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Supercars

Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 2025

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans Around the world!

On the weekend of 24 – 26 October 2025 was the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500, round 11 of the 2025 Supercars Championship.

The event run on the Gold Coast street circuit in Queensland was made up of 2 races, 250km each.

The Gold Coast Street circuit was first opened on the 15th of March 1991. Supercars have been racing at the venue since 1994.

The weekend began with sunny weather, a dry track with clear skies.

In the pre-race sessions:

  • Will Brown was fastest in Practice 1
  • Cameron Waters was fastest in Practice 2
  • Matt Payne was fastest in Qualifying
  • Ryan Wood was fastest in the Top Ten Shootout

Ryan Wood started on pole position for race 28. Alongside him was championship leader, Broc Feeney.

Brodie Kostecki was not on the grid after an accident during qualifying that had an estimated 55+ G-force impact. The repairs required were extensive and the team could only state, they hoped they could get it ready in time for the second race.

Ryan Wood led from the start line for the first of 85 laps.

On that first lap Will Brown got spun around by Kai Allen at turn 11. Later officials issued Allen with a drive through penalty.  

Richie Stanaway also received a penalty in the first lap. His was for exceeding track limits.

Around lap 7, Ryan Wood reported fuel issues. He quickly dropped his lead and was back in 4th place. He headed into the pits. The team couldn’t work out the issue quickly so sent the car back out to avoid losing race time. However, the officials issued a mechanical black flag, meaning they had to sort out the problem immediately. A disqualification would put Ryan Wood’s place in the season finals at risk. The return to the pits for repairs put Wood so far back in the race he was never able to catch up.

The new leader was Broc Feeney followed by Matt Payne and Chaz Mostert.

On lap 10 Chaz Mostert did the fastest lap in the race so far. On lap 11 Broc Feeney beat that lap time. Just as things were getting interesting the safety car was deployed. Most drivers chose to take their pit stops while the race was under safety conditions.

On the way back out to the track, Matt Payne made light contact with Chaz Mostert. Payne was issued a penalty.

The restart was on lap 17. Broc Feeney was still in control followed by Cameron Waters, Chaz Mostert and Matt Payne.

Before they could finish the 1st lap after safety conditions, Cooper Murray and Jaxson Evans smashed into each other. Both cars were a mess. Car panels flying everywhere and even a wheel rolled away. Another safety car deployed for the mess to be cleared.

The restart was on lap 24.

In quick succession there were 2 more incidents requiring safety conditions.

The restart was on lap 30 with the leading cars still in the same order; Broc Feeney, Cameron Waters and Chaz Mostert.

Mostert got by Cameron Waters for second place and was right on Broc Feeney’s tail.

It took till the middle of the race for Chaz Mostert to take the lead off Broc Feeney.

Mostert stayed ahead of the pack. Meanwhile David Reynolds and Kai Allen passed Broc Feeney.

With 9 laps remaining, Chaz Mostert was 2.255 seconds ahead of David Reynolds. Mostert was faultless and kept increasing his lead.

Broc Feeney had to make his move quickly if he wanted the win or at least a podium finish.

With 5 laps to go Feeney did the impossible and took over both Kai Allen and then David Reynolds.

Feeney chased Chaz Mostert for the lead, but Mostert was flying. His lead increased with every lap.

Chaz Mostert was impossible to catch and crossed the finish line 7.9 seconds ahead of Broc Feeney.  In 3rd was Kai Allen 2.094 seconds behind.

Race 28 results:

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

In Race 29 Broc Feeney started on pole position for the 15th time this year. He is only 1 pole away from equalling Scott Mclaughlin’s 2017 record of 16.

Thomas Randle was next to Feeney on the front line of the starting grid.

As they took off, Broc Feeney led into turns 1 and 2 for the first of 85 laps. Thomas Randle, Chaz Mostert and Cameron Waters followed.

Will Davison was hit and spun around to face the wrong way by Bryce Fullwood. Davison pitted to rectify the damage received and rejoined the race 8 places down in 23rd place. Bryce Fullwood received a pit lane drive thru penalty for causing the incident.

The leading drivers stayed tightly packed.

Chaz Mostert was the first of the front runners to pit on lap 24.

Then Broc Feeney pitted from the number 1 spot and Thomas Randle inherited the lead. Feeney rejoined the race in 10th place. Once the 9 cars in front of Feeney took their pit stops, he would assume the lead again.

By the middle of the race Broc Feeney was struggling to break away from the pack. He only had a 1 second lead over Chaz Mostert in second place.

Towards the end of the race Broc Feeney and Chaz Mostert took their mandatory pit stops at the same time. Chaz Mostert made it back on track first and became the new leader.

On lap 76 of 85 (8 laps to go) James Courtney was hit by Anton de Pasquale in a battle to stay in the top 10. Courtney’s car was damaged and couldn’t get going again. The safety car was deployed. Courtney never made it back out on to the track and received a “Not Complete” (NC). Anton de Pasquale was issued a time penalty that was added to his finish time for causing the incident.

Not long after on lap 81, Richie Stanaway suffered the same fate. He was hit by another car and safety conditions were required so he could be towed off the track. Another NC.

Under Yellow Safety conditions the drivers on track must stay in formation and are limited to 80kmph behind the Safety Car. Any lead time is negated under these conditions. So, when the race got back under way with only a few laps remaining, the drivers were all packed tightly together.

Broc Feeney was right on Chaz Mostert’s tail. In the last 3 laps Feeney was on the attack all the way, but Mostert’s speed and experienced defence made him impossible to pass.

Chaz Mostert took the win, and Feeney followed 0.575 seconds later. Andre Heimgartner was 2+ seconds behind Feeney to take 3rd place.

It was a tense finish and Mostert earned 2 wins of 2 races for the event.

Broc Feeney still at the top of the points ladder had had his buffer reduced from 200+ to less than 100. To rub it in, this is also Feeney’s home ground and he really wanted a win at this venue.

Race 29 results:

1st Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United
2nd Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
3rd Andre Heimgartner – Brad Jones Racing

The next event is the Penrite Oil Sandown 500 on November 14 – 16, 2025.

I hope u can join me. Until then, live it, breathe it, dream it, drive it!

Supercars

Repco Bathurst 1000 2025

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of October 9 -12 was the Repco Bathurst 1000!

The Bathurst 1000 is the biggest and most well known motor car race on the Australian calendar. It is arguably bigger than the Australian Grand Prix and comparable to the Melbourne Cup horse race as a cultural event that stops the nation!

This year marked the 65th anniversary of The Bathurst 1000. And Boy, what a show it was! It will certainly go down in history as one of the best ever.

The pre-race sessions started 3 days beforehand. The preparations included 6 practice sessions, qualifying, top 10 shootout and a warmup session.

In a surprise to most punters, season leader Broc Feeney with co-driver Jamie Whincup didn’t get the pole position. The winner of last year’s Bathurst 1000 and the 2023 season champion Brodie Kostecki earned pole position for the 3rd year running. His co-driver was Todd Hazelwood.

Alongside them on the front row for the start was Cameron Waters and co-driver Mark Winterbottom.

Todd Hazelwood took the lead off the startline. He was followed by Mark Winterbottom, Jayden Ojeda, Fabian Coulthard and Cooper Murray.

Meanwhile, the last car on the grid driven by Brad Vaughn had stalled! He had to be towed off the track. What a way to start a 1000km race!

Todd Hazelwood kept the lead in the initial laps. Behind him there was plenty of chopping and changing in the top 5 drivers. David Russel, Garth Tander and Craig Lowndes were all in the mix. Pretty soon, so was Jamie Whincup.

Jack le Brocq was the first car to pit on lap 12.

On lap 26 Broc Feeney took the wheel from Jamie Whincup and beat leader Todd Hazelwood to the pit exit. The drivers in front of them were soon out of the way as they took their pit stops. Feeney was the new leader.

Broc Feeney soon carved a 4+ second lead over the rest of the pack. Although it was still early in the race, he was looking strong and confident.

Around lap 27 the rain started to fall.

Although the rain was light, the wet track was obviously a challenge. Aaron Cameron made heavy contact with the wall at turn 2. The impact was so hard that the car lifted off the ground into the air! Somehow, he was able to push on.

It was also probably the rain that caused Mark Winterbottom to run wide at the top of the mountain and losing 2nd place.

As they reached laps in the mid 30s, Car 25 of Chaz Mostert and co-driver Fabian Coulthard was not running on all 8 cylinders and sounding terrible. They pushed on.

Tim Slade’s car also suffered the same issue and chose to pit after lap 50. The Bendix Racing team felt they couldn’t reliably make the repairs and became the first car to exit the race early.

It was only 3 laps later that Tony Dalberto hit the wall on the exit of Forest Elbow and the safety car deployed once again. The Will Davison/Tony Dalberto car was soon declared the 2nd victim of The Great Race.

Mostert was still having his engine problem. After lap 57 he came to a stop on Conrod Straight. Again, the safety car was deployed. Mostert must have known the car was beyond repair. By the time the team declared they wouldn’t be able to continue, Mostert was at the bar having a cold one!

While the race was under the Safety Car conditions for Mostert, leader Broc Feeney took his next pit stop. This handed the lead to Brodie Kostecki followed by Cameron Waters. Feeney returned on track in 6th place.

The rain started getting heavier. Drivers were slip-sliding all over the place.

On lap 65 Nash Morris and Cameron McLeod made contact and in spectacular fashion went spinning around to end up facing the wrong way.

Brodie Kostecki had reported clutch issues earlier and then ran wide at The Chase. Cameron Waters snuck through and now had the lead.

Waters didn’t hold the spot for long. He joined Kostecki in the pits. The lead was taken up by Lee Holdsworth, followed by Jamie Whincup and Jayden Ojeda.

Cameron McLeod slid off track into a sand trap to bring out another safety car.

Next thing you know, Kai Allen travelling at 300kmph had a near miss with a kangaroo.

Kai Allen’s luck was used up. Soon after he was hit from behind and ended up in the wall at Forest Elbow. Another Safety Car was deployed.

Lee Holdsworth pitted from his leading position and left Jayden Ojeda in the number one spot. What a thrill for the young driver on his 2nd running at Bathurst.

By the middle of the race David Russell co-driving for James Golding had taken the lead from Jayden Ojeda in 2nd place. 13+ seconds further back was Scott Pye in 3rd.

They young Jayden Ojeda was like an enthusiastic puppy. In a matter of laps he closed the gap and then took over David Russsell.

Jayden Ojeda surprised everyone. He sped ahead and quickly created his own 5+ seconds buffer in the pouring rain. He was in the 1st spot but must have been in 7th heaven.

Brodie Kostecki was still in the top 10 drivers when he hit the rear of Kai Allen. Kostecki was in the pits for repairs. The delay caused him to drop so far back it would be impossible to recover.

There was plenty more action on the track throughout the race.

With 37 laps remaining Broc Feeney hit the wall at Forest Elbow requiring the safety car to be deployed. The time needed for repairs left him out of race contention. It must have been devastating for Feeney who is at the top of the championship ladder with 12 wins this season.

On lap 127 James Courtney (with co-driver Jack Perkins) had scored so much damage they became the 4th car to not complete the race.

Only two laps later Jaxson Evans with co-driver Jack Smith were the next casualties.

Ryan Wood (with co-driver Jayden Ojeda) still had the lead. With 24 laps remaining, Wood went off the track at The Chase. James Golding was right there to take the lead.

A couple of laps later Ryan Wood’s pace dramatically slowed. The car pitted. The repairs took time and the team knew there was no chance to regain their place. Regardless, they still chose to get back out there and to not quit. It is a shame they finished 19th.

On lap 143 of 161, after 6+ hours of driving, Ritchie Stanaway and Nash Morris were the 6th and final car to crash out of the race.

With 11 laps remaining, Golding had the lead. He was followed closely by Cooper Murray and Matt Payne. They were all within arms reach of each other.

The final 10 lap countdown was on, and the leading drivers were close together. The “win” for the biggest race of the year was up for grabs, and they all showed how much they wanted it.

With 9 laps left, the rain was still falling and track very wet.

Coming down The Dipper they push their cars to the max. Golding lost traction causing him to fishtail. He managed to hang on to the lead.

On Conrod Straight, Matt Payne was side by side in a challenge to Golding. At 300 kmph they approach the bends of The Chase.  As they exit The Chase, Payne slides onto the trackside grass and fishtails. He regains control and stays on the attack. Any mistakes could cost dearly, and the pressure was on.

As they reach the last turn of the lap, Cooper Murray attempted a pass on the outside of Payne. Payne ran wide and Murray cut behind him to the inside and comes out of the corner leading. It was a fantastic manoeuvre.

Payne worked through lap 8 to close the gap on the cars ahead.

With 7 laps remaining, Murray made an attack on Golding. They were side by side for what seemed a long time in a fierce battle for the lead. Murray finally managed to pass taking the number 1 spot!

Reynolds was in 4th place about 6 seconds behind, but desperately wants in on the action. He completed the circuit 1.5+ seconds faster than the three cars ahead and closed in on them.

With 5] laps to go, the top 3 cars are still bumper to bumper. The cars were pushed to the max in the rain and the driving was faultless.

At turn 2, Golding attacked on the inside of Murray and made contact. Golding went wide and Murray slid sideways. In a magically fluid motion Matt Payne cut across them to the inside of the corner to take the lead! James Golding remained in 2nd place. Cooper Murray dropped from 1st to 3rd.

Soon after, the officials issued James Golding a 5 second time penalty for causing the issue. Unable to serve the time penalty in the pits, the 5 seconds would be added to his final time at the end of the race. The 5 seconds penalty could result in losing the win and even being out of a podium finish.

Fog and mist from the low heavy cloud cover, blocked visibility across the top of Mount Panarama. The cars emerging from the mist and screaming down the mountain just looked incredible.

In the second last lap Matt Payne was aggressively driving to keep his lead. Golding is just as good and right on his tail.

The race had started nearly 7 hours ago and were just shy of 1000kms on one of the most challenging circuits anywhere. The leaders had been behind the wheel for more than 3 hours straight. In the car the temperature soars. How they could still be driving so competitively was a show of astounding stamina.

Hitting maximum speed down Conrod Straight, Golding cut to the inside of Matt Payne and they battled each other side by side through the turns. Payne comes out of the duel to keep his lead.  

Golding was desperate and attacked again and again.

They reach the final lap. Amazingly, Golding attacked again and came out of turn 1 with the lead. The crowd goes absolutely mental!

Side by side they race through the bends up the mountain. Payne looks like he is about to come out ahead, but Golding is on the inside of the next bend and defends the lead.

David Reynolds is on Matt Paynes tail. He tries going around the outside of Payne on the next bend but gets cut off. It was close.

They screamed down the mountain single file towards Conrod Straight. The tension was incredible. Three cars in the last seconds of a gruelling battle. Who would crack under the pressure? Could Golding get far enough ahead to negate the 5 second time penalty at the end?

The air was filled with the roar of the crowd who had completely lost control in the excitement.

Top speeds, neck in neck, maximum focus! Noone cracked through The Chase and the final turn.

The 3 cars were so close together. The crowd was in a frenzy.

James Golding crossed the finish line 1st. Matt Payne 2nd, David Reynolds 3rd and Cooper Murray 4th.

Once the 5 second time penalty was applied to Golding, the final results were announced.

Race 27 results:             

1st Matt Payne and Garth Tander – Grove / Penrite Racing
2nd David Reynolds and Lee Holdsworth – Team 18 / TRADIE Energy
3rd James Golding and David Russell – PremiAir Racing

The result gave Garth Tander his 6th Bathurst win and elevates him to upper level ‘living legend’.

The Payne / Tander team also ended up winning the Enduro Cup.

Broc Feeney still leads the championship but only by 56 points over Matt Payne.

The next event is the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 on October 24 – 26 2025.

Supercars

Air Touch 500 at the Bend 2025

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of September 12 – 14 was the Air Touch 500 at The Bend.

It was round 9 of the 2025 Supercars championship and the first of the two Endurance races for the year. The second endurance race will be The Bathurst 1000.

It is the first time that The Bend hosted a Supercars endurance event and was a single race of 102 laps / 500km.

Supercars started racing at the venue in 2018 soon after development was completed. Shane Van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup dominated that year. It has been an annual venue for Supercars sprint events.

The Talem Bend circuit (aka The Bend) was opened in 2018. It was developed from an abandoned Mitsubishi test track and is probably the most significant development in Australian motorsport. It includes up to 7 different track configurations ranging between 1.101km and 7.77km in length and supports a multitude of motor sports including motor cars, karts and motorcycles. It even boasts a 100 room hotel over the pits.

The pre-race events were far more extensive than usual allowing for driver and co-driver practice sessions. They were great fun to watch and there was only one major incident occurring in Practice 4. It was a co-driver session and while performing a safety car procedure drill, Jamie Whincup co-driving for championship leader Broc Feeney hit Scott Pye co-driver for defending champ Will Brown. It was most embarrassing because both cars are in the Red Bull Ampol Racing team. The Brown/Pye car headed to the pits but was unable to complete the session.

The results for all the sessions were:

  • Aaron Cameron was fastest in Practice 1
  • Jamie Whincup was fastest in Practice 2
  • Will Brown was fastest in Practice 3
  • James Moffat was fastest in Practice 4
  • Ryan Wood was fastest in Practice 5
  • Brodie Kostecki was fastest in Qualifying
  • Broc Feeney was fastest in the Shootout
  • Ryan Wood and Jayden Ojeda were fastest in the Warmup

Broc Feeney and Jamie Whincup started on pole position. Alongside them was Cameron Hill and Cameron McLeod. Out of the 26 cars there were 22 co-drivers behind the wheel at the start.

Jamie Whincup got the jump off the start and led the first of 102 laps. There was a lot of chopping and changing of positions in the early stages.

David Russell was the first of many to receive a penalty for driving infringements.

After making contact with Jack Smith on lap 1, Nash Morris was the first car to stop on lap 5 due to a flat tyre.

Jamie Whincup’s lead was less than 1 second and he wasn’t able to break away from the pack. By lap 15 he had Todd Hazelwood right on his tail and chose to let him pass to reduce risks so early in the race.

Mark Winterbottom was in 3rd place approximately 2 seconds further back.

On lap 16 Dale Wood was the first car to pit from 18th place. When he came back out he was in 26th place.

Jamie Whincup pitted on lap 23 from 2nd place for tyres and fuel. The team were having issues with the fuel rig and only managed to fill 18 litres of fuel. When Whincup rejoined he was down the order in position 20.

Whincup’s pit stop left a gap between leader Todd Hazelwood and Mark Winterbottom.  Winterbottom pitted shortly after and by the time Todd Hazelwood pitted on lap 28 he had an 8+ second lead over Cooper Murray.

By the middle of the race Chaz Mostert had a 4.2 second lead over Brodie Kostecki. Cameron Waters was in 3rd place 1.3 seconds further back.

Towards the end of the race after Chaz Mostert took his final stop, Brodie Kostecki and Cameron Waters were left in first and second place with a reasonable gap back to Matt Payne in 3rd.

As they battled each other in the final laps they were able to keep their distance from the rest of the pack.

It soon became obvious they were unreachable and the challenge for the win was down to the two leading drivers.

Brodie Kostecki showed exceptional form and was able to break away from the bumper to bumper attack from Waters and create a 1+ second gap. He was soon flying to the finish line at an incredible speed and continually increasing his lead.

In the end Brodie Kostecki crossed the finish line with a 3.018 second win over Cameron Waters. Matt Payne came in 3rd place 7.6 seconds later.

What an incredible finish to the 500km race.

After starting in pole position and having the lead in the early stages Broc Feeney and Jamie Whincup came in 19th place. They seemed to really struggle to find their way back to the front after their fuel issue on the first pit stop.

Race 26 Results:

1st Brodie Kostecki / Todd Hazelwood – Shell V-Power Racing
2nd Cameron Waters / Mark Winterbottom – Monster Castrol Racing
3rd Matt Payne / Garth Tander – Grove Racing

The next event will be the Repco Bathurst 1000 on 9 – 12 October 2025.

I hope you will join me for the biggest race of the season, The Bathurst 1000. The Bathurst channel begins on Monday October 6, 2025, on channel 506.

Until then; Live It, Breathe It, Dream It, Drive It !!

Supercars

Betr Darwin Triple Crown 2025

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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

Thrifty Sydney 500 2025

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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.

Supercars

NTI Townsville 500 2024

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 5th – 7th July 2024 was round 6 of the 2024 Supercars championship, the NTI Townsville 500.

The event was held in Townsville, North Queensland.

Supercars have been racing in Townsville for 16, years since the street circuit was first opened in 2009. The circuit is 2.8km long with 13 turns.

In that very first event of 2009, Lee Holdsworth and Garth Tander shared the pole positions and Jamie Whincup and Jamess Courtney shared the race wins.

Townsville displayed its typical weather pattern on the Saturday of this year’s event, bloody hot with an afternoon storm but on the Sunday it managed to stay dry.

In the pre-race sessions

  • Cameron Waters was fastest in Practice 1
  • Cameron Waters was fastest in Practice 2
  • Will Davison was fastest in Qualifying
  • Cameron Waters was fastest in the Top Ten Shootout

In Race 13 Cameron Waters started on pole position with Chaz Mostert alongside him.

Cameron Waters got the jump off the start line and led into turn 1 for the first of 88 laps, a total of 250kms.

Thomas Randle got up the inside of Will Davison at turn 3 for 3rd place but back in the pack there was chaos. As the rest of the cars got to turn 3 Nick Percat, Brodie Kostecki and Anton de Pasquale made contact heavily. As they bounced around the track there was a big risk of other cars hitting them from behind. As Jaxon Evans came through, he joined the chaos and was also turned around. Will Brown who started 13th on the grid was in the danger zone of being caught up but somehow, he managed to stay out of trouble.

The first 3 cars in the incident, Percat, Kostecki and Pasquale had to all head into the pits due to damage. Race officials investigated the incident but found no-one to at fault, so no penalties were issued.

By lap 2 the positions had changed significantly. James Courtney had gained 6 places moving up to 11th. Will Brown gained 1 place up to 12th and David Reynolds was up 8 spots in 13th place.

The leading 5 cars were reasonably close to each other. Chaz Mostert was right behind his former teammate Cameron Waters by only 0.682 seconds.

The first car to pit by choice was Aaron Love on lap 19. He came back on the circuit in 21st place.

A few laps later Chaz Mostert was the first of the leaders to pit. There were 9 cars still yet to take their stops. Once they did, they would be out of the way and Chaz Mostert would be able to resume his face-to-face battle for the lead with Cameron Waters.

When Cameron Waters pitted on lap 28 he had a 7.7 second lead over Will Davison in 2nd place.

By the middle of the race Chaz Mostert was given the space by Cameron Waters to pass and now had the number 1 spot with 1.8 seconds lead.

Chaz Mostert kept the lead and with 15 laps to go was followed by Thomas Randle and then Cameron Waters.

Further back in the pack Will Brown had gained an amazing 7 spots into 6th place and now behind Jack Le Brocq in 5th.

With 11 laps remaining the rain started to bucket down and drivers were struggling to keep the cars on the track. As suddenly as it had started, the rain passed. Although the track was still wet, I am sure the drivers were thankful.

Cameron Waters wasted no time. Soon enough he passed his teammate Thomas Randle to be in 2nd place.

Thomas Randle lost his momentum and dropped back a few places. Will Brown made contact with him on the approach to turn 3 but somehow both cars stayed away from the wall.

Cameron Waters was now challenging Chaz Mostert. Waters wouldn’t let up. Chaz Mostert must have felt he wasn’t able to defend the number 1 spot without high risk. Instead of possibly endangering his car and losing a podium finish he seemed to let Cameron Waters pass easily.

Cameron Waters edged ahead in the last laps and finally crossed the line with a 1.8 second lead over Chaz Mostert. Then there was another 4.6 seconds back to Will Brown who managed to move up into 3rd place for the finish. It was a spectacular result.

Results for Race 13

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

On the Sunday of the 3 day event Jack le Brocq started on pole position for Race 14. Alongside him was Cameron Waters.

As they took off Cameron Waters once again led into turn 1 for the first of 88 laps.

The polesitter, Jack le Brocq did not get an ideal start and dropped back to 4th.

Thomas Randle was now in 2nd place and James Courtney was in 3rd.

This year’s championship leader Will Brown missed the Top 10 Shootouts in both races of the event. He qualified 17th on the grid. To add to his woes, David Reynolds hit him from behind in lap 1 sending him into the concrete barrier wall and seriously damaged his car. Will Brown now had to head straight to the pits and returned to the race in 24th, last place. It scrapped all his hopes of protecting his championship lead.

Will Brown’s teammate Broc Feeney (who happens to be 2nd on the championship ladder) was having problems of his own. On this first lap he had dropped from 6th place on the grid back to 13th.

Chaz Mostert who had started 8th on the grid managed to get by Matt Payne for 6th place. He wasted no time and went on the charge. Soon he was in 4th place just behind the leaders. By the end of the 1st lap he was in 3rd.

Within the next few laps Chaz Mostert passed Thomas Randle for second place.

The first car to pit aside from Will Brown at the race start, was Matt Payne on lap 20. He was in 3rd place but unable to challenge the 2 cars ahead. The team strategised to come in now and be better able to make ground with fresh tyres.

By the middle of the race Jack le Brocq who had a terrible start from his pole position was now out the front and leading. Cameron Waters and Chaz Mostert were right behind him.

Matt Payne’s pitting strategy paid off. In the second half of the race he managed to squeeze passed and take the lead. With 7 laps to go he had a 9.2 second lead over Cameron Waters in 2nd place with Chaz Mostert not far behind.

Waters and Mostert chased Matt Payne for all their experience was worth. The cars began to spread out. However, Matt Payne was just too fast and crossed the finish line 6.057 seconds ahead of Cameron Waters.

Mostert had slipped a little but came in 3rd place 7.6 seconds later.

It was an unexpected finish especially after this year’s dominance of Will Brown and Broc Feeney up until now.

Results for Race 14

1st Matt Payne – Grove Racing
2nd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing
3rd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United

Regardless of a bad weekend for the Red Bull Ampol Racing team, Will Brown still leads the championship but only by 78 points over Broc Feeney.

The next event is the Panasonic Sydney Supernight July 19 – 21.

I hope you will join me. Until then keep those engines revving!

Supercars

Thrifty Bathurst 500 2024

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 23 – 25 Feb was the Thrifty Bathurst 500.

It was Round 1 of the V8-Supercars 2024 season.

The event consisted of 2 practice sessions, a qualifying session (1 for each of the 2 races) to determine the entries to the top 10 shootout for grid position and finally 2 races of 40 laps / 250km each.

Last season ended with Erebus taking the teams trophy and Erebus driver Brodie Kostecki taking the drivers’ trophy. Will Brown who was Brodie Kostecki’s teammate took 4th place.

It seems this year the drivers from Erebus have abandoned ship. Will Brown is now driving for Red Bull Ampol Racing alongside Broc Feeney after the exit of legend, Shane Van Gisbergen.

Will Brown has joined Red Bull Ampol Racing

On the 30 January 2024 Brodie Kostecki had a massive falling out with Erebus Motorsports’ boss Barry Ryan and left the team. It must have been serious because now the champion has been left without a seat in this years’ competition. Barry Ryan, team owner Betty Klimenko and Brodie Kostecki have all been very tight lipped about what happened to cause the rift.

This first event of the year started on the Friday with 2 practice sessions. The weather was cloudy with consistent rain. Not a surprise at Bathurst which is known for its extreme weather patterns.        

Results from the pre-race sessions are as follows:

  • Broc Feeney was fastest in Practice 1
  • Will Brown was fastest in Practice 2
  • Broc Feeney was fastest in Qualifying for both Race 1 & 2
  • Will Brown was fastest in Race 1 Top Ten Shootout
  • Broc Feeney was the fastest in Race 2 Top Ten Shootout

On the grid for Race 1 Will Brown started in pole position with teammate Broc Feeney alongside him.

Will Brown got the jump on his teammate off the starting line and led into turn 1 for the first of 40 laps. Chaz Mostert got a ripper of a start from 3rd on the grid and was close behind the two leaders.

Rookie, Ryan Wood went off the track at turn 1 with a helping hand from Tim Slade. The safety car was deployed and the car was towed off the track. I am sure it was not how Ryan Wood envisioned his first race as a rookie.

Race Control looked at the incident and decided to take no penalising action against Wood or Slade.

The restart was on lap 3. Will Brown still had the race lead followed by Broc Feeney, Chaz Mostert and Cameron Hill.

The first 2 cars to pit were Anton de Pasquale and Matt Payne on lap 6. They re-joined one spot from the back of the pack, 22nd and 23rd.

Broc Feeney was tailing leader Will Brown by only 0.934 seconds. On lap 11 he then did the fastest time recorded in this race (208.332 seconds).

Will Brown was the first of the two Red Bull cars to pit to ensure there would be no double stacking at the garage with teammate Broc Feeney. This handed Broc Feeney the lead.

In the middle of the race Nick Percat had the lead. Once he pitted Broc Feeney took back lead control with Will Brown behind him.

Aaron Love hit the wall coming out of The Cutting and damaged the right rear corner of car 3. It was quite a significant hit and he had to limp back to the pits. There was no need to deploy the safety car and later he did manage to return to the race.

Towards the end of the race Broc Feeney and Will Brown were the effective leaders with the 2 cars of Nick Percat and Cameron Waters ahead of them but still yet to pit. Once they pitted the 2 Red Bull cars assumed 1st and 2nd place on the track.

With 9 laps remaining Broc Feeney was still in the lead by 0.871seconds over Will Brown.

On lap 33 Chaz Mostert clocked the fastest lap of the race at 208.113 seconds. This adds 5 point to Mostert’s scoreboard tally.

The competition began to get wild.

On lap 34 the front left wheel came off Cameron Waters Monster Energy Ford Mustang and it went rolling down the track to turn 2. The race went under FCY (Full Course Yellow) to remove the wheel.

With 5 laps to go James Golding went off at The Chase. When he came back on he was alongside his teammate, Tim Slade.

With 2 laps to go Aaron Love hit the wall at The Cutting again! This time the Safety Car had to be deployed to remove the car from the track. He and Ryan Wood were the only two DNFs in the race.

As a result of the deployed Safety Car the race finished under Safety Car conditions. The finish was therefor quite unexciting compared to the action leading up to it.

Broc Feeney came across the line first, followed by Will Brown and then Chaz Mostert.

Results for Race 1:

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

In Race 2 Broc Feeney started on pole position, alongside him was Chaz Mostert.

As they took off Chaz Mostert got the jump and led into turn 1.

Meanwhile back in the pack Cameron Hill and Macauley Jones became entangled and spun both cars. They were able to continue but were now at the back of the pack.

Broc Feeney tried to get up the inside James Golding at The Chase. He made contact with Golding and was issued a 5 second time penalty for the driving infringement.

Will Brown had gone up to second place. He was only 0.385 seconds off Chaz Mostert in the lead. Pole sitter Broc Feeney had dropped back to 3rd place.

Matt Payne was the first driver to take his car into the pits on lap 6.

Ryan Wood also went into the garage to rectify a damaged right front steering sustained on the opening lap.

Aaron Love hit the wall approaching the Reid Park section of the track.

Up the front the top 3 cars were reasonably close to each other.

Broc Feeney was asking whether he can pass Will Brown in attempt to make up for the 5 second time penalty he received earlier. He was given the go ahead but just couldn’t find the space on track to execute the pass.

He then decided to take the first of his 2 mandatory pitstops and also get his 5 second penalty out of the way.

In the middle of the race Chaz Mostert was still the leader by 5.2 seconds over Will Brown, who was then followed by Broc Feeney. Thomas Randle and David Reynolds were battling for 4th and 5th place.

Towards the end of the race only Todd Hazelwood and Andre Heimgartner were still yet to take their second pit stop. Once they did, Will Brown who had overtaken Chaz Mostert would assume the race lead.

In the final 5 laps the top 3 positions were unchanged and stayed that way to the finish.

Will Brown crossed the line with a 1.6 second lead on Chaz Mostert. Then it was 1.4 seconds back to Broc Feeney.

It was a good race and a lot of fun watching it.

Results for Race 2:

1st Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing

2nd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United

3rd Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing

After the first of event of the season Will Brown is the series leader by 9 points over Broc Feeney.

The Red Bull Ampol Racing team are in the lead of the teams championship by 201 points over Grove Racing.

The next event in the Supercars series is as a support category at the Rolex Australian F1 Grand Prix at Albert Park on March 21 to 24 2024.

I hope you will all join me.

Supercars

Valo Adelaide 500 2023

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 23 – 26 November 2023 was the Valo Adelaide 500.

The Adelaide street circuit was first opened in 1985 and hosted the F1 Australian Grand Prix until 1995. The street circuit came back into use in 1999 when Supercars moved their events from the Mallala Motorsport Park.

Jason Bright took the very first pole position at this venue. Craig Lowndes started the leg 1 from 3rd on the grid and won the opening race. The next day he was sent to the back of the field and still came through to win leg 2. It was the stuff that legends are made of.

This year’s Adelaide 500 was the 12th and final round of the 2023 Supercars Championship.

As one of the longer events on the calendar made up of 2 races of 250km each, it was always going to be a tough event. To add to the tension it was also the decider for the Driver’s Championship.

The defending champion Shane Van Gisbergen was trailing Brodie Kostecki in the number 1 spot by 131 points. A win in both races would total 300 points so the championship was still up for grabs. Shane Van Gisbergen is heading to the U.S. at the end of the season to try his hand at NASCAR so it could very well also be his final farewell to Supercars.

The points gap from 3rd place onwards was too great to contend for 1st or 2nd place. However, the points were close enough between 3rd, 4th and 5th for there to be a change on the final scoreboard for Will Brown, Broc Feeney and Chaz Mostert.

The Final Event and the Final Decider! A setting for nail biting stuff!

The event started on Thursday with a wet Practice 1.

The pre-race sessions results are as follows:

  • Chaz Mostert was fastest in Practice 1
  • Thomas Randle was Fastest in Practice 2
  • Brodie Kostecki was fastest in Qualifying
  • Brodie Kostecki was also fastest in the top 10 Shootout.

For Race 27 Brodie Kostecki started on pole position which was his 9th pole for the year. David Reynolds was alongside him on the front row of the starting grid.

At the start of the race Brodie Kostecki got the jump and led into turns 1 and 2 for first of 78 laps.

As the pack rounded turn 4 Will Brown tried passing Anton de Pasquale. Shane Van Gisbergen also tried following Will Brown to jump up in position. However, Anton de Pasquale made contact with Will Brown and then from behind Shane Van Gisbergen made contact with Will Brown. Brown’s car came to stop almost immediately. Shane Van Gisbergen was able to get back to the pits but it was soon evident that he wouldn’t be returning to the track. Not only was it all over for this race but also his ability to contend for the championship title. Such bad luck.

The safety car was deployed. It was only the opening lap and things were very messed up for Will Brown and Shane Van Gisbergen.

Later, after reviewing the incident the officials took no further action and no penalty was issued to any of the three cars involved.

Matt Payne and Cameron Hill were in the pits because of damage they received after the start.

The restart was on lap 6 and Brodie Kostecki was still in control of the race, followed by David Reynolds and Thomas Randle in 3rd place.

Broc Feeney passed James Courtney for 8th place.

On lap 15 David Reynolds took the lead off Brodie Kostecki with some incredible manoeuvring through turns 8 and 9.

The first car to pit in this race was Anton de Pasquale on lap 16.

Broc Feeney was next to pit on lap 19. When he re-joined the race he was in 20th place with clear track ahead.

Up front it started getting busy. Thomas Randle moved up to 2nd place dropping Brodie Kostecki back to 3rd place.

Cameron Waters in 4th place was 3 + seconds behind. The front of the pack were beginning to spread out.

Soon after, Thomas Randle pitted from second place handing over the spot to Cameron Waters.

Thomas Randle came out of the pits and was like a rocket. Within a few laps he managed to move up through the pack and regain 2nd place.

Cameron Waters wasn’t happy to give back the second spot to Thomas Randle and found the opportunity to pass him. Once again, the order of the top 3 cars changed.

In the middle of the race Cameron Waters was still holding second place right on the rear bumper of David Reynolds in the lead. He found his opportunity and with precision driving made the pass to get the number one spot.

Further back in the pack, Todd Hazelwood received a 5 second time penalty for contact with another car.

David Reynolds never gave up the fight to regain 1st place. With 17 laps to go he did the fastest lap of the race, 119.957 seconds. Unfortunately, it didn’t give him what he wanted. He was also under pressure from Thomas Randle in 3rd place. The front 3 cars were once again tight and left no room for error.

Cameron Waters stayed strong and held the lead using his experience to fend off the two drivers right on his tail.

Soon Cameron Water and David Reynolds edged away from Thomas Randle still holding 3rd place.

They were both on fire screaming ahead of the pack.

They crossed the finish line 0.67 seconds apart and way ahead of the others. Thomas Randle came in 14.353 seconds later to earn 3rd place. It was an incredible finish for an intense race.

Results for Race 27

1st Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing.

2nd David Reynolds – Grove Racing.

3rd Thomas Randle – Castrol Racing & Tradie Racing.

In Race 28 Brodie Kostecki started on pole position for the 10th time this season. This is an incredible feat and he was given the Armor All Pole Award for year along with $10,000. Next to him on the front row of the grid was Matt Payne.

As they took off Matt Payne got the jump and led into turns 1 and 2 for the first of 78 laps. As much as Brodie Kostecki tried he was not able to pass Matt Payne.

Further back Shane Van Gisbergen was trying to pass Anton de Pasquale but also wasn’t able to execute a pass. It wasn’t until a few laps later that he got into his stride.

On lap 2 Broc Feeney was able to get up the inside of Cameron Waters for 4th place.

David Reynolds made his move on lap 3 to pass Todd Hazelwood for 9th place.

Shane Van Gisbergen was now moving through the pack and had now passed Anton de Pasquale, Will Davison and Will Brown for 11th place.

On lap 6 Nick Percat made contact with Jack le Brocq who went off the track and into the tyre-wall at the final turn. Surprisingly, he managed to get himself out and the safety car did not have to be deployed.

After investigation the incident the officials took no further action against either driver.

By lap 10 Matt Payne had a 1.2 second lead over Brodie Kostecki.

Broc Feeney was putting pressure on Chaz Mostert for 3rd place. He managed to get by at turn 6.

Shane Van Gisbergen showed how eager he was to make up for the NC (Not Complete) he received in the first race at this event. He did the fastest lap of the race, 120.735 seconds.

On lap 11 Chaz Mostert was desperately trying to get 3rd place back from Broc Feeney. In his attempt Chaz Mostert made contact with him and did manage to pass. It was a messy attack and Chaz Mostert was later issued a 5 second time penalty.

Shane Van Gisbergen was the first of the Red Bull cars to take a pit-stop.

In the pit area Macauley Jones was spun around by Tim Slade who was coming out of his garage.

In the middle of the race Matt Payne was still in control with a 4.8 second lead over Broc Feeney flowed by David Reynolds in 3rd.

As the race continued Matt Payne kept edging ahead. Towards the end of the race, he had a 7.5 second lead over Broc Feeney and was on target to claim his maiden win with Penrite Racing.

Noone seemed able to make ground on the rookie Matt Payne. In fact he managed to edge further ahead of the competitors.

He crossed the line with a 8.548 second lead over Broc Feeney. David Reynolds come in 3rd a few seconds later.

It was a spectacular and solid win for Matt Payne. Congratulations!

Results for Race 28:

1st Matt Payne – Grove Racing.

2nd Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing.

3rd David Reynolds – Grove Racing.

A massive congratulations to Erebus Motorsport and Brodie Kostecki. Well done!

This was the final race for the 2023 season. The next event will be the Bathurst Superfest on the 16th to the 25th of February 2024.

It’s with a sense of sadness that we say farewell to Shane Van Gisbergen. Well done on everything you have achieved in Supercars and best of luck for your new adventures in Nascar. Go get em!

Supercars

Ned Whiskey Tasmania Supersprint 2023

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of May 20 – 21, 2023 was the Ned Whiskey Tasmania Supersprint held at the Symmons Plain Raceway.

The raceway was first opened in March 1960. After the closure of the Longford Road circuit Symmons Plains quickly established its own reputation as Tasmania’s home of Motor Racing. The track is 2.4 km with 7 turns and must be one of the shorter tracks used in the Supercars Championship.

The Tasmania Supersprint was round 4 of the championship. Brodie Kostecki came into the round with a 100 point lead over Chaz Mostert in 2nd place.

It is the 50th time that the Supercars have visited. The track seems to be favoured by Triple Eight. They have won 25 out of the last 36 races in Tasmania.

Both Andre Heimgartner and Nick Percat had milestones. It was Andre Heimgartner’s 100th round start in Supercars and Nick Percat started his 300th race in Supercars.

In the pre-Race sessions:

  • Brodie Kostecki was fastest in Practice 1
  • Brodie Kostecki was fastest in Practice 2
  • Will Brown was fastest in Qualifying

In Race 10 Will Brown started on pole position with Jack le Brocq alongside him.

At the start of the race Will Brown got the jump and led into turn 1 for the first of 42 laps. The opening lap was relatively clean until James Courtney went into the wall at turn 6.

Coming out of turn 4 on the following lap Cameron Waters made contact with Brodie Kostecki which put him in the wall. Then Broc Feeney made contact with Chaz Mostert spinning him around. Scott Pye gave Broc Feeney a nudge and put damage on car 88 but he was able to keep going.

The result of the chaos had Chaz Mostert and Brodie Kostecki heading to the pits for repairs. As it turned out Chaz Mostert was not able to re-join the race.

James Courtney was another casualty from the turn 4 incident. A few laps later he went into the garage to replace a bent steering arm.

Will Brown was still leading with 1.8 seconds over Cameron Waters.

Shane Van Gisbergen was up 3 places from his grid start position and now in 6th.

It wasn’t long before Cameron Waters showed how much he wanted the win. He did the fastest lap of the race clocking in at 51.67 seconds.

Shane Van Gisbergen also showed his desire for a podium finish and got up the inside of Cameron Hill for 4th position.

The first car to pit in this race was Scott Pye on lap 14. He came in from 21st position and returned to the track in 22nd.

Mid-field Will Davison got up the inside of David Reynolds exchanging 15th and 16th place.

In the middle of the race James Golding pitted and David Reynolds followed him in. Andre Heimgartner and Cameron Waters then pitted from 3rd and 4th position.

Race leader, Will Brown made his pit stop on lap 23. He returned to the track in 5th place giving  Shane Van Gisbergen the number 1 spot. At this stage there were still 8 cars to pit.

Shane Van Gisbergen pitted on lap 27 from the lead of the race.

After Jack Smith took his pit stop he was investigated for an infringement. He was issued a 15 second time penalty post-race finish.

Now there were only 3 cars yet to pit; Todd Hazelwood, Matt Payne and Broc Feeney. Once they did Will Brown assumed the lead of the race.

Towards the end of the race Will Brown was still in the lead with 1.3 seconds over Andre Heimgartner. It was another 1.1 seconds back to Cameron Waters in 3rd.

Once Todd Hazelwood had pitted on lap 30 he re-joined in 15th place.

After this it was a sprint to the checkered flag.

Shane Van Gisbergen was in 4th position with fresher tyres for the sprint to the finish line but he was 8.2 seconds off the lead and 5.8 seconds away from Cameron Waters in 3rd place.

In the final Will Brown was still holding the lead over Andre Heimgartner. Shane Van Gisbergen was obviously not satisfied with 4th and managed to finally get past Cameron Waters to steal 3rd place.

Results for Race 10:

1st Will Brown – Erebus Motorsport
2nd Andre Heimgartner – Brad Jones Racing
3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing

In Race 11 Brodie Kostecki started on pole position, alongside him was Broc Feeney.

At the start of the race Brodie Kostecki pushed Broc Feeney wide at turn. Will Brown used the opportunity to go up to 2nd place while Broc Feeney was displaced back to 4th.

The opening lap was relatively clean until turn 6 when Shane Van Gisbergen went into tyre wall after a bump from David Reynolds. Shane Van Gisbergen managed to get the car out but had to head straight to the pits. The damage was worse than first thought. The damage would take so much time to repair he wasn’t able to return to the race. Luckily he was able to participate in the final race of the weekend.

Shortly after Will Brown took the lead off his teammate Brodie Kostecki.

The top 5 cars were packed close to each other and anything could happen to change the results.

Aggressions seemed to be increasing and Declan Fraser received a 15 second time penalty for a driving infringement.

Meanwhile, Will Davison clocked the fastest lap at 52.011 seconds.

The first car to pit (aside from Shane Van Gisbergen) was Mark Winterbottom on lap 13. Noone else followed him in.

By the middle of the race the top 13 cars had still not visited pits. It seemed they all were afraid to give up their positions.

Once Brodie Kostecki and Will Brown had pitted there was a 35 second gap between the two.

Towards the end of the end of the race Broc Feeney was in the lead with 0.721 seconds over the championship leader Brodie Kostecki. It was a further 1.4 seconds back to Will Brown in 3rd.

In the final laps the gap between the top 3 cars became even tighter.

Broc Feeney was looking solid out front even though they were right on his tail. The drivers behind were really  battling for the minor places.

On the last lap Broc Feeney was in cruise mode with a confident lead of 2 seconds.

He kept his hard-earned lead to finish line ahead of Brodie Kostecki and Will Brown.

As he crossed the line Broc Feeney announced over the radio, “Team Sunday is back!”.

Results for Race 11:

1st Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing

2nd Brodie Kostecki – Erebus Motorsport

3rd Will Brown – Erebus Motorsport

In Race 12 Brodie Kostecki started on pole position with Will Brown alongside him.

As they took off Will Brown got the jump and led into turns 1 and 2 for the first of 42 laps. Andre Heimgartner went off the track at turn 1 and so did Anton de Pasquale.

While the 2 Erebus Camaro’s were commanding proceedings everybody else was trying to play catch up. Further back in the field the 2 Penrite Racing cars were battling for positions outside the top 10 in 14th and 16th place.

At the second last corner Declan Fraser got turned around by Jack Smith.

Things went smoothly until lap 9 when Andre Heimgartner gave James Courtney a bump and they both went off into the gravel.

On lap 10 Broc Feeney managed to get up the inside of Jack le Brocq for 3rd place. Will Brown and his teammate Brodie Kostecki were still holding the number 1 and 2 spots.

The first car to pit in this race was Nick Percat on lap 12 from the back of the pack and had a loose brake pedal as a secondary issue. Shane Van Gisbergen also pitted. He was in 18th and when he came back out on the track was in 23rd place.

By the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen had worked his way up through the field and was able to take 11th place from Jack le Brocq. At this stage there were 9 cars yet to take their stops.

Will Brown pitted on lap 24 which left Broc Feeney in control of the race.

Towards the end of the race Will Brown had a 5.5 second lead over Broc Feeney. It was only 0.633 seconds back to Shane Van Gisbergen who had now worked his way into 3rd place.

Matt Payne’s car had suffered damage earlier and the tyre was rubbing on the front bumper. It was too close to the end of the race so he kept going to the finish line.

At the front of the pack Will Brown still kept his lead and finished with a 4 second gap over Broc Feeney and Brodie Kostecki.

Another spectacular finish for Erebus to end the weekend.

Results for Race 12:

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

Brodie Kostecki still leads the championship by 87 points over Will Brown. Erebus are also leading the teams’ championship by 276 points over the Red Bull Ampol Racing team.

There are only 8 rounds to go in the 2023 Supercars season. The next event is the Betr Darwin Triple Crown on June 16th to 18th 2023.

Looking forward to it already!

Supercars

Bosch Power Tools Perth Supersprint 2023

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of Apr 28 – 30 was 3rd Supercars Championship round, the Bosch Powertools Perth Supersprint at Barbagallo Raceway.

This track is a 2.4 km circuit with 7 turns. It was built by the Western Australia Sporting Car Club and called Wanneroo Raceway. The first race was in March 1969.

In 1992 a well-known race personality, Alf Barbagallo funded an extension to the track and the circuit was renamed to “Barbagallo Raceway”.

It was then renamed back to Wanneroo Raceway in 2020 but for naming rights reasons will be known as CARCO.com.au Raceway from August 2022 to November 2025.

Barbagallo Raceway is the name I grew up with and still refer to it as such. Wanneroo Raceway is a name I can get used to, but CARCO.com.au Raceway is just plain old strange.

The weekend marked milestones for both Will Davison and Mark Winterbottom. Davison started his 500th race and Winterbottom had his 600th race in Supercars.

The weekend got underway with only one practice followed by the first qualifying session. David Reynolds was fastest in Practice 1 and Shane Van Gisbergen earned pole position in Qualifying.

As drivers positioned themselves on the grid for Race 7, Brodie Kostecki was alongside pole sitter Shane Van Gisbergen.

At the start of the race Brodie Kostecki got the jump and led into turn 1. Will Davison did a dive bomb trying to get up the inside of Thomas Randle but he couldn’t make move stick.

The leaders started pulling away and Jack le Brocq was the only one able to keep up. It created a gap between the frontrunners and the rest of the pack.

Nick Percat in 20th place was the first car to pit on lap 8. He returned to the track in 25th (last) place.

James Courtney had dropped 2 places and Will Brown had gained + 4 places.

James Courtney was being held up by Will Davison in battle with Thomas Randle.

Tim Slade was the first of the Nulon cars to pit. When he came back out he was in 24th position.

Tickford Racing had allowed Will Davison to drive through their pit bay but caused a panic when he almost made contact with James Courtney.

Back on the track Will Brown got up the inside of Macauley Jones on lap 16 for 14th place.

At turn 1 on the next lap Cameron Waters got up the inside of Macauley Jones.

Brodie Kostecki pitted on lap 18 which gave the lead of the race to Shane Van Gisbergen. After a 3.2 second stop he re-joined the race in 19th place.

In the middle of the race David Reynolds did the fastest lap of the race 55.946 seconds and earned him the 5 bonus points.

Shane Van Gisbergen still had the lead with a 2.4 second break over Jack le Brocq. The gap back to David Reynolds in 3rd place was 25 seconds.

As Cameron Waters was heading to the pit lane he got turned around by Andre Heimgartner. It ruined Cameron’s chances of a decent finish. Andre Heimgartner received a post-race time penalty also ruining his chances.

Towards the end of the race when every car had taken their mandatory pit stop, Brodie Kostecki resumed his lead.

With 2 laps to go Brodie Kostecki was blocking Shane Van Gisbergen’s attempt to pass. Kostecki was issued a bad sportsmanship flag and Shane Van Gisbergen took the race lead off him.

Shane Van Gisbergen had to fight hard but kept the lead crossing the finish line 0.594 seconds ahead of Brodie Kostecki. It was only 0.953 seconds back to David Reynolds in 3rd.

This was Shane Van Gisbergen’s 3rd race win at Barbagallo (Waneroo or CARCO.com.au raceway or whatever the hell you want to call it!).  It also brings his career tally to 78 wins.

Results for Race 7:

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing
2nd Brodie Kostecki – Erebus Motorsport
3rd David Reynolds – Grove Racing

In Race 8 Will Brown started on pole position and alongside him was David Reynolds.

At the start of the race Will Brown got the jump and led into turn 1 while David Reynolds had to tuck back in behind.

After starting 4th on the grid Brodie Kostecki managed to pass David Reynolds at turn 7 to go into 2nd place. He was still 1.3 seconds away from his teammate and leader, Will Brown.

Anton de Pasquale also passed David Reynolds at turn 7 for 3rd place. David Reynolds must have lost his focus and ran wide catching the edge of the sand trap coming out of turn 7. It dropped him back to 11th position.

James Courtney then passed Anton de Pasquale for 3rd position and was 2.5 seconds behind the two leaders.

Matt Payne had gained 2 places to be up in 6th position, while Cameron Waters got up the inside of Todd Hazelwood for 9th.

Anton de Pasquale received a 15 second driving infringement time penalty for nudging another car.

The first car to pit was Cameron Hill in last place with a with a gear shift problem. The team put the go jacks under the rear of car 35 and went in to sort out the dramas.

Will Brown still had the lead with a 1.2 second gap over teammate Brodie Kostecki. Will Brown proved himself a real competitor and did the fastest lap of the race 55.956 seconds. This earned him the 5 bonus points for the race and championship leader board.

In the middle of the race Brodie Kostecki in 2nd place took his pit stop to avoid double stacking with his teammate Will Brown who was in the lead.

With 13 laps to go the two Erebus cars were back in the lead of the race. It was a dominant display with no threat from behind.

They had the race under complete control and kept their lead all the way to the finish.

Will Brown crossed the line 6.2 seconds ahead of Brodie Kostecki. It was a further gap of 3.5 seconds back to James Courtney in 3rd place.

Results for Race 8

1st Will Brown – Erebus Motorsport
2nd Brodie Kostecki – Erebus Motorsport
3rd James Courtney – Tickford Racing

In Race 9 Broc Feeney, the young and upcoming star of Red Bull Ampol Racing started on pole position. Alongside him was Brodie Kostecki.

Broc Feeney got the jump and led into turn 1 for the first of 42 laps. The opening lap was relatively clean except for Jack le Brocq spinning Declan Fraser around at turn 7. Le Brocq was later issued a 15 second time penalty to be served at his mandatory pit stop.

Broc Feeney had a 3/4 second lead over Brodie Kostecki with David Reynolds staying competitive in 3rd.

Will Brown then seemed to come out of nowhere jumping over Brodie Kostecki and David Reynolds to take 2nd place.

The back of the field also had interesting action. Shane Van Gisbergen gained 2 places from his start in 21st position up to 19th.

Chaz Mostert got up the inside of his ex-teammate Cameron Waters for 8th place.

Will Brown for the second time this weekend recorded the fastest lap, 55.718 seconds.

Matt Payne was first passed by Anton de Pasquale and then Shane Van Gisbergen. Gisbergen was now in 18th place.

The first car to pit was Tim Slade in 5th position on lap 12. He returned the track in 17th place.

In the middle of the race both Will Davison and Brodie Kostecki pitted together from 11th and 12th place.

Towards the end of the end of the race Broc Feeney had a 12.7 second lead over Chaz Mostert and 4 cars were still yet to take their pit stop.

Broc Feeney wowed the crowd. He held the lead all the way to the checkered flag to claim his 3rd career win 6.4 seconds clear of Will Brown. Truly an amazing finish.

Congratulations Broc.

Results for Race 9:

1st Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing

2nd Will Brown – Erebus Motorsport

3rd Brodie Kostecki – Erebus Motorsport

Brodie Kostecki has extended his championship lead to 100 points and also takes his team Erebus to the top of the Teams Championship.

The next event is the Ned Whiskey Tasmania Supersprint 19 – 21 of May 2023.