Vaughan steals thrilling Super2 pole
By Thomas Miles
Date posted: 9 August 2025
BJR’s Brad Vaughan stole a thrilling Super2 pole at the death amid the tight margins at Queensland Raceway.
Many drivers put their hands up, but it appeared to be an arm wrestle between Rylan Gray and Bailey Sweeny.
The pair took turns in the lead, only for the Mustangs to be usurped by Vaughan at the very last moment.
The Brad Jones Racing driver nailed his final lap to record a 1:09.2112.
This eclipsed Gray by 0.0105s, while 0.0688s covered the entire top seven that also featured Cody Burcher, Jackson Walls and Zach Bates.
Walls hit the lead early with his 1:09.3829 a tenth clear of Vaughan and McLeod, who had an off at Turn 3.
Tomsett followed the fellow Ford driver but suffered a much bigger lock-up, leaving his Mustang beached in the sand.
The early red flag stoppage left a 10 minute dash and it proved to be a thriller.
Bates and Dalton both slotted in within a tenth of the leading Triple Eight driver
Vaughan then showed speed, going purple in the first sector to steal the lead by a slender 0.078s
However, Walls immediately reclaimed the lead with brilliant first and third sectors to restore a 0.0240s advantage after posting a 1:09.2605.
Bates looked set to be the next driver to deliver with a fastest first sector, but he ran wide at the final corner and was left to wonder what could have been.
This left him in fifth, but the Eggleston Motorsport driver nailed his second lap to improve up to third.
However, it was his less experienced teammate Burcher who stole the show, shooting to the top of the table with a 1:09.2539.
He claimed the lead by the barest of margins, with only 0.0066s splitting him from Walls.
Dalton also nailed the opening sector, and despite falling 0.0676s he had to settle for fifth.
With less than three-quarters of a tenth covering the top five, a thrilling fight for pole was in store in the final five minutes.
One driver that was yet to influence was Gray, down in 13th, and his first push lap was good enough for ninth, but more was to come.
Sweeny fired the first statement at the death, blitzing the final sector to hit the lead by 0.0186s.
But he was not up there for long as Gray kept building his lap to claim P1 with a 1:09.2217.
Sweeny tried to respond by positing a purple first sector on his next lap, but a lock-up and off at Turn 3 proved costly.
However, the BRT driver reloaded and again nailed the opening segment but ultimately had to settle for second.
The Mustangs appeared to have it sewn up, only for a Commodore to shake things up at the chequered flag.
Vaughan nailed his final lap with a purple final sector, propelling him to pole.
The first Super2 race is at 14.45 AEST.
1: Brad Vaughan 1:09.2112
2: Rylan Gray +0.0105
3: Lochie Dalton +0.0171
4: Bailey Sweeny +0.0241
5: Cody Burcher +0.0427
Image: Supplied
2025 Ipswich Super440 (All Times AEST)
Friday 8 August
Practice 1 – 1: Broc Feeney 1:09.2078 2: Anton De Pasquale +0.1965 3: Cameron Hill +0.2271
Practice 2 – 1: Will Brown 1:08.4927 2: Broc Feeney +0.1419 3: Ryan Wood +0.2088
Saturday 9 August
9:30am, Qualifying Part 1 – Race 23 (10 mins)
9:50am, Qualifying Part 2 – Race 23 (10 mins)
10:20am, Qualifying Part 1 – Race 24 (10 mins)
10:40am, Qualifying Part 2 – Race 24 (10 mins)
12:45pm, Race 23 – 39 laps (120 km)
4:10pm, Race 24 – 39 laps (120 km)
Sunday 10 August
10:20am, Qualifying Part 1 – Race 25 (10 mins)
10:40am, Qualifying Part 2 – Race 25 (10 mins)
11:40am, Qualifying Part 3 – Race 25 Top Ten Shootout (30 mins)
3:15pm, Race 25 – 63 laps (200 km)
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