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Champion Chaz Mostert claimed the first victory for Walkinshaw Racing and Toyota at the start of the Supercars Finals with a commanding drive through the flooded streets of the Gold Coast.
The driver showcased sheer dominance behind the wheel of the team's spare car—a chassis that was competing as a Ford Mustang just a year ago. After qualifying second in the Top 10 Shootout, Mostert proved untouchable once the rain began to fall. Following the opening round of pit stops, his lead stretched to 15 seconds, before doubling by the end of the second pit window.
The race got underway in torrential rain behind the Safety Car, with pole-sitter Broc Feeney (Triple Eight, Ford) leading the pack through three slow laps. However, the moment the Safety Car peeled off, Feeney suffered a noticeable loss of grip, likely caused by higher starting tyre pressures compared to his rivals.
By the end of the very first green-flag lap, Mostert executed a clean overtake for the lead and quickly pulled away, lapping over a second quicker than the rest of the field. Feeney slid down the order until Triple Eight brought him into the pits on Lap 21 for fresh wet tyres with adjusted pressures.
Leader Mostert made his first pit stop slightly earlier than planned to clear backmarker traffic. Once back on track, he continued extending his margin, which grew to 27 seconds before the team instructed him to conserve fuel two laps from the finish.
The drivers tackled the first 250-kilometre encounter on the streets of Surfers Paradise, setting up a pivotal weekend after which three of the ten title finalists will be eliminated.
"It feels like déjà vu. Everything ran completely without a hitch. I'm glad there was no late Safety Car because the car was right on the limit. The conditions were extremely treacherous early on, but it's far easier when you're leading the pack rather than driving into the spray behind," said Mostert after sealing his third consecutive win at the venue following his 2025 double victory.
Championship leader Matt Payne started from fifth and ran second in the closing stages, but the Grove Racing driver was slapped with a five-second penalty. Payne pushed to pull out a five-second buffer over David Reynolds, but fell short and was classified third.
David Reynolds, who started down in 14th, delivered an outstanding drive to reaffirm his pedigree on the coastal street track, where he now holds one win and six podium finishes. Reynolds took a gamble with an early pit stop on Lap 9 to secure clean air. For nearly ten laps after his second pit stop, he managed to hold the race leader behind him before sealing second place with an impressive 12-position charge.
"Visibility was non-existent at the start, so we decided to pit early. Toward the end, I was just hanging on. The mechanics did a fantastic job, and the car was very fast today. We passed everyone except Chaz, even though the suspension took a heavy beating from brushing the concrete walls," Reynolds said.
Payne was equally philosophical about the final outcome:
"That was one of the toughest races I've had in a long time. It was brutally hard to keep the car under control through the second half of the lap. It's a shame about the penalty, but the main thing is that we're still on the podium."
Anton De Pasquale carried his strong qualifying form into the race, bringing his Chevrolet Camaro home in fourth ahead of Andre Heimgartner. Brad Jones Racing maintained their momentum from Bathurst, with the Kiwi taking fifth in his Supra as the highest-placed non-Finals driver.
A pack of four Ford Mustangs crossed the line next. Will Brown was the top Triple Eight finisher in sixth after defending against Bathurst 1000 winner Brodie Kostecki. The Dick Johnson Racing driver started outside the top ten and, despite a close call in the runoff area, overtook Tickford's Cam Waters. Feeney came home ninth, followed by Jayden Ojeda in the PremiAir Racing Chevrolet.
The day turned into a complete nightmare for three title contenders. Jack Le Brocq suffered a string of mechanical gremlins, received a five-second penalty, and finished 22nd. Thomas Randle placed 23rd in the other Tickford Mustang after battling sustained damage, only beating Kai Allen. The Grove Racing driver spent an extended spell in the pits with an alternator failure, leaving him on the brink of elimination ahead of Sunday's second race.
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