Qualifying for Race 16 of the 2025 Repco Supercars Championship unfolded in true Supercars style at Wanneroo Raceway in Perth, with two intense sessions on the Dunlop soft tyre format.
With a spot in the coveted Top 10 Shootout on the line, the Kiwi contingent experienced a rollercoaster of highs and lows during Saturday’s final qualifying session of the weekend.
The session began under clear skies, with all 25 drivers taking to the track for the initial 10-minute dash in the first part of qualifying, where only the fastest 18 would move through.
Triple Eight’s Broc Feeney set the early benchmark with a 55.162s before slashing it down to a 54.746s on his second run. Kiwi veteran Richie Stanaway looked comfortable early on, holding sixth after his initial efforts, while Matt Payne slotted into eighth.
But not all Kiwis had it easy. Ryan Wood suffered a scare early on, running off into the sand trap and returning to pit lane for new tyres and checks. The rookie refocused brilliantly, storming to a 54.415s lap late in the session to vault into fourth.
Jaxon Evans and Andre Heimgartner found themselves under pressure throughout, with both sitting outside the top 20 as the final minutes ticked down.
As the field made their last runs, Feeney improved to a 54.085s, claiming the top spot from Cam Waters (54.173s). Payne also delivered a strong effort to go sixth (54.308s), while Wood’s earlier lap held him in fourth. Stanaway looked safe in 13th (54.711s) but was bumped out by James Courtney (54.584s), who was the only driver in the bottom seven to improve.
Evans, meanwhile, had a session to forget. After an initial attempt on used tyres, he went back out on fresh rubber but made a critical mistake at Turn 7, locking up and triggering a kerb strike that invalidated his lap and the one that followed.
As a result, the Kiwi was left without a representative lap time. To compound matters, Andre Heimgartner, who also failed to make the cut, received a two-place grid penalty for impeding Aaron Cameron late in the session.
“There were people starting laps, I was trying to start one, then there were people warming up their tyres,” Heimgartner explained.
“It was obviously my fault, shouldn’t have been in the way, but often it’s those messy situations where you don’t have a choice.”
Qualifying Part 1 – Top 18 Advance:
- Broc Feeney – 54.085
- Cameron Waters – +0.087
- Cameron Hill – +0.141
- Ryan Wood – +0.156
- James Golding – +0.182
- Matthew Payne – +0.223
- Chaz Mostert – +0.228
- Brodie Kostecki – +0.235
- Will Brown – +0.245
- Bryce Fullwood – +0.262
- Anton De Pasquale – +0.268
- David Reynolds – +0.381
- Nick Percat – +0.396
- Cooper Murray – +0.448
- Lochie Dalton – +0.451
- Thomas Randle – +0.485
- James Courtney – +0.499
- Aaron Cameron – +0.588
Eliminated:
- Richie Stanaway – +0.625
- Will Davison – +0.705
- Macauley Jones – +0.718
- Andre Heimgartner – +0.765 (plus 2-place penalty)
- Kai Allen – +0.850
- Jack Le Brocq – +0.855
- Jaxon Evans – +1.458
The second segment of qualifying saw the remaining 18 cars rejoin the circuit for another fast-paced 10-minute battle, this time to determine the Top 10 shootout contenders.
Feeney again hit the ground running, but Nick Percat briefly stole the top spot (54.359s) before David Reynolds and Cam Waters pushed the benchmark into the 54.2s range.
Midway through the session, the pace heated up significantly. Bryce Fullwood went fastest (54.182s) before Waters shaved a tenth off to go P1 (54.034s). Then Reynolds unleashed a stunning lap (53.862s), nearly two-tenths faster, until Will Brown one-upped him with a 53.830s.
Both Kiwis in the session delivered under pressure. Matt Payne kept up his strong weekend form with an impressive lap time (53.877s), putting him third and into the shootout.
Ryan Wood wasn’t far behind him and secured sixth (53.946s)
Feeney yet again topped the time sheets to secure provisional pole with a 53.830 lap.
Chaz Mostert, Wood’s teammate and the Race 14 pole-sitter, struggled to dial in the car and was knocked out in 14th.
“Not the result we wanted after having such a competitive car yesterday,” he admitted post-session.
“The windows are just so small with these cars. One day, you’re in the middle of it; the next day, you’re out.”
Qualifying Part 2 – Top 10 Advance:
- Broc Feeney – 53.830
- David Reynolds – +0.032
- Matthew Payne – +0.047
- Will Brown – +0.057
- Bryce Fullwood – +0.102
- Ryan Wood – +0.116
- Cameron Waters – +0.131
- Cameron Hill – +0.155
- James Golding – +0.155
- Anton De Pasquale – +0.260
Eliminated:
- Thomas Randle – +0.290
- Cooper Murray – +0.312
- James Courtney – +0.315
- Chaz Mostert – +0.342
- Brodie Kostecki – +0.343
- Nick Percat – +0.440
- Aaron Cameron – +0.529
- Lochie Dalton – +0.561
Top 10 Shootout:
As the afternoon sun warmed the circuit, track conditions shifted ahead of the Top 10 Shootout. The surface was slightly dirtier than in earlier sessions following oil soak and sand clean-up from a support category, adding an extra challenge for the drivers.
Anton De Pasquale was first out and immediately hampered by the dirty surface at the start of Sector 2, posting a 55.834.
James Golding followed and went purple in Sectors 1 and 2 to clock a sharp 55.120, setting an early benchmark.
Cam Hill slotted in just over two-tenths slower with a 55.368, while Cam Waters launched an attack on fresh super softs, going purple in Sector 2 and topping the charts with a 54.910.
Ryan Wood looked tidy across all sectors, running just over a tenth off Waters’s pace to land a 55.149, good enough for provisional P3 at the time.
Bryce Fullwood was next but struggled slightly for grip, finishing with a 55.471 as teams noted a slippery surface.
Will Brown came close to knocking Waters off the top spot, going purple in Sector 2 before stopping the clocks at 54.988, just 0.078s shy.
Then it was Kiwi Matt Payne’s turn. He went purple in Sector 1 and looked in contention for pole before running wide at Turn 6, ultimately finishing with a 55.001 to sit third at that point.
David Reynolds posted a tidy lap (55.090), enough to sneak ahead of Golding and Wood into fourth.
The final challenge came from Broc Feeney, who had topped both prior qualifying segments. Feeney delivered under pressure, going purple in both opening sectors and flying to pole with a dominant 54.702, over two-tenths clear of Waters.
“It was super challenging, and obviously oil down at Turn 6, so there was certainly a benefit going later in that session,” Feeney said.
“We’ve all been doing it on our second or third lap this weekend, and I was watching Will’s overlay from his lap and I saw it was a bit of a handful out there.
“I was able to sort of brace myself for that, and I got through the first couple of corners really good and it just set me up for a great lap.
“So stoked, two tenths on P2 around here is pretty awesome.”
Top 10 Shootout Results:
- Broc Feeney – 54.702
- Cameron Waters – +0.208
- Will Brown – +0.286
- Matthew Payne – +0.299
- David Reynolds – +0.388
- James Golding – +0.418
- Ryan Wood – +0.447
- Cameron Hill – +0.666
- Bryce Fullwood – +0.769
- Anton De Pasquale – +1.132
With qualifying complete, all eyes now turn to Race 16, the highly anticipated 200km race, scheduled to begin at 7:15pm NZT, where Payne and Wood will aim to convert their top-five starts into more silverware. Stay tuned for full race coverage later this evening.
Header Image: Supercars
