Matt Payne, Ryan Wood and Andre Heimgartner have completed Friday practice at Queensland Raceway, with Payne leading the Kiwi charge across both sessions ahead of the Century Batteries Ipswich Super 440.
Payne was a consistent presence near the front of the field, finishing fourth in both Practice 1 and Practice 2, while Wood made a significant step forward in the second session to break into the top 10.
It was a more difficult day for Heimgartner, who ended the opening session 19th before slipping to 25th in Practice 2 as the field found more pace during the qualifying simulations.
Practice 1
Kai Allen set the early benchmark for the weekend, taking Penrite Racing to the top of the opening 30-minute session with a 1:09.6254s. Payne initially sat outside the top 10 but quickly moved forward on his next run, jumping to second behind teammate Allen with a 1:09.8156s.
Broc Feeney came within 0.0243s of Allen’s benchmark but couldn’t quite take the top spot, while Declan Fraser made a late charge on fresh tyres to finish third. That pushed Payne back to fourth by the chequered flag, giving Penrite Racing two cars inside the top four.
Rylan Gray completed the top five, with Will Brown, Anton De Pasquale, Thomas Randle, Chaz Mostert and David Reynolds rounding out the top 10. Wood ended the first session 17th in his Walkinshaw Andretti United Toyota GR Supra, while fellow Toyota driver Heimgartner was 19th for Brad Jones Racing.
The session remained green throughout, with no major incidents disrupting running.
Practice 2
The pace increased significantly in the second session, with Brodie Kostecki eventually producing the quickest lap of the day.
There was drama early when Jackson Walls ran off at Turn 2 before Aaron Seton became stranded in the run-off at Turn 3, triggering a red flag just six minutes into the session. Will Brown’s running was also cut short after only a couple of laps, with a suspected gearbox problem sidelining his Triple Eight Ford.
Mostert held the fastest time when the red flag appeared, but the order changed repeatedly once running resumed. Jayden Ojeda, Declan Fraser and Jobe Stewart all featured near the top before Mostert reclaimed first place.
Wildcard Ben Gomersall also impressed, briefly climbing as high as second as the field prepared for its final qualifying-style runs. The closing minutes produced the fastest times of the weekend so far, with Feeney, Allen, Kostecki and De Pasquale all taking turns at or near the top.
Feeney eventually lowered the benchmark to a 1:08.9223s, only for Kostecki to respond with a 1:08.7032s on his final run. The Shell V-Power Racing Team driver finished more than two-tenths clear of Feeney despite admitting there was still time left on the table.
Mostert was third quickest and the leading Toyota, while Payne again finished fourth to cap off a consistent day for the championship leader.
Wood’s second session was considerably stronger than his first. The Kiwi climbed from 17th in Practice 1 to 10th in Practice 2, putting a second New Zealander inside the top 10 ahead of qualifying. Heimgartner endured a tougher session and finished 25th.
For Payne, two fourth-place finishes leave him firmly among the leading contenders heading into the competitive sessions, while Wood’s late improvement provides some encouragement after a quieter start to the weekend.
Qualifying is scheduled for 12:00 PM Saturday NZST, followed by Race 26 at 2:45 PM and Race 27 at 6:15 PM.
Header Image: Grove Racing
