Feeney returns to victory lane

Friday proved to be a blip on the radar as normal service resumed on Saturday with Broc Feeney comfortably returning to the top step of the podium in Townsville.

Some decisive moves before and during the second Safety Car period proved vital as Feeney claimed his first win at Townsville, but ninth of 2025 and sixth in seven races.

The #88 started third, but an important pass on David Reynolds moments prior to the Lap 11 Safety Car and then a well-executed stop to jump leader Matt Payne allowed the Triple Eight driver to hit the lead, and he was never challenged from there.

Fittingly, Feeney dedicated the win to former Triple Eight shareholder Tim Miles.

However, the driver of the day was Chaz Mostert, who soared up 15 positions from seventeenth to second.

Mostert made monstrous ground amid an action-packed opening to the 70-lap race before using strong car speed to beat his rivals in the calmer run to the flag.

Completing the podium was Matt Payne with the top three 16s clear of next best Will Brown and Anton De Pasquale.

David Reynolds took a fairytale pole, but struggled with sickness as the race went on and slid down to 10^th.

Jaxon Evans and James Golding were both victims of some opening-lap drama, while James Courtney was on track for at least a top 10 before his engine expired in spectacular and old-fashioned style.

All eyes were on former teammates with Reynolds and Payne making up the front row, and the veteran was unable to convert Team 18’s first pole in six years.

Payne jumped Reynolds and hit the lead as the field swung through Turn 1 as Feeney also lost out to Le Brocq.

By the time they arrived at Turn 2, Murray got into Brown and nearly spun him as Hill shortcutted.

However, the major action was awaiting on the exit of turn 3.

Waters, Randle and Evans all tried to exit the tight right-hander three wide and it did not work out as they sandwiched each other and chaos unfolded.

Randle spun Evans, who in turn sent Waters around into a complete 360.

Meanwhile, behind them, Golding was left with nowhere to go and tripped over Randle.

The impact was so severe that the PremiAir Camaro shot airborne before landing wedged with the inside fence and out of business.

Waters was able to escape from the spin, while for the third race in a row Evans found himself in the garage after an opening lap incident.

James Golding takes flight and Cam Waters spins amid some opening lap mayhem at Townsville. Image: Fox Sports

It was not until Lap 6 when racing resumed and Feeney did not wait a second to go on the counterattack.

The Triple Eight driver launched a big dive on Le Brocq and Turn 2 and it paid off with the Erebus driver caught napping.

It was an instant replay at the hairpin between their respective teammates with Brown sneaking clear of Murray and retaking eighth.

Courtney’s grip of fifth was also under threat as Kostecki mugged him on the pit straight and snatched the place.

The BRT veteran was able to reply two laps later when Kostecki’s move on Le Brocq did not quite go to plan.

The DJR #38 made a late lunge on Le Brocq at the hairpin, but this just opened the door for Courtney to swoop past the pair for a brief period.

Once again, it was the current DJR driver who prevailed over the former with a crisscross coming out of the final corner.

Sadly Courtney’s fun was short-lived as his engine expired in dramatic fashion.

It was heartbreaking timing for BRT seeing a rare top 10 disappear.

At the same time Davison’s race unravelled quickly. At the start of the lap Brown drilled into the back of the #17 when trying to make a move at Turn 2.

What could have been for James Courtney before he stopped at the Turn 11 hairpin. Image: DMAC Photography

The reigning champion made his way past, but not without destroying Davison’s rear right guard, which started rubbing on the tyre. The #1 suffered a 5s penalty for his part.

This reduced Davison to a crawl and in his pursuit of trying to find the pits he was spun by Heimgartner, leaving almost the entire final sector covered in smoke from struggling tyres and expired engines.

A second Safety Car period provided the perfect opportunity for the field to complete their first stops.

Feeney was the big winner, stealing track position from Payne, who just happened to be held up from Brown in the lane.

Having dive bombed Reynolds at Turn 2 seconds before the Safety Car was called, the #88 jumped from third to first in a heartbeat.

Other big winners were Kostecki, climbing into the top four and Mostert rising 11 spots to sixth.

When racing resumed, Reynolds was ganged up on and found himself sliding off the podium and down to fifth.

Mostert carried on his charge with a huge lunge by picking off Le Brocq and Kostecki in quick succession to impressively soar into the podium places, while Brown also worked his way past the DJR driver.

The action carried on further back as a locked-up Heimgartner sent Hill into a spin at Turn 11, while Allen went head-on into the tyres.

Up front, Feeney consolidated his advantage and controlled the second stint in clean air.

He built his lead to 3s as the race was in a holding pattern until the final round of stops were sparked on Lap 48

Mostert was the first to blink, causing Payne and Feeney to react on the following laps.

A slow getaway may have proved costly for the WAU driver as the status quo remained.

But after six laps it was clear Mostert had the most pace and he attacked Payne at the hairpin.

Ryan Wood also put in a storming climb up the leaderboard. Image: DMAC Photography

It took him three corners, but Mostert made it stick to snare second and turn his attention to Feeney, who was 2s up the road.

However, he never got close with the #88 storming home and building that advantage to 6s before the chequered flag.

Another WAU driver on the charge was Wood, who completed his 16-position rise to eighth with nine laps to go.

The victim was Reynolds, who was no longer a factor and languished down to 10^th.

Another 70-lap affair lies ahead on Sunday to conclude the Townsville 500.

Results Race 21 Townsville 70 laps

Pos Driver Team Laps Margin

1 Broc Feeney Triple Eight 70 1:37:14.6669 +2

2 Chaz Mostert WAU 70 +6.4296 +15

3 Matt Payne Grove Racing 70 +8.1222 -1

4 Will Brown Triple Eight 70 +21.8876 +4

5 Brodie Kostecki DJR 70 +24.9974 +1

6 Anton De Pasquale Team 18 70 +27.6499 +5

7 Jack Le Brocq Erebus 70 +28.0128 -3

8 Ryan Wood WAU 70 +28.8440 +16

9 Cooper Murray Erebus 70 +30.2339 -2

10 David Reynolds Team 18 70 +35.0277 -9

11 Bryce Fullwood BJR 70 +35.7768 -1

12 Cameron Hill MSR 70 +37.3430 –

13 Will Davison DJR 70 +40.2565 -4

14 Nick Percat MSR 70 +40.2964 +6

15 Richie Stanaway PremiAir 70 +42.1563 +7

16 Andre Heimgartner BJR 70 +42.7680 -2

17 Macauley Jones BJR 70 +51.0101 +1

18 Aaron Cameron BRT 70 +57.2824 -5

19 Kai Allen Grove Racing 70 +1:00.7616 -3

20 Cameron Waters Tickford 70 +1:07.0528 +1

21 Thomas Randle Tickford 65 +5 Laps -6

NC Jaxon Evans BJR 13 +57 Laps -3

NC James Courtney BRT 11 +59 Laps -18

NC James Golding PremiAir 0 +70 Laps -1

Image: DMAC Photography

2025 Townsville 500

FRIDAY 11th July

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