After a thrillingly close race, Andre Heimgartner clinched a podium finish, with fellow Kiwis Matt Payne and Ryan Wood also securing top-ten results.
The action was fierce from the very first corner as the field went three-wide through the tight opening turn, each driver jostling for position. Ryan Wood made an impressive start, gaining four places, while Matt Payne was shuffled back, losing two.
Richie Stanaway and Jaxon Evans also slipped down the order early, dropping three and two spots respectively.
Andre Heimgartner came under pressure soon after when Aaron Cameron squeezed past in a close exchange that saw light contact between the two. Kai Allen followed through moments later, further demoting the Kiwi.
The race soon turned disastrous for the Shell V-Power Racing Team when Bryce Fullwood made heavy contact with teammate Will Davison, ploughing into the rear of the #17 Mustang heading into the chicanes.
Davison spun into the wall and fell to the back of the field before recovering to pit for repairs, while Fullwood was hit with a pitlane drive-through penalty for causing the incident.
Wood and Brodie Kostecki were among the first to pit, diving in on lap six in a bid to find clear air and set up their strategy for the next phase.
Further back, Evans recovered a position by overtaking Jack Le Brocq and began hunting down James Golding, who was one second up the road. Payne and Stanaway both worked their way back past Nick Percat, regaining the positions they’d lost earlier.
After dropping behind Kostecki to run in clean air, Wood found serious pace — setting the fastest lap of the race and stringing together consistently quick times.
Heimgartner, meanwhile, lost a place to Payne, who was flying in the mid-stages and quickly began reeling in teammate Kai Allen. Within a few laps, Payne caught and passed Allen for sixth place, then moved ahead of Cameron in another aggressive exchange.
Cameron clipped the rear of Payne’s car after being passed, narrowly avoiding triggering a chain reaction that could have involved both Allen and Heimgartner.
After making his first stop, Payne became stuck behind Cameron Waters in traffic, which cost him time, though he soon began to recover. The Kiwi reclaimed ground by passing Stanaway and then De Pasquale as his strategy began to come good.
Heimgartner was the final driver to make his first compulsory pit stop, rejoining in eighth place with Wood and Stanaway close behind in ninth and tenth. On fresh tyres, he quickly caught Kostecki and executed a clean move down the inside to take seventh, before also dispatching Courtney a few laps later.
Wood’s pace remained strong, though an awkward bump with Kostecki forced him to redress the position, allowing Stanaway to sneak through. Wood responded by diving in for his second stop the following lap to attempt another undercut.
Stanaway’s race was complicated by a five-second penalty for an earlier incident with De Pasquale, which he served during his second pit stop. Wood’s second early stop didn’t pay off as effectively this time, emerging 12th once the cycle played out.
Despite his penalty, Stanaway rejoined just behind Wood in 13th, keeping both Kiwis within striking distance of the top ten as the race entered its final phase.
Heimgartner’s strong run saw him holding third place with 20 laps to go, though he trailed Feeney by around 12 seconds as the final stint unfolded.
Matt Payne emerged from his stop with fresh tyres and wasted no time attacking. Chasing Waters through the chicanes, he dived down the inside to snatch a position while his tyres were still coming up to temperature.
Further back, the mid-pack action intensified. Richie Stanaway slipped past Anton De Pasquale and lined up Brodie Kostecki for a move.
He managed to get ahead, but Kostecki retaliated through the chicanes, tagging the rear of Stanaway’s Mustang. The battle quickly turned messy as Stanaway struck back, nudging Kostecki, who responded by pushing the Kiwi off the circuit.
The skirmish allowed De Pasquale and Ryan Wood to capitalise, moving past both drivers. Stanaway dropped to 14th before finally regaining the spot over Kostecki a few laps later.
With eight laps remaining, De Pasquale’s day unravelled when he locked the brakes while attempting to overtake James Courtney, spearing into the fence at Turn 11. As he tried to reverse out, another car made contact with Courtney’s stricken Ford, leaving him unable to continue.
The safety car was deployed for a brief three-lap recovery period, while De Pasquale was handed a 15-second penalty for causing the crash.
On the restart, Chaz Mostert made a bold lunge on Feeney to seize the race lead, putting Heimgartner and Payne directly behind them in the closing laps.
Payne launched an attack on Heimgartner but couldn’t make it stick, with Heimgartner holding firm to secure a well-deserved podium finish.
In total, three Kiwis finished inside the top ten, Heimgartner third, Payne in the mix just behind, and Wood solid in ninth. Evans wasn’t far off either, coming home in 14th.
After a hard-fought afternoon, Stanaway’s race ended in frustration as a late pit stop, unseen on the broadcast, dropped him out of contention.
Wood’s earlier misfortune on Saturday meant he missed out on a place in the finals, leaving Payne as the last Kiwi contender heading into the Sandown event on November 14–16.
Header Image: Brad Jones Racing
