Tag Archives: Jess yates

Century Batteries Ipswich super 440 2026

Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

Round 9 of the 2026 Supercars Championship, The Century Batteries Ipswich Super 440 was held on the 21 – 23 August at Queensland Raceway, Ipswich.

This was the final round for the Sprint Cup.

Coming into this event Matt Payne had a 118 point lead over Broc Feeney, so this was primarily a showdown between the two drivers.

Broc Feeney was last year’s Sprint Cup winner and desperate to make up for his loss to Chaz Mostert in the ‘Finals’ at the end of last season. He would also be starting his 150th race in Supercars which is an unbelievable milestone. Congratulations!

The first two races of the event were a short mad sprint of 39 laps, worth 80 points each. The third race was longer, 62 laps and worth 140 points for the winner.

It was assumed that this would be close between the 2 contenders but how close and how tense was yet to be seen.

In Race 26 Matt Payne started on pole position with Brodie Kostecki alongside him.

As the lights went out Brodie Kostecki led into turn 1 for the first of 39 laps. Matt Payne sat in 2nd place, while Will Brown and Chaz Mostert traded 3rd and 4th several times.  

Mostert was unable to break away from Will Brown’s attack so pitted on lap 9 for clear track.

On lap 19 Brodie Kostecki pitted from the race lead and rejoined in 12th place.

Once the drivers ahead took their mandatory stops Brodie Kostecki would assume the number 1 position.

In such a short race it’s difficult for any driver to make a great lead over the others. They tend to stay bunched up and always face risks while attacking or defending.

Over the last 5 or so laps the order didn’t change.

Brodie Kostecki crossed the finish line to take the win.

Matt Payne held 2nd place to earn 74 points.

Kai Allen came in 3rd, but an earlier time penalty applied after the race pushed him off the podium into 5th.

Will Brown took 3rd while his teammate Broc Feeny took 4th earning 67 points.

Payne’s point lead over Feeney was now 125. The Sprint Cup was still up for grabs.

Race 26 results:

1st Brodie Kostecki – Shell V-Power Racing Team
2nd Matt Payne – Grove Racing
3rd Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing
4th Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
5th Kai Allen – Grove Racing

For Race 27 Matt Payne started in pole position again. Alongside him was Brodie Kostecki.

This time Matt Payne took the lead in the first of the 39 laps.

Will Brown overtook Chaz Mostert for third place.

Matt Payne lost the lead to Brodie Kostecki and shortly after lost another spot to Will Brown.

Broc Feeney rounded out the top 5 places.

In the middle of the race Will Brown, and Anton de Pasquale pitted on lap 19. Broc Feeney followed by James Golding were temporarily left in the lead as the pit cycle began.

Within a few laps Brodie Kostecki was once again in the lead. He ran wide at turn 3 dropping 2 spots to Kai Allen and Matt Payne.

On the following lap 24 Rylan Gray got stuck in the gravel trap and the safety car had to be deployed.

The restart was on lap 30. Kai Allen was in control followed by Matt Payne and Will Brown.

Will Brown was right on the back of Matt Payne for second place. Brodie Kostecki hit Will Brown from behind. This launched Brown forward, and in an effort to avoid hitting Matt Payne in front of him he steered to the outside and ended up taking over.

Zac Bates was spun into a sand trap by Ben Gomersall, and the safety car was deployed again.

Shortly after the race restarted and with only 6 laps remaining, Will Brown took the lead from Kai Allen. Brodie Kostecki took up 2nd place followed by Kai Allen and then Broc Feeney in 4th.

Over the remaining laps Feeney outmatched Kai Allen to take up 3rd place. Kai Allen who held the number 1 spot just a few laps ago was now off the podium.

In the end Will Brown crossed the finish line closely followed by Brodie Kostecki and then Broc Feeney in third place.

Matt Payne came in 6th to earn 53 points against Broc Feeney’s 68 points for 3rd place.

So far Broc Feeney had only gained 8pts on Matt Payne’s lead. There was 110 points difference with only one race left to decide.

Race 27 results:

1st Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing
2nd Brodie Kostecki – Shell V-Power Racing Team
3rd Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing

After taking his first win in about 12 months in the last race, Will Brown followed up by earning pole position in race 28. Alongside him on the front row of the grid was Broc Feeney.

As the race got underway Broc Feeney took the lead in the first of 62 laps.

On approach to turn 3 Will Brown was side by side with teammate Broc Feeney. As they got closer to the turn, Brown eased off and gave away his driver’s line to Feeney. This was to assist Feeney in his battle with Matt Payne for the Sprint Cup. Brown’s actions were a perfect example of good sportsmanship.

On lap 5 Jackson Walls must have made contact with a barrier or another car and was leaving a smoke trail behind. It was his front guard pushed in against the tyre causing the smoke. Weirdly it stopped over the next lap.

By the end of lap 6 Broc Feeney had a 1.7 second lead over Will Brown in second spot.

The first car to pit was Declan Fraser on lap 11.

The first of the front runners to pit was Kai Allen from 4th place on lap 17.

Broc Feeney pitted from the race lead on lap 21 and returned in 12th place. Once the cars ahead of him took their pit stops, he would resume as leader.

Not long after Chaz Mostert made his first compulsory pit stop, his car slowed down and had to return to the pits. The team soon declared he would not be returning to the track. They would get no points and receive an NC (Not Complete) for the race.

By the middle of the race Broc Feeney was still in the number 1 spot and had worked hard to create a 6.6 seconds lead over Will Brown. Kai Allen was sitting in 3rd place.

Matt Payne who was 5th, began to slow. There was something wrong with his car and he had to go into the pits. Hanging over the team was the big question, “Was he going to be able to complete the race and earn enough points to stay ahead of Feeney to win the Sprint Cup?”.

It seemed like a really long time before the team announce that Matt Payne was unable to return to the race! He earned no points and received an NC.

Now the question everybody was asking was “Could Feeney come 3rd or better to close the 110 point gap to Matt Payne’s total?”. If he did, he would win the Sprint Cup for the second year in a row.

With10 laps remaining Brodie Kostecki had already overtaken Will Brown and was now putting pressure on Broc Feeney. The rest of the pack were a long way behind, about 10 seconds.

Feeney didn’t crack under the pressure and kept his lead. All he needed was a podium finish to win the Sprint Cup but, of course taking the win would be the icing on the cake.

Broc Feeney raced across the finish line with a 1.453 second win over Brodie Kostecki. It was 12 + seconds later that Will Brown led the rest of the pack and take 3rd place.

What a fantastic result for Broc Feeney. He took the race win, which also gave him the Sprint Cup trophy for the second year in a row. In addition, he receives a bonus 25 points towards the finals.

Race 28 Results:

1st Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
2nd Brodie Kostecki – Shell V-Power Racing Team
3rd Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing

The next event is the Air Touch 500 at the Bend September 11 – 13 2026. It’s the first of the season’s 2 Endurance races. I can’t wait and hope you’ll join me.

Bosch Power Tools Perth Super440 2025

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.