Broc Feeney has claimed his 15th pole position of the 2025 Supercars Championship season after a tense qualifying day on the streets of Surfers Paradise, leading the way in the Top 10 Shootout for Race 29 of the Gold Coast 500.
It was an eventful day of high-speed action, near-misses, and heartbreak for several contenders, including multiple kerbstrike penalties and red flags, as the treacherous concrete canyon once again tested the field to its limits.
Q1 – Payne Tops as Ford Flexes Muscle
The first part of qualifying began with Triple Eight’s Broc Feeney setting the early pace on a 1:09.314, ahead of Matt Payne, Kai Allen, Thomas Randle, and Chaz Mostert. Jaxon Evans made a promising start in eighth on his first run.
Feeney’s teammate Will Brown soon moved to the top with a 1:08.684 before the Kiwis made their mark. Richie Stanaway initially went sixth fastest before Ryan Wood bettered that effort with a fifth-fastest time on his first flyer.
Remarkably, Brodie Kostecki was back on track after his heavy crash in Saturday’s qualifying. He immediately went fifth fastest with a 1:08.888 despite reporting “an unusual noise” from the freshly rebuilt #1 Camaro, prompting his team to call him back in for inspection, but no issue was found.
Payne, who sat 17th after his opening lap, rocketed up the order with a 1:08.801 to go fifth, then improved again to the top with a 1:08.111 – just a tenth ahead of Feeney. His teammate Allen slotted into third, while Randle and Waters completed the top five.
Wood continued his strong form, climbing from 14th to third with a last-lap effort just over two-tenths off Payne’s benchmark. Kostecki responded with another quick lap to grab fifth before Randle improved to third.
It was a nervous end for the Kiwi contingent: Evans was last (23rd) with one lap to save himself, and did so, jumping to 17th. Stanaway also made a late improvement, rising from the danger zone to 14th, while Heimgartner safely advanced in 16th.
At the flag, Payne led the way as Ford dominated the session, filling seven of the top 10 spots.
Q1 Top 10: Payne, Feeney, Mostert, Randle, Wood, Allen, Kostecki, Brown, Waters, De Pasquale.
Eliminated: Hill, Le Brocq, Murray, Golding, Jones.
All five Kiwis progressed, led by Payne in P1 and Wood in P5, with Stanaway P14, Heimgartner P16, and Evans P17.
Q2 – Waters Strikes Back as Chaos Unfolds
Payne and Allen were first to set laps in Q2, with the rookie setting a 1:09.031 before Payne went quicker with a 1:08.576. Feeney soon slotted between the Grove Racing duo, just 0.2s behind Payne, before Mostert briefly took over the top spot by 0.024s with a 1:08.552.
Aaron Cameron impressed to go third, ahead of Waters and Randle, before Waters unleashed a 1:08.452 to go fastest. Heimgartner jumped to third with a 1:08.575, just over a tenth behind.
The session was then halted after Will Brown clipped the wall at the chicane and found himself facing the wrong way. Although he managed to reverse out and limp back to pit lane, the red flag paused the session with two and a half minutes remaining.
Once resumed, the track turned into a one-lap shootout for a Top 10 Shootout berth. Brown’s hopes ended when he triggered a kerbstrike penalty, deleting his final lap. Kostecki, too, lost a potential top time for the same reason.
Feeney improved to second, just 0.07s behind Waters, before Payne briefly reclaimed P1 with a 1:08.431.
Moments later, Waters fired back with a stunning 1:08.326 to reclaim the top spot, narrowly ahead of Mostert and Payne.
It was heartbreak for Ryan Wood, who missed the Shootout cutoff after his final lap was deleted for skipping the chicane, leaving him P13 in the end, just outside the bubble.
Stanaway produced a clutch final lap to jump from 16th to sixth (1:08.573), joining Heimgartner in seventh as both Kiwis advanced.
Through to the Top 10 Shootout: Waters, Mostert, Payne, Feeney, Randle, Stanaway, Heimgartner, Cameron, Courtney, Allen.
Only four-tenths of a second separated the top 10.
Starting 11th–23rd: Percat, Fullwood, Wood, Kostecki, Davison, Evans, De Pasquale, Brown, Hill, Le Brocq, Murray, Golding, Jones.
Top 10 Shootout – Feeney Conquers the Concrete
With the track slightly greasy after a drifting demonstration, conditions were tricky for the Top 10 Shootout contenders.
Rookie Kai Allen was first out, setting a 1:10.443 after a wild slide through the chicane, noting afterwards that the grip had caught him out compared to earlier sessions.
James Courtney went next and smashed Allen’s time with a 1:09.888 to take the provisional top spot. “The grip level has changed so much,” he remarked post-lap.
Aaron Cameron followed, going purple in the opening sector but lost time later to end up 0.176s behind Courtney.
Andre Heimgartner was the first Kiwi on track, producing a tidy but cautious lap to slot into second with a 1:09.934, struggling slightly with rear grip.
Stanaway’s turn came next, but his run unravelled early, a lock-up into the chicane forced him to abort the lap, leaving him without a time.
Randle delivered a superb lap next, going purple in both opening sectors to post a 1:09.399, nearly half a second faster than Courtney to take provisional pole.
Championship leader Feeney was next and immediately went purple in both sectors despite brushing the wall. His daring commitment paid off with a 1:09.198, two-tenths quicker than Randle to grab provisional pole.
Championship rival Matt Payne’s hopes vanished after a kerbstrike penalty deleted his lap time.
Mostert then threatened to steal the spotlight, going purple in sector one but losing momentum in the final corner to post a 1:09.428, enough for third behind Feeney and Randle.
Waters, the final driver out, couldn’t quite match Feeney’s pace. Despite strong opening sectors, he crossed the line with a 1:09.519 to settle for fourth.
Feeney’s composed yet aggressive run sealed pole position, his 15th of the season — ahead of Randle, Mostert, and Waters.
Top 10 Shootout Results –
- Feeney 1:09.198
- Randle +0.201s
- Mostert +0.229s
- Waters +0.321s
- Courtney +0.689s
- Heimgartner +0.735s
- Cameron +0.865s
- Allen +1.245s
- Payne +0.000 (no time)
- Stanaway +0.000 (no time)
Race 29 is scheduled for 5:10 pm NZST, and you can watch all the action on Sky Sports.
Header Image: Supercars via X
