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Broc Feeney had never previously won a Supercars race on the streets of the Gold Coast—where he was born and raised—but delivered a masterclass on Sunday to claim a commanding victory in the second race of the Finals series.
Starting from pole position for the second consecutive day, the Triple Eight driver successfully converted his blistering qualifying pace into race-winning form, unlike on Saturday. Feeney swiftly built a comfortable buffer out front while teammate Will Brown, who started alongside him on the front row, gradually slipped down the order.
Brodie Kostecki took full advantage behind the wheel of his Dick Johnson Racing Ford Mustang. Starting fourth on the grid, Kostecki launched an aggressive charge. Starting four spots further back, Walkinshaw Toyota's Chaz Mostert was also on a charge, hunting down and passing first Brown and then Kostecki.
Mostert's primary objective was not necessarily the victory, but rather helping teammate Ryan Wood. Following a difficult Saturday and with Mostert's place in the next round of the Finals already locked in, the team prioritized moving Wood as far up the order as possible.
Chasing what could have been a fourth consecutive Gold Coast win, Mostert was given team orders to let Wood past, who had been running fourth some 11 seconds adrift. Wood slipped through on lap 74 with Mostert serving as rear guard until the final lap, when Wood handed the position back.
“That final lap was incredibly emotional, I nearly threw it off at the end,” admitted Feeney, who grew up just kilometers from the circuit. “We were fast in the dry on Friday, but I knew that first stint wouldn't be easy. We're into the Finals now and we managed to step up our pace. We hadn't won for a while and Bathurst was a tough pill to swallow, so we really needed this momentum before the closing rounds.”
Second place marked a solid recovery for Kostecki following a challenging Saturday outing.
“We made a small mistake in Friday's qualifying that put us outside the top 10,” Kostecki said. “In the race itself, I made too many errors and damaged the splitter. The car has tremendous race pace right now, so I just need to cut out those mistakes.”
Mostert took a solid third place, crossing the line ahead of Wood and Brad Jones Racing's Andre Heimgartner, who ran a marathon opening stint.
Mostert was candid about his qualifying struggles:
“It's such a shame about where we qualified because the car was an absolute rocket ship to drive. You do whatever you can for the team. I just found out Ryan didn't advance, and I feel gutted for him. It really all came down to my mistake in qualifying.”
No Chevrolet cracked the top 14, largely down to late drama. In his first full-time start, Erebus Motorsport's Jarrad Hughes was running strongly in eighth before making an unscheduled third pit stop for a fuel splash, dropping him to 17th.
That pit stop proved crucial for Team 18's Anton De Pasquale. After a tricky wet qualifying left him 21st, an opening-lap clash caused a puncture that dropped him to the rear following an emergency pit stop. Teetering on the elimination bubble, De Pasquale looked out of the Finals once Wood and Mostert swapped positions. However, Hughes' late splash, along with a subsequent stop for PremiAir Racing's Cooper Murray, shifted the order in his favor.
As a result, Ryan Wood, Grove Racing's Kai Allen, and Matt Stone Racing's Jack Le Brocq were eliminated from the championship hunt, leaving seven drivers in contention for the title.
The next round of the Supercars Championship will take place at Melbourne's Sandown Raceway from November 6–8.
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