The opening round of the 2025 Supercars Enduro Cup is underway at The Bend Motorsport Park in South Australia, where 27 cars and 54 drivers have hit the track for the first time in this year’s endurance campaign.
The field is using the 4.9km, 18-turn international layout, where cars are reaching top speeds of around 270km/h and averaging 162km/h. Sunday’s 500km race will run across 102 laps, starting at 1:45 pm local time (4:15 pm NZST).
Practice 1:
Cool, dry conditions greeted the field for the opening 30-minute session, with the thermometer reading 15 degrees and a light breeze sweeping across the circuit.
Broc Feeney was the first to set the pace with a 1:51.046s lap, briefly heading the order before Thomas Randle and then Brodie Kostecki lowered the benchmark.
New Zealanders were quick to make their presence felt. Matt Payne slotted into second with a lap just a tenth shy of Kostecki, while Ryan Wood and Andre Heimgartner both spent time inside the top ten. Jaxon Evans also featured strongly, sitting as high as tenth before the order shuffled.
With the times tightening, Cameron Hill became the third driver to top the charts, before Payne briefly reclaimed the top spot. Randle then responded, lapping six-tenths quicker than the field.
As co-drivers prepared to cycle in, Aaron Cameron produced the lap of the session, edging Randle by 0.028s with a 1:50.061. Rain then swept over the circuit with eight minutes remaining, neutralising the session and preventing co-drivers from logging any meaningful dry running.
The session ended with Cameron and Zak Best fastest, followed by Randle/James Moffat and Kostecki/Todd Hazelwood. Payne and Garth Tander were the best of the Kiwis in fifth, with Mosert/Coulthard in 9th, Wood/Jayden Ojeda 11th, Evans/Jack Smith 13th, and Heimgartner/Declan Fraser 17th. Richie Stanaway and Nash Morris had a quieter run in 24th.
Practice 1 wasn’t trouble-free for Craig Lowndes, driving the Supercheap Auto Racing wildcard. He was fined $500 for speeding in pit lane, having been clocked 14km/h over the 40km/h limit.
Practice 1 Results:
- Aaron Cameron/Zak Best 1:50.061s
- Thomas Randle/James Moffatt +0.028s
- Brodie Kostecki/Todd Hazelwood +0.335s
- Cam Waters/Mark Winterbottom +0.510s
- Matt Payne/Garth Tander +0.673s
- Cameron Hill/Cameron McLeod +0.695s
- James Courtney/Jack Perkins +0.705s
- David Reynolds/Lee Holdsworth +0.742s
- Chaz Mostert/Fabian Coulthard +0.909s
- Jack Le Brocq/Jarrod Hughes +0.911s
- Ryan Wood/Jayden OJeda +0.914s
- Broc Feeney/Jamie Whincup +0.985s
- Jaxon Evans/Jack Smith +1.032s
- Anton De Pasquale/Harri Jones +1.056s
- Will Davison/Tony D’Alberto +1.118s
- Nick Percat/Tim Slade +1.306s
- Andre Heimgartner/Declan Fraser +1.335s
- Will Brown/Scott Pye +1.382s
- Kai Allen/Dale Wood +1.387s
- James Golding/David Russell +1.466s
- Lochie Dalton/Rylan Gray +1.474s (Tickford Racing Wildcard)
- Cooper Murray/Jobe Stewart +1.718s
- Macauley Jones/Jordan Boys +1.745s
- Richie Stanaway/Nash Morris +2.047s
- Cameron Crick/Aaron Seton +2.052s (Matt Stone Racing Wildcard)
- Bryce Fullwood/Brad Vaughan +2.612s
- Craig Lowndes/Zach Bates +3.449s (Supercheap Auto Racing Wildcard)
Practice 2:
After a 105-minute break, the field returned for the co-driver-only session, run on a fully dry track following the earlier showers.
Jamie Whincup, back in competitive action in the #88 Triple Eight Camaro, set the initial pace with a 1:52.472 lap. Scott Pye was close behind in the sister #1 entry, just over a tenth adrift, before Garth Tander moved into third in Payne’s #19 Mustang.
It wasn’t long before the times began to tumble. Todd Hazelwood quickly established himself as the early pacesetter, punching out a 1:51.839 before lowering the benchmark again.
Zach Bates briefly stole top spot for the #888 Supercheap Auto Camaro, just 0.004s clear, but Hazelwood responded with authority, finding seven-tenths to stretch the margin.
Kiwi Fabian Coulthard also made his presence felt in Mostert’s #25 Mustang, climbing to third with a 1:51.708 before others shuffled the order. Rylan Gray impressed in the Tickford wildcard entry, slotting into second just over two tenths off Hazelwood.
At the halfway mark, Hazelwood’s 1:51.083 had him clear at the top, with the likes of Whincup, Bates, and Coulthard all within striking distance. Most of the Kiwi co-drivers were hovering around the midfield: Ojeda (Wood) 12th, Tander (Payne) 15th, Fraser (Heimgartner) 13th, Morris (Stanaway) 16th, and Smith (Evans) further down in 26th.
The final ten minutes saw a dramatic reshuffle. Smith surged up the order with a strong lap, climbing from 26th to fourth and within three-tenths of Hazelwood’s time.
Tander then found clear track and launched himself from 20th to third, before improving again to move into second, just under two-tenths shy of the top spot. Fraser also extracted more pace, leaping ten positions to go sixth fastest.
With the session ticking into its final moments, Whincup produced a reminder of his seven-time champion pedigree. The Triple Eight veteran fired in a 1:50.587 on his last flying lap, eclipsing Hazelwood’s benchmark by two-tenths to close the session on top.
Practice 2 Results:
- Whincup/Feeney 1:50.587
- Hazelwood/Kostecki +0.208s
- Wood/Allen +0.324s
- Tander/Payne +0.400s
- Fraser/Heimgartner +0.462s
- Hughes/Le Brocq +0.625s
- Holdsworth/Reynolds +0.658s
- Moffat/Randle +0.671s
- Bates/Lowndes +0.693s (Supercheap Auto Racing Wildcard)
- Winterbottom/Waters +0.753s
- Pye/Brown +0.759s
- Smith/Evans +0.863s
- Best/Cameron +0.897s
- Gray/Dalton +0.905s (Tickford Racing Wildcard)
- Vaughan/Fullwood +0.986s
- Boys/Jones +0.998s
- Coulthard/Mostert +1.120s
- Slade/Percat +1.187s
- Stewart/Murray +1.197s
- Jones/De Pasquale +1.223s
- D’Alberto/Davison +1.308s
- OJeda/Wood +1.320s
- McLeod/Hill +1.403s
- Morris/Stanaway +1.417s
- Perkins/Courtney +1.422s
- Russell/Golding +1.950s
- Seton/Crick +2.190s (Matt Stone Racing Wildcard)
The third practice session is scheduled for later this afternoon (4.25 pm AEST/6:25 pm NZST), giving co-drivers and primary drivers another chance to fine-tune setups before Sunday’s 500km classic.
Header Image: Supercars
