Tag Archives: Molly Taylor

ITM Christchurch super 440 2026

Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

Round 4 of the 2026 Supercars Championship was the ITM Christchurch Super 440 held on April 17 – 19.

This is the first time that Ruapuna Park (currently sponsored as Euromarque Motorsport Park) was host to a V8 Supercars event. It lies on the outskirts of Christchurch on New Zealand’s South Island. The track is configured with 7 routes ranging from 1.19kms to 3.38kms. Supercars used the ‘Grand Prix’ 3.33kms circuit that includes 11 turns.

The event started with Race 10 which was supposed to be run the week before at the Taupo Super 440, but because of the approaching cyclone it was cancelled and rescheduled to this event.

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

Brodie Kostecki took the lead in the first of the 37 lap race.

It was a special occasion for David Reynolds, his 500th race start. From P18 on the grid he stalled at the start line. The cars behind tried to take evasive action but ended up crashing into him and each other. Reynolds’ car was a mess and dragged into the garage. It must have been bad because he didn’t return to the track and received an NC (Not Complete) before even moving. I bet this was not the way he expected his 500th race to go.

Meanwhile back at the front of the pack, Ryan Wood took second place off Matt Payne. Kai Allen was in third.

As the others settled into the race, Cameron Hill’s car had fallen to the back of the pack with smoke coming from the right front. Cameron Hill was one of the victims involved in the start line pile up with Reynolds. He only made it to lap 5 before having to bail out of the race and became the second driver to get an NC.

The first car to pit was Aaron Cameron on lap 13 from 21st place.

The first of the leaders to pit was Kai Allen from 3rd place on lap 17. He came back out on track in 14th position.

In the middle of the race Brodie Kostecki still had the lead. Ryan Wood trailed by 1.967 seconds in 2nd place.

Matt Payne and Ryan Wood then pitted together. They rejoined in 8th and 10th position.

The leader Brodie Kostecki was one of 7 cars still yet to pit. Once those cars pitted it left Kai Allen in the lead.

This is Kai Allen’s second season in V8 Supercars. He handled the lead with skill beyond his years.

Brodie Kostecki and Ryan Wood made their way to the front of the pack to take 2nd and 3rd place. They were close behind Kai Allen in the lead but he managed to hold them off for the remaining laps.

The checkered flag waved Kai Allen crossed the finish line with Brodie Kostecki on his tail with only 0.742 of a second between them. Ryan Wood crowded them in 3rd place 0.444 seconds later. That was a tight finish.

Kai Allen became the 89th Supercars winner in the history of the sport. Congratulations Kai!

Race 10 Results:

1st Kai Allen – Grove Racing
2nd Brodie Kostecki – Shell V-Power Racing Team
3rd Ryan Wood – Walkinshaw TWG Racing

In Race 11 Brodie Kostecki started on pole position with Matt Payne alongside him.

Brodie Kostecki took the lead in the first of 37 laps. Kai Allen who was 4th on the start grid had a fantastic launch and jumped into 2nd place.

By the end of the first lap Ryan Wood who started 6th on the grid was up to 3rd place. Broc Feeney was up 1 spot and in 4th.

A few laps in Matt Payne was fighting his way back and took 4th place from Broc Feeney.

On lap 5 Cameron Hill was called into the pits after being hit by David Reynolds. David Reynolds was issued a 15 second time penalty. Andre Heimgartner also pitted for damage repairs.

The front runners were tightly packed with Brodie Kostecki still in the lead and Kai Allen right behind him. Matt Payne gained another spot into 3rd place.

On lap 11 Anton de Pasquale was the first to take an unforced pit stop.

In the middle of the race Matt Payne became the leader while Kostecki and Allen were pitting.  Payne and 9 other cars were yet to pit. The pit lane started getting busy.

James Golding spun on his pit entry. Macauley Jones came in and had to go around him.

Once all the pit stops were taken Brodie Kostecki was once again in the lead. Kai Allen was challenging him for the lead, but Brodie Kostecki fought him off.

EOS 10

The leaders were still tightly packed as they reached the last laps of the race.

Matt Payne who had managed to stay in 3rd place had a loose wheel nut. Sure enough the wheel came off and went rolling down the track on its own. His podium finish was decimated. He hobbled on the remaining 3 wheels back to the pits for a replacement. He returned on track in 22nd place.

Matt Payne’s exit from 3rd left a gap in the field easing the pressure on front runners. Brodie Kostecki was flying and Kai Allen could only just keep up. There was no time left to put in a challenge.

Kostecki crossed the finish line a mere 0.598 seconds ahead of Kai Allen. 8+ seconds later Ryan Wood took 3rd.

Race 11 Results:

1st Brodie Kostecki – Shell V-Power Racing Team
2nd Kai Allen – Grove Racing
3rd Ryan Wood – Walkinshaw TWG Racing

In Race 12 Ryan Wood started on pole position with Matt Payne alongside him on the front row of the grid.

Matt Payne took the lead off the start line. Ryan Wood was right on his bumper.

By the end of the 1st lap Broc Feeney moved up from 6th to 3rd. Brodie Kostecki was in 4th place.

Cars started pitting on lap 13. The first 2 were Anton de Pasquale and Cameron Hill.

Aaron Cameron received a time penalty for spinning Cooper Murray. Murray dropped from 10th to 16th.

By the middle of the race Matt Payne had a 12+ second lead.

Inside the top 10, Declan Fraser received a 5 second penalty for ramming Macauley Jones.

After all cars had pitted and reaching the end of the race, Matt Payne lead by 4.5 seconds. Ryan Wood was 2nd. Broc Feeney was right behind him.

With patience, Broc Feeney eventually managed to get by Ryan Wood for second place.

Matt Payne had a clear track and used it well to build a bigger lead. Broc Feeney was desperately chasing him but the gap kept growing wider.

Matt Payne was in “The Zone” and crossed the finish line with an amazing 11.643 second win over Broc Feeney. 2.5+ seconds later James Golding took 3rd place.

Race 12 Results:

1st Matt Payne – Grove Racing
2nd Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
3rd James Golding – Blanchard Racing Team

In Race 13 Matt Payne started on pole position for the 2nd time this weekend. On the front row next to him was Anton de Pasquale.

As the green flag waved Matt Payne got the jump and led into turns 1 and 2 for the first of 61 laps. Will Brown went up to second place. Kai Allen went up 3 places to third.

Jackson Walls and Rylan Gray made contact and both spun off the track. In the process Aaron Cameron also made contact with them. Rylan Gray struggled to get his car refired and was stuck on the grass. Aaron Cameron had smoke coming from the left rear corner of car 3.

Seconds later and just before the safety car was deployed, Ryan Wood made contact with Anton de Pasquale, pushing him off the track. Pasquale was in 4th and dropped to 9th place.

The safety car was deployed to clean up the track and move Rylan Gray’s car.

The officials investigated the Rylan Gray and Jackson Walls incident but no penalties were issued.

On lap 8 both Red Bull Ampol Racing drivers, Will Brown and Broc Feeney had radio communication issues. The team had to resort to the old fashioned pit board to message the drivers.

The first car to pit was Jayden Ojeda on lap 8.

The first of the leaders to pit was Anton de Pasquale on lap 9. The gap between Matt Payne and Will Brown (now in second place) was 5.066 seconds.

Rylan Gray and Aaron Cameron were still in the garage getting repairs done and had not returned to the track yet.

Matt Pa yne pitted from the race lead with 4 other cars yet to stop.

With 11 laps to go everybody had completed their second mandatory pit stops. Matt Payne still had the lead and was 7.1 seconds ahead of Kai Allen.

With 7 laps remaining Ryan Wood stopped on the pit straight. The safety car was deployed and Wood’s chance at claiming the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy for the event was crushed.

Matt Payne’s lead was also negated by the safety car requiring drivers to stay behind in formation at 80km p/h.

On the restart Kai Allen followed Matt Payne. Kai Allen was instructed not to attack his teammate and let him ride out the last laps.

Brodie Kostecki and Broc Feeney were tied on points for the event’s Jason Richards Memorial Trophy. Chaz Mostert made contact with Brodie Kostecki and others had to take evasive action to avoid a collision. With only 2 laps remaining Kostecki would finish after Feeney. Feeney would get the trophy. Chaz Mostert received a 30 second penalty for causing the incident.

EOS 17

The leaders held their places and Matt Payne crossed the finish line 1.126 seconds ahead of teammate Kai Allen. 0.938 seconds later Broc Feeney came in to take third place.

Not only did Broc Feeney win the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy, he also regained the series lead by 23 points and leads the ‘spint’ cup.

The Red Bull Ampol Racing Team lead the Teams Championship.

Race 13 Results:

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

The next event is the Tyrepower Tasmania Super 440 on May 22 – 24.

ITM Taupo Super 440 2026

Hi to all you Supercars Fans Around the world!

On the weekend of April 10-12 was the ITM Taupo Super 440, round 3 of the 2026 Supercars championship. It was held at Taupo on the North Island of New Zealand.

Brodie Kostecki headed into the weekend as the series leader by 28 points over Cameron Waters.

David Reynolds reached a milestone at this event, starting his 500th race in Supercars. What an Achievement! Congratulations David.

The Taupo Super 440 had 3 races scheduled but by Saturday afternoon the weather warning for cyclone Vaianu heading directly to the area was received. The 3rd race set to run on Sunday was cancelled. A sensible thing to do but disappointing for the fans, nonetheless. Mind you, if they had to, most supercars fans would stand trackside through a cyclone in their undies if it wasn’t cancelled.

In the pre-race sessions:

  • Jack le Brocq was fastest in Practice 1
  • Ryan Wood was fastest in Practice 2
  • Brodie Kostecki was fastest in Qualifying

In Race 8 Brodie Kostecki started on pole position with Broc Feeney alongside him.

As they took off Brodie Kostecki got the jump and led into turn 1 for the first of 37 laps. Broc Feeney tried to go around him at the first turn but realised it would ruin his approach to turn 2. It was a good attempt, but he had to pull back in the last second.

Kai Allen made contact with Rayan Wood just after turn 1. Allen lost 5 places and was down to 11th. Wood only dropped a single spot to 7th.

At turn 11 Kai Allen was getting into more trouble. He made contact with Aaraon Cameron causing him to spin and drop from 11th to 16th. His car was looking pretty shabby with the rear bumper hanging off.

Although still early in the race Kai Allen had to head to the pits to deal with the damage sustained.

By the middle of the race there were only 7 cars that were still yet to pit. Once they did Brodie Kostecki assumed the number 1 spot.

On lap 23 Broc Feeney recorded the fastest lap of the race, 129.330 seconds.

His teammate Will Brown had moved ahead of him to 2nd place while Chaz Mostert held 3rd. Feeney desperately wanted his spot back.

Broc Feeney battled with Chaz Mostert and eventually got past. Mostert then lost another spot to his own teammate, Ryan Wood. There were only 8 laps to go.

It wasn’t long before Ryan Wood took over Broc Feeney.

With 5 laps to go the leaders were spread out. Brodie Kostecki had a 4.1 second lead over Will Brown. Ryan Wood was another 5.1 seconds behind.

Somehow, Brodie Kostecki increased his lead and crossed the finish line with a 16.185 second win over Will Brown. Ryan Wood was only 0.347 seconds behind in third. Broc Feeney had fallen 6.914 seconds back into 4th place.

Race 8 results:

1st Brodie Kostecki – Shell V-Power Racing Team
2nd Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing
3rd Ryan Wood – Truck Assist Racing

In Race 9 Ryan Wood started on pole position, alongside him was Will Brown.

Ryan Wood took the lead from the start line for the 1st of 60 laps.

At the front of the pack and still on the first lap James Golding was forced out wide by Chaz Mostert.

Leader Ryan Wood was followed by Will Brown, Broc Feeney, James Golding and then Chaz Mostert. Before the end of the lap Matt Payne overtook Chaz Mostert for 5th place.

The first car to pit was David Reynolds on lap 15.

Will Brown closed in on Ryan Wood for the race lead and was only 0.618 seconds behind.

Around lap 23 Broc Feeney pitted from second place. He rejoined in 8th place right behind Chaz Mostert in 7th. There were only 2 cars yet to pit, Brodie Kostecki and James Golding

When Brodie Kostecki finally pitted Ryan Wood assumed position number 1.

By the middle of the race Ryan Wood still had the lead with Will Brown trailing by 2.6 seconds.

Ryan Wood had to pit on lap 43 and Matt Payne followed him in for the second round of stops. Ryan Wood came back out in 8th place.

Towards the end of the end of the race Chaz Mostert had the lead and was followed by teammate Ryan Wood. Chaz Mostert is a fast and experienced driver. He could have easily defended his lead but instead chose to let Ryan Wood through and act as his guard.

With 9 laps left there was only 0.396 seconds between Chaz Mostert and Ryan Wood. Broc Feeney was a further 4.292 seconds behind in third place but closing in fast.

Jackson Walls was in the garage with a broken right front suspension. The repair took too long and he never made it back out to the track. He was the only one to receive an NC (Not Complete).

Broc Feeney kept closing in on the leaders. Pretty soon he made a surprising pass on Mostert in 2nd place.

There were only a few laps remaining. I was wondering of Broc Feeney was going to catch the lead from Wood or was Chaz Mostert going to reclaim 2nd position from Feeney.

Ryan Wood had a few seconds lead and didn’t let it slip.

In the end Ryan Wood crossed the finish line with a 3.036 second win over Broc Feeney in second place. Chaz Mostert came in 3rd 2.476 seconds later.

Race 9 results:

1st Ryan Wood – TWG Racing
2nd Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
3rd Chaz Mostert – TWG Racing

Ryan Wood will go down in history as the first one to take a win for Toyota in Supercars.

The next event is the ITM Christchurch Super 440 on Apr 17 – 19 2026.

I hope you will all join me.

Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 2024

Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

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

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

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

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

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

Things were set to be a super competitive event.

In the pre – race sessions the results were:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The fierce competition between the top 5 drivers continued.

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

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

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

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

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

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

It was an incredible finish.

Race 21Results:

1st Cameron Waters – Monster Castrol Racing

2nd Thomas Randle – Castrol Racing

3rd Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Race 22 Results:

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

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

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

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

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