By Thomas Miles
Date posted: 25 October 2025
Chaz Mostert flew home to drive into the history books as the first winner of a Supercars Finals race on the Gold Coast.
Having gone aerial through the Beach Chicane, Mostert was in a league of his own, being the only driver to record a 1m08s all day.
The WAU driver claimed a commanding 7.6s win over Broc Feeney to book a ticket to Sandown.
Behind Feeney, Kai Allen impressed in his first race on the Surfers Paradise streets to cling onto a fifth career podium after running the inverse strategy to soar from 12th to third.
Rounding out the top five was Will Brown, who put in a mighty drive to recover from an early spin.
“I cant believe it,” Mostert said.
“It has been an up and down year but we found our form at the right time.
“I was so gutted for Ryan, doing a mega job and this sport is so brutal.
“It doesn’t feel easy when you spend half of the lap in the air.
“The car was not good on the restarts but as the tyre got a bit of deg my balance became really good and we could just truck on.”
Despite the strong launch, Wood almost threw away his advantage by sliding into the Turn 3 barrier.
He was lucky to avoid significant damage and carried on, but needed to cover at the hairpin and Turn 12 to keep Feeney behind with Payne also battling with the Triple Eight driver.
A small scare at the hairpin on the second lap ensured the Kiwi could not skip clear as the top four also involving Mostert ran nose to tail.
It was not until Lap 4 Wood was able to pull more than half a second ahead of Feeney.
The only victim of the early stages was Brown as he slipped from 10th to last after a clash with Allen.
The pair had some willing battles across the opening laps and it came to a head on Lap 4.
Brown tried to cover Allen and contact was made, sending the reiging champion rotating at Turn 12.
While there were no moves in the entire top seven, Stanaway was a big early mover, rising up six spots to 12thbut was adjusted to gain too much from missing a chicane.
By Lap 7, Wood’s race started to disintegrate.
Leaking fuel appeared trailing behind the #2 Mustang as the Kiwi was powerless to stop Feeney from stealing the lead at the start of the following lap.
By the time Wood arrived at the hairpin, he could not stop Payne and Mostert from cruising past.
A lap later the Kiwi had to make the heart-breaking move of diving into the lane for mechanical dramas for the second race in a row.
As soon as WAU released Wood, he was called by the stewards to head to the garage.
“It is just gut wrenching for everyone,” Wood said.
“Two times we have been in a position and felt like we had really good car speed and sometimes the world doesn’t choose you on the day.
“The team is putting in a lot of work to get back out there. Sorry to all of the fans.”
After losing eight laps, Wood eventually returned to the track.
Despite the action, an external drama scrambled the Safety Car on Lap 12.
Some government signage started waving over the racing line on the
The full field took the opportunity to visit the pit lane where some dodgem cars unfolded.
Due to the confined lane, Mostert was blocked by the double-stacking Allen and forced the rookie out of the way.
Once the WAU driver was past Allen, he had the other Grove Racing Mustang to deal with Payne re-emerging from his stop.
Even heavier contact was made and all of this allowed Waters to jump them all and soar to second from sixth.
Payne received a 15s penalty for the unsafe release.
Golding was another big loser in the lane, falling from just outside the top five to 18th due to a gearbox hose drama.
Cameron Waters flys through the Beach Chicane. Image: Peter Norton
Only one racing lap was possible before the Safety Car returned for a big crash on the back straight.
Murray became the latest victim of the Beach Chicane, whacking the concrete on exit.
With the entire rear section effectively disappeared, Murray skated for the rest of the straight before coming to a halt and needed a NASCAR style dismount due to a jammed driver’s door.
On impact the right rear wheel departed the Erebus Camaro and Jaxon Evans was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The wheel rebounded from the barrier and directly into the luckless Evans, who suffered significant front end damage and had to drive to the safety of the garage.
A contributing factor for Murray was tripping over Cameron at the hairpin, just moments before the crash in the chicane.
A second attempt at racing was again unsuccessful with a damaged tyre bundle at Turn 1 needing attention.
It was well timed for Feeney, who had Waters hounding the back of him.
Three laps later the racing kicked off again and so did the battle of the lead with three Mustangs in pursuit of the Red Bull.
Despite the pressure, Feeney was able to pull a car length on his rivals, while Brown was charging deep into the top 10.
As the stint wore on, Mostert emerged as the fastest car and he took his chance, making an opportunistic dive on Waters to seize second at Turn 12.
The WAU driver only needed a lap to pull a second on Waters as he was in hot pursuit of Feeney.
With the leading pair pulling away from the field and flying in unison over the Beach Chicane, it was game on.
Eventually Feeney had no answer for Mostert’s speed as Turn 12 was again the target of choice, with the WAU driver sneaking past on Lap 43.
Within a heartbeat, Mostert flew more than 5s up the road having posted more fastest laps.
As the #25 blazed into the distance, gremlins started to emerge for some other leading Mustangs.
Waters’ rear end started to play up, while Courtney was sitting strong in the top five, but reported further gearbox issues.
Payne dropped out of the lead group when he pitted and served his penalty.
De Pasquale also lost ground due to a slow-changing left rear, but this did not significantly impact his race.
Brown flew all the way to the top five with no one stopping him, not even a lapped Cameron as contact sent the BRT rookie into a spin at the hairpin.
This occurred moments before reigning champion’s charging stint ended on Lap 57.
Mostert’s lead grew to 9s over Feeney before the leaders made their final stops on Lap 60.
But early stops saw Reynolds and Allen take control of the race, which meant Mostert had 24 laps to slash the 12s deficit on fresher tyres.
On Lap 64 Mostert pulled a second alone on the leading pair after being the first driver to surge into the 1m08s window.
Behind the charging WAU driver, Feeney was next best 6s adrift, while Waters won a side-by-side moment with De Pasquale at the hairpin.
Having incredibly stayed in the “eights” Mostert caught Allen within six laps and blazed by down the pit straight.
He only needed another two tours to catch the rear of Reynolds and attack for the lead.
The Team 18 driver got his elbows out to retain track position for three quarters of the lap, but it was always a matter of time.
Mostert dived down the inside under brakes at Turn 12 and continued his dominance.
Attention then turned to Feeney, who was still 7s adrift.
Behind eighth placed Percat, a train of nine cars formed with Courtney emerging clear and Payne in the wars.
The Kiwi emerged with significant bodywork damage after some rubbing with the likes of Davison and Randle.
However, Stanaway did not survive as a significant lock up at Turn 12 left him with a flat right front.
After being knocked out of the lead by Mostert, Reynolds, saving fuel, fell into the clutches of Allen.
Again the Team 18 driver did not offer much of a fight as Allen repeated Mostert’s move and a lap later Feeney flew by.
Reynolds’ dream disappeared just three laps from home as he required a splash and dash.
The Triple Eight driver was on the charge as he snared second from Allen with four laps to go.
Allen’s grip on a podium went down to the wire with Waters also closing in despite finding the concrete coming out of the Beach Chicane.
Ultimately the Monster Mustang was a second and a half short, giving Allen not only a surfboard, but critically sixth in the standings, four places higher than the start of the day.
With Will Davison dropping out of the top 10 due to a penalty, the likes of Randle, Kostecki and Wood find themselves at least 31 points below the cut off line heading into Sunday’s race.
Image: Race Project
Gold Coast 500 results
Practice 1 1: Will Brown 1:09.2663 2: Ryan Wood +0.0225 3: Broc Feeney +0.1129
Practice 2 1: Cameron Waters 1:08.5735 2: Ryan Wood +0.0458 3: Kai Allen +0.0490
Qualifying 1: Matt Payne 1:08.2861 2: Chaz Mostert +0.1054 3: Ryan Wood +0.2229
Top Ten Shootout P1 Ryan Wood 1:09.1586 P2 Broc Feeney 1:09.2019 +0.0433 P3 Matt Payne 1:09.2112 +0.0526
3:15pm, Race 28 – 250 km (85 laps)
Sunday 26 October
10:00am, Qualifying Part 1 – Race 29 (12 mins)
10:20am, Qualifying Part 2 – Race 29 (10 mins)
11:35am, Top Ten Shootout – Race 29 (30 mins)
2:10pm, Race 29 – 250 km (85 laps)
Read the new issue of Auto Action Digital HERE
Buy the new issue of Auto Action Premium HERE
Don’t forget the print edition of Auto Action available via subscription here, or you can purchase a copy of the latest issue from one of our outlets here.
Recent Stories
array (
0 =>
WP_Term::__set_state(array(
‘term_id’ => 11,
‘name’ => ‘Latest News’,
‘slug’ => ‘latest-news’,
‘term_group’ => 0,
‘term_taxonomy_id’ => 11,
‘taxonomy’ => ‘category’,
‘description’ => ”,
‘parent’ => 0,
‘count’ => 16980,
‘filter’ => ‘raw’,
‘cat_ID’ => 11,
‘category_count’ => 16980,
‘category_description’ => ”,
‘cat_name’ => ‘Latest News’,
‘category_nicename’ => ‘latest-news’,
‘category_parent’ => 0,
)),
1 =>
WP_Term::__set_state(array(
‘term_id’ => 38,
‘name’ => ‘Supercars’,
‘slug’ => ‘supercars’,
‘term_group’ => 0,
‘term_taxonomy_id’ => 38,
‘taxonomy’ => ‘category’,
‘description’ => ‘The Supercars Championship, currently known as the Repco Supercars Championship, is the premier motorsport category in Australasia and one of Australia\’s biggest sports. It originated from the Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC), which held its first race in 1960 at Gnoo-Blas in Orange, New South Wales. The ATCC evolved over the years, and in 1997, it was rebranded as the V8 Supercars Championship, eventually becoming the Supercars Championship we know today.
Some of the leading drivers in the history of the Supercars Championship include Peter Brock, who is often referred to as the “King of the Mountain” for his nine victories at the Bathurst 1000, a race that is considered one of the biggest in the series. Other notable drivers include Dick Johnson, Marcos Ambrose, Craig Lowndes, Shane van Gisbergen, Jamie Whincup, who holds the record for the most championship titles, and Mark Skaife, who has also been a dominant force in the series.
The Bathurst 1000, held at Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, is arguably the most famous race in the Supercars calendar. Other significant races include the Sandown 500 and the Adelaide 500, which are known for their challenging circuits and thrilling competitions.
The Supercars Championship has grown to become a globally recognized series, known for its competitive racing and passionate fan base. It continues to be a major part of Australia\’s motorsport culture, attracting top drivers and teams from around the world.’,
‘parent’ => 0,
‘count’ => 5733,
‘filter’ => ‘raw’,
‘cat_ID’ => 38,
‘category_count’ => 5733,
‘category_description’ => ‘The Supercars Championship, currently known as the Repco Supercars Championship, is the premier motorsport category in Australasia and one of Australia\’s biggest sports. It originated from the Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC), which held its first race in 1960 at Gnoo-Blas in Orange, New South Wales. The ATCC evolved over the years, and in 1997, it was rebranded as the V8 Supercars Championship, eventually becoming the Supercars Championship we know today.
Some of the leading drivers in the history of the Supercars Championship include Peter Brock, who is often referred to as the “King of the Mountain” for his nine victories at the Bathurst 1000, a race that is considered one of the biggest in the series. Other notable drivers include Dick Johnson, Marcos Ambrose, Craig Lowndes, Shane van Gisbergen, Jamie Whincup, who holds the record for the most championship titles, and Mark Skaife, who has also been a dominant force in the series.
The Bathurst 1000, held at Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, is arguably the most famous race in the Supercars calendar. Other significant races include the Sandown 500 and the Adelaide 500, which are known for their challenging circuits and thrilling competitions.
The Supercars Championship has grown to become a globally recognized series, known for its competitive racing and passionate fan base. It continues to be a major part of Australia\’s motorsport culture, attracting top drivers and teams from around the world.’,
‘cat_name’ => ‘Supercars’,
‘category_nicename’ => ‘supercars’,
‘category_parent’ => 0,
)),
2 =>
WP_Term::__set_state(array(
‘term_id’ => 2029,
‘name’ => ‘ZZZ-Email’,
‘slug’ => ’email’,
‘term_group’ => 0,
‘term_taxonomy_id’ => 2029,
‘taxonomy’ => ‘category’,
‘description’ => ”,
‘parent’ => 2031,
‘count’ => 7536,
‘filter’ => ‘raw’,
‘cat_ID’ => 2029,
‘category_count’ => 7536,
‘category_description’ => ”,
‘cat_name’ => ‘ZZZ-Email’,
‘category_nicename’ => ’email’,
‘category_parent’ => 2031,
)),
3 =>
WP_Term::__set_state(array(
‘term_id’ => 2031,
‘name’ => ‘ZZZ-RSSFeeds’,
‘slug’ => ‘zzz-rssfeeds’,
‘term_group’ => 0,
‘term_taxonomy_id’ => 2031,
‘taxonomy’ => ‘category’,
‘description’ => ”,
‘parent’ => 0,
‘count’ => 6892,
‘filter’ => ‘raw’,
‘cat_ID’ => 2031,
‘category_count’ => 6892,
‘category_description’ => ”,
‘cat_name’ => ‘ZZZ-RSSFeeds’,
‘category_nicename’ => ‘zzz-rssfeeds’,
‘category_parent’ => 0,
)),
)
