Broc Feeney showcased his skill in challenging conditions, dominating the Saturday qualifying session at Queensland Raceway. [IMAGE0CONTEXT:bmw_unknown] Feeney, a standout driver for Triple Eight, secured his 12th pole position of the season and his second of the day with an impressive lap time of 1:19.8014 seconds, achieved during the early moments of Q2 as rain began to fall.
As the rain intensified, all 10 drivers in Q2 opted for slick tires, desperately trying to set competitive times on the increasingly slippery track. Feeney outperformed his competitors, including Ryan Wood, Will Brown, the adept wet-weather driver Richie Stanaway, and Cam Waters. The order remained unchanged for the rest of the session, as later attempts on full wet tires proved to be far less effective. Anton De Pasquale, David Reynolds, James Golding, Chaz Mostert, and Thomas Randle rounded out the top ten, starting in positions sixth through tenth.
“You could see it coming all session,” Feeney remarked, reflecting on the challenging conditions. He had previously been outpaced by De Pasquale in Q1. “Will went out and backed up to get a tow, and I thought, ‘man, I hope that doesn’t bite us.’ It worked out well because I could see everyone going off at [Turn] 1, so I took it easy. Turn 3 was still relatively dry, and I felt I gained some time there. I knew that lap would be crucial.”
After switching to wet tires, Feeney faced difficulties, stating, “I was literally at 30 percent throttle, spinning out on the straight. It was pretty dangerous.” Both Randle and Mostert encountered trouble on that critical first lap, losing control at Turn 1 and Turn 6, respectively. “I thought I braked really early, but there’s a lot of sealant on this track,” Mostert explained. “It reminds me of that time we raced in Pukekohe after a resurfacing, where the car feels like it’s trying to push you into the fence down the straight. I wouldn’t want to race in those conditions.”
Numerous incidents occurred during the later stages while drivers were on wet tires, including a dramatic spin from reigning champion Brown. Matt Payne, unfortunately, will start in 11th after failing to advance from Q1 in both morning sessions. In a notable performance, Triple Eight wildcard Zach Bates qualified impressively in 13th and will share the seventh row of the grid with 2023 champion Brodie Kostecki.
Result: Ipswich Super440 Race 2 qualifying Pos Num Team/Sponsor Driver/s Car Laps Fastest Gap Lap 1 88 Red Bull Ampol Racing Broc Feeney Chev Camaro ZL1 11 1:19.801 8 2 2 Mobil1 Truck Assist Racing Ryan Wood Ford Mustang GT 12 1:20.280 0.4782 9 3 1 Red Bull Ampol Racing Will Brown Chev Camaro ZL1 11 1:20.711 0.9097 9 4 62 PremiAir Racing Richie Stanaway Chev Camaro ZL1 11 1:21.710 1.9086 8 5 6 Monster Castrol Racing Cam Waters Ford Mustang GT 12 1:21.937 2.1360 9 6 18 DEWALT Racing Anton De Pasquale Chev Camaro ZL1 11 1:22.296 2.4943 8 7 20 TRADIE Energy David Reynolds Chev Camaro ZL1 11 1:26.077 6.2760 8 8 31 PremiAir Racing James Golding Chev Camaro ZL1 12 1:27.769 7.9672 8 9 25 Mobil1 Optus Racing Chaz Mostert Ford Mustang GT 13 1:29.998 10.1963 13 10 55 Monster Castrol Racing Thomas Randle Ford Mustang GT 12 1:38.466 18.6641 12 11 19 Penrite Racing Matthew Payne Ford Mustang GT 7 1:08.911 7 12 99 Erebus Motorsport Cooper Murray Chev Camaro ZL1 6 1:08.936 6 13 888 Supercheap Auto Racing Zach Bates Chev Camaro ZL1 6 1:08.973 6 14 38 Shell V-Power Racing Team Brodie Kostecki Ford Mustang GT 7 1:08.977 7 15 3 CoolDrive Auto Parts Racing Aaron Cameron Ford Mustang GT 6 1:09.004 5 16 17 Shell V-Power Racing Team Will Davison Ford Mustang GT 7 1:09.029 7 17 26 Penrite Racing Kai Allen Ford Mustang GT 7 1:09.057 7 18 10 Bendix Racing Nick Percat Chev Camaro ZL1 7 1:09.063 3 19 8 R&J Batteries Racing Andre Heimgartner Chev Camaro ZL1 7 1:09.166 7 20 12 SCT Motorsport Jaxon Evans Chev Camaro ZL1 7 1:09.171 7 21 9 Tyrepower Racing Jack Le Brocq Chev Camaro ZL1 6 1:09.191 6 22 4 Supaglass Racing Cameron Hill Chev Camaro ZL1 6 1:09.226 6 23 96 Pizza Hut Racing Macauley Jones Chev Camaro ZL1 7 1:09.231 3 24 14 Middy’s Racing Bryce Fullwood Chev Camaro ZL1 7 1:09.254 3 25 35 Dormer HVAC Racing by MSR Cameron Crick Chev Camaro ZL1 7 1:09.274 7 26 7 Snowy River Caravans Racing James Courtney Ford Mustang GT 6 1:09.365 6