The 10 drivers who will fight for the 2025 Supercars title in its maiden Finals series have been chosen following a dramatic Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama.
After Matt Payne and Garth Tander took the win in the race for Grove Racing, and taking with it Supercars’ Enduro Cup, Anton De Pasquale (Team 18), Thomas Randle (Tickford Racing), Ryan Wood (Walkinshaw Andretti United) and Kai Allen (Grove Racing) made it into the top 10.
They will join Triple Eight’s Broc Feeney (who had already qualified as the Sprint Cup winner) and Will Brown, Payne (Grove Racing), Cameron Waters (Tickford), Chaz Mostert (Walkinshaw Andretti United) and Brodie Kostecki (Dick Johnson Racing).
Allen only sealed his spot when his eighth place meant he edged out both Andre Heimgartner (Brad Jones Racing) and Cam Hill (Matt Stone Racing) by just three points.
Feeney and Payne will have a 25-point bonus when the end-of-season Finals start on the streets of the Gold Coast in two weeks’ time.
Brodie Kostecki, Dick Johnson Racing Ford Mustang GT
Photo by: Edge Photographics
The drama to determine the top 10 went to the final seconds of the 1000. Randle had to overcome two five-second time penalties for infringements in the race, dropping him to 11th, while Wood looked to have the race at his mercy until he suffered a broken engine sensor – fast work by the WAU team got him back on the track to score points as the 19th placed finisher.
Likewise, Anton De Pasquale had to pit for repairs after his Team 18 Chevrolet suffered damage, finishing the race in 20th place.
Cooper Murray can feel that he was very close to making it in to Finals. The Erebus Motorsport driver went to Bathurst 23rd in the points but had he won the race, which looked possible with a handful of laps remaining, he and co-driver Jobe Stewart would have taken the Endurance Cup and with it, a spot in the Finals.
The 10 drivers in title contention, and the 14 who are not, will line up on the streets of the Gold Coast on 24-25 October.
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– The Autosport.com Team
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