc Feeney. Waters ended up in the lead but had to redress (allowing Feeney back into the lead spot) or risk a penalty.

Meanwhile, Will Brown in 3rd place had caught up and was right on their tails.

They three drivers stuck to each other like glue.

On final corner of the final lap Cameron Waters pulled a desperate stunt you don’t see often. He went wide and side-drafted through the bend, then shot past Feeney. It was risky but Waters managed to execute it without fault.

Waters sped down the straight to the finish line before Feeney could catch a breath. There was only 0.031 seconds between them. Will Brown was no slouch coming in 3rd just 0.168 seconds behind.

It was one of the tightest ends to a race I have seen in ages.

Results for Race 2:

1st Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing
2nd Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
3rd Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing

Once again for the third time in the three races at this opening event, Cameron Waters started on pole position with Broc Feeney alongside him.

As they took off for Race 3 Cameron Waters got the jump and led into turn 1 for the first of 52 laps.

He was under immediate attack from the two Red Bull Ampol Racing drivers. Will Brown took over his teammate Broc Feeney for second place.

Chaz Mostert was up 3 places to 8th after starting 11th on the grid.

Mostert went on the charge. He was incredible and was already in 4th place when he took his first pit stop around lap 12.

By the middle of the race the bad weather was well and truly on the way. The clouds were getting darker and darker. Teams were prepared with wet weather tyres just in case.

On lap 40 Broc Feeney tried to get around Cooper Murray but they made contact. Murray went spinning and came to a stop. A fire started from underneath his car! Amazingly it was extinguished as soon as he re-started the engine. Lucky break.

Broc Feeney was able to continue but lost several seconds and dropped back to 5th. This was the second time on the weekend that bad luck had cost him a podium finish.

It was about this time that the overhanging black clouds broke, and the rain started to fall. With so few laps remaining it was a difficult decision whether to call cars in for wet weather tyres or persist to the end of the race.

With 6 laps to go the rain was bucketing down. Cameron Waters was still in the lead and 10 seconds up the road from Will Brown. In this weather he was going to be very hard to catch.

Once again Waters was making everyone wonder if he was possessed by demons or gods. It seemed heavenly how he kept his lead.

He crossed the finish line 7.6 seconds clear of Will Brown. 3.447 seconds later Chaz Mostert came in 3rd place.

It was an incredible way for Cameron Waters to end the weekend with 3 wins of 3 races.

Results for Race 3:                                                                                                                                        

1st Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing
2nd Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing
3rd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United

Cameron Waters leads the championship by 60 points.

The next event is Melbourne Supersprint as a sub-category to the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix.

Until next time, keep revving.

Drivers

Mark Winterbottom retirement article 2024

Leave a comment

Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

Late 2024 Mark Winterbottom announced his retirement from full-time V8-Supercars racing. Although he will still continue in the sport as a co-driver for endurance racing this article is a tribute to a much-loved man who has stood the test of time in a brilliant career to date.

Mark “Frosty” Winterbottom was born on the 20th of May 1981 in Sydney suburb of Doonside New South Wales.

He seemed to enjoy sports as a child and excelled in soccer. By the age of 5 he was playing for the Blacktown United Soccer Team.

At age 8 he started racing 50cc motorbikes in between his soccer playing. He soon moved into the 80cc category.

He also had a go at dirt mini speed car racing and showed an amazing talent. He won the ACT and NSW championships. It was obvious that something big was going to happen for him in whichever sports he chose to participate in.

Around the age of 9 he was behind the wheel of a race Kart which he continued to compete in until the age of 21.

During that time he won ten(10) Australian kart championships and 25 state karting championships plus other titles.

There was no doubt where it was leading and in 2001debuted in the 2001 Australian Formula Ford Championship and claimed runners up honours despite missing a round. In 2002 was runner up only because legend Jamie Whincup was there. His talent was visible and he received the Formula Ford Rookie of the Year Award.

In 2003 Mark Winterbottom became the Konica V8 Supercars series champion racing for Stone Brothers Racing team in his debut season. He also debuted in the V8-Supercars championship as co-driver in the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000.

Sandown 500 2006: Mark Winterbottom (left) and Jason Bright (right).

Race legend Mark Larkham saw promise in Winterbottom’s talents and asked him to join his brand new team Larkham Motorsport for the V8-Supercars Championship. Winterbottom performed well through 2004 and 2005 before moving on to Ford Performance Racing in 2006.

Winterbottom had full time driver seat ever since.

After an amazing 21-year career in Supercars he has competed in 645 races, earned 35 pole positions, had 117 podium finishes including 38 race wins.

Mark Winterbottom wins the 2013 Bathurst 1000.

There are too many achievements to mention but I am sure he has fond recollections of taking the championship in 2015, wining the Bathurst 1000 in 2013 and Sandown 500 in 2015.

Mark Winterbottom is much loved amongst his peers and fans alike. You would be hard pressed to find someone say something bad about him.

I’ve been a fan of motorsports since I was a kid & Frosty has become such an integral part of the Australian motorsports lineup he will surely be missed. I know I will miss seeing him on the grid for every event.

I would like to say thanks for all you have given us through the years and look forward to seeing you at the enduro races. Best of luck in everything you choose to do in the future.

Supercars

Valo Adelaide 500 2024

Leave a comment

Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 14 – 17 November 2024 was Valo Adelaide 500, Round 12 of the 2024 Supercars Championship. This was the last round for the year held on the Adelaide Street circuit in South Australia.

The Adelaide Street Circuit was purpose built to host the Australian Grand Prix when Adelaide won the rights in 1985. The 3.80 km track combined sections constructed in Victoria Park as well as utilising city streets.

Supercars started racing at the Adelaide circuit in 1999. The event was known as The Sensational Adelaide 500 and run over 2 legs. At that very first event both races were won by legend Craig Lowndes. He won the first race from the second row of the grid and on the Sunday, he won after starting at the back of the pack. He unbelievably went from last to first.

This year marks the 25 year anniversary for Supercars at the venue.

This year it was the last event for the year, so is a milestone for two people leaving the sport as full-time drivers. Tim Slade is leaving after a 15 years career and Mark ‘Frosty’ Winterbottom ends his illustrious career after 21 years. We thank you and wish you all the very best for the future.

The event kicked off on a Thursday with warm weather. Great for the visitors but making it a hot 45 degrees plus inside the race cars.

The pre-race sessions results were:

  • James Courtney was fastest in Practice 1
  • David Reynolds was fastest in Practice 2
  • Will Brown was fastest in Qualifying. The session was cut short due to a red flag with 9 minutes 41 seconds remaining, caused by a big shunt between Richie Stanaway Cameron Hill and David Reynolds.
  • Broc Feeney was fastest in Practice 3
  • Cameron Waters was fastest in the top 10 Shootout

In Race 23 Cameron Waters started on pole position, alongside him was Thomas Randle.

Dale Wood started 24th on the grid as substitute for Richie Stanaway who was receiving medical attention after his crash in qualifying.

Cooper Murray was sitting in for “Dad to Be” Jack le Brocq who was heading home to be with his wife for the birth of their first child.

Chaz Mostert was having clutch problems pre-race and had to start from the pit lane.

The two Red Bull Ampol Racing driver’s came into this event as the only 2 in contention for the season title. So, although it was a tense situation it would have been relatively a friendly competition between the two, Will Brown and Broc Feeney.

At the start of the 78 lap race Thomas Randle got the jump and took the lead. Cameron Waters tucked into second place and Matt Payne was right behind them in third. The championship contenders Will Brown and Broc Feeney were battling for 4th and 5th place.

Both Broc Feeney and Will Brown soon passed Matt Payne for 3rd and 4th position.

Last year’s reigning champ, Brodie Kostecki had moved up 4 places into 7th.

Chaz Mostert who was 3rd on the season ladder wanted to keep his place on the scoreboard. He passed David Rynolds to take the 18th spot.

The first car to pit in this race was Tim Slade from 21st position on lap 17.

Soon after Slade returned to the track he was hit by David Reynolds. Slade was able to continue but David Reynolds was slowing and had to head into the garage to resolve the problems with car 20.

Broc Feeney in 3rd place was the first of the front runners to pit on lap 27. The stop was 5.5 seconds and he re-joined in 7th position. The 6 cars ahead were yet to take their pit stops. Once they did Feeney took the lead of the race.

Mark Winterbottom was spun around and pushed out of 5th place by Cooper Murray.

By the middle of the race Broc Feeney had a comfortable lead over Thomas Randle and Cameron Waters. Will Brown was in 4th place.

Broc Feeney kept edging ahead of the pack. It seemed he was untouchable.

With 8 laps to go Broc Feeney had created an 8.7 second lead on the rest of the pack. Meanwhile, his teammate Will Brown had passed Thomas Randle and Cameron Waters to take 2nd place. For Will Brown to finish within the top 5 places would be good enough for him to wrap up the 2024 Supercars Championship.

Will Brown wanted the win but just couldn’t close the gap on Feeney.

Broc Feeney crossed the finish line an amazing 12.117 seconds clear of Will Brown to take his 12th career win, and his 6th win of the 2024 season. Cameron Waters followed in 3rd place.

With this result Will Brown was named ‘2024 Champion Elect’. What a great moment for the Red Bull Ampol Racing team. Top two drivers and top team for the year!

Race 23 Results:

1st Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
2nd Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing
3rd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing

In Race 24 Broc Feeney started on pole position with Chaz Mostert alongside him.

As they took off Chaz Mostert and Broc Feeney were neck in neck until they got to turn 4 when Mostert was able to finally take the lead. Meanwhile Will Brown was right behind.

On lap 4 Matt Payne went into a tyre wall at turn 11. Payne couldn’t get the car into reverse and the front end was buried under the mountain of tyres. The safety car was deployed to rescue him & after a short stint in the garage returned to the race.

The restart was on lap 8 and Chaz Mostert still had control of the race. Broc Feeney in 2nd was looking very racy after the restart and put in several challenges for the lead but Mostert defended well.

At turn 7 Will Brown was hit and spun around by Brodie Kostecki trying to make a pass for 3rd place. The new Champion Elect, Will Brown dropped from 3rd all the way down to 22nd. Although already named champ aft the previous race, being at the back of the pack was surely not how he wanted to finish the season.

Thomas Randle took advantage of the mayhem, and he was now the driver in 3rd place.

Later in the race after the officials reviewed the incident, Brodie Kostecki was issued a 15 second time penalty.

Ryan Wood in 5th place got turned around by Anton de Pasquale at turn 9. Cameron Waters trying to avoid the incident hit Pasquale and went up onto 2 wheels which looked extremely scary.

The first car to pit was James Golding on lap 20 from 20th place.

By the middle of the race Chaz Mostert was out front with a 3 + second lead over Broc Feeney. There was then a 9.927 seconds gap back to Will Davison in third place.

On lap 50 the 3 leaders pitted for the final time. On exit there was contact between Chaz Mostert and Broc Feeney. Officials deemed it Feeney’s error and issued him with 15 second time penalty.

With 13 laps to go the lead pack had changed order. Anton de Pasquale was in the number 1 spot, followed by Broc Feeney, Chaz Mostert and Will Brown.

Take note that Brown was in 4th place after working his way back to the front after being pushed to the rear of the pack early on in the race. I guess that shows why he earned the championship crown.

Anton de Pasquale’s car was showing the strain of the gruelling 78 lap race. The spoiler on his car was hanging loose and scraping the track. He had to relinquish the lead and head to the pits for repairs before the officials gave him a mechanical black flag.

The lead had changed once again; Broc Feeney, Chaz Mostert then Will Brown. Although Feeney was in the lead he still had a 15 second time penalty that would be added post race. He knew he wouldn’t be standing on the podium.

Chaz Mostert in 2nd place looked like he would inherit the win from Feeney.  With 4 laps to go Mostert exceeded track limits and was issued a drive through penalty.

Once Mostert left the track to serve the penalty, Will Brown moved into 2nd place on the track.

Brown knew of the impending 15 second penalty hanging over Feeney, so he took no risks to challenge him. He would win by default.

When Mostert returned to the track after serving the drive through penalty he was miraculously in 3rd place.

Broc Feeney crossed the line first, followed by teammate Will Brown, Chaz Mostert and then Thomas Randle.

Feeney’s time penalty dropped him down to 7th place in the final results. Will Brown claimed the win, Chaz Mostert was declared 2nd and Thomas Randle 3rd.

It was bad luck for Feeney but what a great finish to Will Brown as the season champ.

Race 24 Results:

1st Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing
2nd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United
3rd Thomas Randle – Castrol Racing

Well, that’s it for the 2024 Supercars season.

The Sydney 500 will be the first event to kick off the new season in Feb 2025. I can’t wait and hope you will join me in the new year.

In the meantime, I wish you all a very safe and happy festive season and new year.

Supercars

Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 2024

Leave a comment

Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of October 25 – 27 was the round 11 of the 2024 Supercars Championship, Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 held in Surfers Paradise in Queensland.

The Surfers Paradise street circuit was opened on the 15th March 1991 for the 1991 Gold Coast Indycar Grand Prix. The track layout stretching along the local beaches and other main streets was a tricky 4.47km circuit with 20 turns. In 2010 its length was shortened to 2.96 km with 15 turns.

In 1994 the V8 Supercars started racing at the Gold Coast as a support category to the Indy 300. So, this year marks the 30th Supercars anniversary.

It wasn’t until 2002 that it became an official championship round in the Supercars competition.

Coming into this year’s Gold Coast 500 as the second last event of the year, there were 4 drivers in contention for the championship; Will Brown, Broc Feeney, Chaz Mostert and Cameron Waters.

Things were set to be a super competitive event.

In the pre – race sessions the results were:

  • Cameron Waters was fastest in Practice 1
  • Thomas Randle was Fastest in Practice 2
  • Richie Stanaway was fastest in Qualifying
  • Cameron Waters was fastest in the Top Ten Shootout

In Race 21 Cameron Waters started on Pole Position with Richie Stanaway alongside him. Season leader, Will Brown started 11th on the grid due to crashing in Qualifying at turn 11.

The first lap was a little messy. Cameron Waters got the jump off the start line and led into turn 1 for the first of 85 laps and 250kms. The cars back in the pack were crowded with no room so were forced off track at the first chicane. Broc Feeney was one of them with all wheels out of bounds. The manovuer was called into question by fellow driver Thomas Randle. Officials let it go without penalty.

Chaz Mostert moved up to 3rd place. James Golding was battling with Broc Feeney for 4th and 5th. Ryan Wood made contact with Jack le Brocq at turn 11 and ended up in the barrier wall. Wood was able to push on, but Jack le Brocq suffered damage and went straight into the garage to have repairs undertaken.

Richie Stanaway was still in 2nd place behind Cameron Waters on lap 7 but things were going to go badly over the next handful of laps.

First Chaz Mostert overtook Stanaway at turn 11. On the next lap James Golding also passed him at turn 11. Not long after Broc Feeney did the same. This was followed up by Thomas Randle. Richie Stanaway was now moved back from 2nd to 6th place.

Jaxson Evans was the first to pit on lap 20 returning in 23rd place.

The fierce competition between the top 5 drivers continued.

Broc Feeney and Thomas Randle pitted on lap 26 probably in efforts to move out the intensity up front.

James Golding pitted on lap 27. The team couldn’t get the left rear wheel off cleanly costing him time and any chance of a decent result. He was now out of the top 5.

Around the middle of the race Chaz Mostert did the fastest lap, 111.389 seconds.

Cameron Waters was still in the lead but now had Thomas Randle behind him followed by Broc Feeney.

From that point on Cameron Waters kept edging ahead. By the time they were coming closer to the finish he had a 10+ second lead.

Waters made no errors and proved to be uncatchable. He crossed the finish line 9.8 seconds ahead of his teammate Thomas Randle followed by Broc Feeney.

It was an incredible finish.

Race 21Results:

1st Cameron Waters – Monster Castrol Racing

2nd Thomas Randle – Castrol Racing

3rd Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing

In Race 22 Brodie Kostecki started on pole position. Alongside him was Will Brown.

Brodie Kostecki got the jump off the start line and led into turns 1 and 2 over Will Brown for the first of 85 laps.

At turn 11 Anton de Pasquale spun. The car behind could not avoid crashing into him. It had a dominos effect and a total of 8 cars became part of the pile up. Most cars were severely damaged. The safety car was deployed to clear the track of what now looked like a wrecking yard.

All except Anton de Pasquale were able to get repairs and return to the action later. They would of course be at least a lap behind.

The restart was on lap 7. Brodie Kostecki was still leading followed by Will Brown and Chaz Mostert.

On lap 11 James Golding was the first to make a pit stop by choice. His crew, Nulon Racing Team dropped the car on the ground without the right rear wheel on. They had to jack the car up and refit the fourth wheel. The lost time resulted in returning to the race in 20th place.

Officials immediately started an investigation as to why Nulon Racing tried to send a car out with only three wheels. It wasn’t long before they issued a drive through penalty for the error.

Thomas Randle pulled off his impersonation of a pinball machine. He bounced off the tyre barriers from one side of the track to the other through turns 1 and 2. How he got out of it without any damage was just a miracle!

On lap 17 James Courtney’s car looked a mess after the damage sustained in the lap 1 pile up. It didn’t seem to stop him recording the fastest circuit time in the race so far.

Soon after Broc Feeney’s car had smoke coming from the right front corner. It was so noticeable there were concerns but as quickly as it started, it quickly disappeared.

Brodie Kostecki pitted from his leading position on lap 30. There were still 5 cars yet to pit including Will Davison who now had the lead. Before Will Davison was able to take his mandatory pit stop he received a bad sportsmanship flag for exceeding track limits going through the back chicanes; turns 8, 9 and 10.

Brodie Kostecki had resumed lead and control by the middle of race. He was followed by Will Brown, Chaz Mostert, and Broc Feeney. They were packed tightly together.

Within the last dozen laps Broc Feeney passed Chaz Mostert to sit behind teammate, Will Brown. Cameron Waters also managed to get by Chaz Mostert to take 4th position. Cameron Waters side-swiped the tyre bundles at turn 1 and 2 losing aerodynamic fittings. It didn’t help the downforce of the car as he made a bid for a podium finish.

With 11 laps to go Brodie Kostecki was looking strong and in a dominant position. I couldn’t believe that he led from start to finish.

Just like at the Bathurst 1000, Brodie Kostecki showed his championship winning form of last year. He drove faultless and increased his lead. Where they were packed close together earlier, he was now creating a noticeable gap.

Kostecki held strong to cross the finish line 3.731 seconds ahead of the series leader Will Brown. Broc Feeney followed close behind in 3rd place 0.443 seconds later.

Race 22 Results:

1st Brodie Kostecki – Erebus Motorsport
2nd Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing
3rd Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing

With the results of Race 22 and only one event remaining both Chaz Mostert and Cameron Waters are out of championship contention.

The only driver able to challenge the season leader Will Brown is his teammate, Broc Feeney. There is only 108 points between the two. Once again, the final event will be a championship showdown: Will Brown Vs Broc Feeney.

The last and final event on the 2024 Supercars calendar is the Valo Adelaide 500, November 14 – 17 2024.

I hope you will all join me to find out who will be “The 2024 Supercars Champion”. Till then keep revving!