The TA2 Australia Tag Team Enduro format delivered a high-intensity opening across two action-packed days at Queensland Raceway, with a strong contingent of New Zealand drivers featuring prominently throughout the field.
The unique event structure saw co-drivers share duties across multiple formats, beginning with a 45-minute practice session before separate qualifying sessions for Driver A and Driver B competitors. Each driver contested two 12-lap sprint races over the weekend, and both days concluded with a 40-minute endurance race that required strategy, precision, and teamwork.
Supercars regular Ryan Wood made his TA2 debut alongside Walkinshaw Andretti United junior Pip Casabene, stepping into Ford Mustang machinery for the first time in the category.
Fresh from securing the 2025/26 TA2 New Zealand title, Caleb Byers graduated to the Australian series, teaming up with reigning TA2 Australia champion Jarrod Hughes as part of his championship prize.
Fellow Kiwi Ayrton Hodson also featured, pairing with Kody Garland to complete a trio of New Zealand representation in the competitive field.
The sole practice session set the tone for a closely fought weekend. Alice Buckley and Tim Slade topped the timesheets in their Chevrolet Camaro with a benchmark lap of 1:12.302s.
They were pushed to the limit by Nash Morris and Brodie Kostecki, who finished just 0.001 seconds adrift. Byers and Hughes secured third, while Wood and Casabene slotted into fourth, less than two tenths off the pace.
Hodson and Garland completed the session in eighth, ensuring all Kiwi pairings were comfortably inside the top ten heading into qualifying.
Byers was the sole Kiwi in the Driver A qualifying session, placing 15th before climbing to 13th in his opening race — a solid start to his Australian debut weekend.
In Driver B qualifying, both Wood and Hodson impressed. Hodson narrowly missed pole, qualifying second behind Slade, while Wood secured third, placing both Kiwis at the sharp end of the grid.
Slade converted pole into a commanding lights-to-flag victory in the opening Driver B race. Wood delivered an outstanding performance to secure second place, while Hodson fought hard to recover from lost track position and finished sixth.
The first 40-minute enduro saw Buckley and Slade continue their dominant form, converting their pace into victory after leading from start to finish.
Behind them, Ben Gomersall and Will Davison claimed second, with Kostecki and Morris completing the podium.
Hodson and Garland were the leading Kiwi finishers in seventh, despite being in contention for a top-five result before late contact forced Hodson wide on the final lap.
Byers and Hughes finished eighth after a clean and consistent run, while Wood and Casabene suffered heartbreak. Wood spun exiting Turn 2, leaving the Mustang stranded and unable to restart, resulting in a DNF after completing 23 laps.
The second day belonged to Wood, who bounced back in style to claim victory in the second co-driver sprint race of the weekend.
After an early battle with Slade, Wood maintained pressure before executing a decisive pass midway through the race. From there, he controlled proceedings to secure an impressive win on debut.
Hodson added another solid result with fifth place, finishing just behind Hughes. In the final solo sprint race, Byers narrowly missed a top-ten finish in 12th, while Kostecki took victory ahead of Buckley and Tyler Cheney. Casabene finished sixth, with Garland 13th.
The final 40-minute enduro provided a dramatic conclusion to the weekend.
Slade led the opening stint before handing over to Buckley, while Wood surged from fifth to third on the opening lap, and Hughes also gained early positions. Hodson held firm in a tightly packed midfield battle.
A series of incidents soon unfolded. Hodson endured repeated contact, first sustaining rear damage in a battle with Elliot Barbour, before further contact from Max Vidau caused additional damage.
Despite their continued efforts, the mounting issues forced Hodson and Garland to retire, ending what had been a promising weekend.
Strategic pit stops reshaped the race order, with Byers emerging as a contender after taking over from Hughes in third position. However, while defending against Casabene, Byers ran wide through the gravel, dropping from third to eighth after sustaining damage.
At the front, Buckley and Slade completed a flawless weekend sweep, securing their second enduro victory ahead of Kostecki and Morris, with Gomersall and Davison finishing third.
Wood and Casabene narrowly missed the podium in fourth, finishing just half a second shy, while Byers and Hughes recovered to eighth after their late setback.
The TA2 Australia Championship now turns its attention to Round 3, scheduled for July 17–18 at Sydney Motorsport Park.
Header Image: Kody Garland Racing
