After an action-packed race that finished under the safety car, Supercars got its youngest ever podium with all three drivers racing at Ipswich for the first time.
Ryan Wood had a good start from 3rd on the grid, sitting just behind the two Red Bull cars who were fighting in front. Broc Feeney got ahead, providing the opportunity for Wood and Kai Allen to get ahead of his teammate, Will Brown.
Fighting for second position, Wood and Allen were side by side, bumping into each other a few times before Allen pulled ahead.
Jaxon Evans and Matt Payne both had great starts, too, getting up 3 and 5 spots to sit beside each other in 12th and 13th, respectively. Payne then passed Evan’s and they both overtook Nick Percat, moving the Kiwis up to sit just out of the top 10.
Richie Stanaway stayed in his starting position of 22nd on the first lap, but was able to overtake some competitors, with others coming off the road and having issues, causing them to fall behind. The chaotic start got Stanaway up 5 spots to 17th.
Andre Heimgartner took an early pit stop on lap 4 to replace his damaged right front tyre after a lock-up, sending him to the back of the field.
After pitting, Evans got back ahead of Payne before they got stuck in traffic and got ahead of James Golding.
After being over 9 seconds ahead before the pit stops, Feeney came out only 2 seconds ahead of Allen, who was sitting less than a second ahead of Wood.
Feeney soon increased his lead to over six seconds again, but Wood held on just behind Allen to find a chance to try to overtake.
After Stanaway pitted, he came out just behind Heimgartner, who had gained 3 places after everyone had pitted after getting so much clear air from pitting early.
On lap 36, the safety car came out after David Reynolds came off the track and got stuck in the gravel trap. His car locked up when going over a patch of oil, producing smoke and stopping Reynolds from getting his car around the corner.
Heimgartner also had a spin on the track at turn 3 after getting hit by his teammate, Bryce Fullwood, causing him to fall to the back of the field. Fullwood was quickly given a 15-second time penalty for causing the incident.
Finishing under yellow flag, Feeney earned another victory, and Wood secured the podium position in 3rd place. With Allen in 2nd, it was the youngest ever podium in Supercars history and the first time all three drivers had raced at Ipswich.
Evans finished just ahead of Payne with both drivers improving from their starts to earn 11th and 12th place. Stanaway improved 7 spots after starting in 22nd and finished in 15th.
After Fullwood and Will Davison had their penalties added to their times, Heimgartner improved to 21st in the end.
Header Image: Supercars
