Chaotic Last 10 Laps From EPIC Elimination Final | 2025 Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500

Yeah, good thanks. So how's that play out in terms of the balance, because once you get in behind, two or three laps in behind the car, you torch the rear tyre and you can't get the sort of extra traction you need. Jackson Evans gives that wall a nudge at Turn 2 where Brodie made heavy contact yesterday. So Kai Allen's got a younger tyre here but he's got a tonne and a half of Mustang to negotiate to get the most out of it. He's got to run on him. He's got to run on him. That was close. In fact, Thomas turned it in a little late to actually give him a little bit of room. To get round there, Kai had to slow it up so much but he's sweating on him. He's got a grip advantage at the moment but it's hard to get by. You've got to work every angle here. They've given him a proper one to turn in but he stopped. Actually, that was smart by Kai. So he propped and didn't take advantage. So that was awkward contact. But Allen did the right thing. He gave him a whack and he didn't even bother to go by. He just sat there and then patiently waited. He probably got himself out of jail with that one. That initial redress, although it was a manoeuvre that put Randall in. So this is out of 13, in the braking area. Battling to get it stopped and he's drilled him. Bang. So right out, bang, into the fence and then he stops. So he dipped the clutch, fed it first gear, waited. So here it is from the chopper again. Thump, turns him. Thomas has tried to catch it and then Allen just patiently waits and that was a good decision. It doesn't take much when you're already at the grip limit under brakes down there. And inside that helmet, things would have got pretty hot and steamy at that point. Meantime, the gap up the front's down to half a second and the margin between Payne and Heimgartner is Courtney's fed in here. So Courtney's sitting in the wall at turn 11 looking for reverse and he can't back into the traffic there. Now he's clear. Meantime, this is what's going on at the front of the race. Courtney's plummeting down the order, down into the mid-teens now. And I think he's managed to be able to get it going. But these guys, it's going to be, no he hasn't. He moved it but it hasn't got very far up the road. So does that trigger a safety car? Meantime, the battle between Mostert and Feeney is lit up properly here at the moment as they negotiate the yellow flag area. There is a safety car. This will bunch the field up. Now, the other battle that I'm being keen to look at is Heimgartner and Payne. They've been in a battle here and Heimgartner's currently on target for a podium. This will bunch the field up. This will light the game up, our first safety car of the day. Absolutely. Now, there's got to be more to the story with James Courtney because Anton Di Pasquale needed to get by to make it into the next segment of the finals. Now, did he give him a bump? Has James made it by himself into the fence at Turn 11? We're going to tell you the story. Here it is. Here's the replay. Anton dives down the inside, locks the wheel into the back and that's the end of the story for JC, for James Courtney. He gives him a bump, punches him into the tyres on the outside and he couldn't do much by then because you can't see. You don't know what's going on. You're just trying to get yourself back so you can turn and stay in the game. So, this safety car is out as a consequence of the bump that Anton Di Pasquale ended up into the back of James Courtney at Turn 11. This is a big moment. There's a lot of big moments in this championship right now unfolding in front of us. And I presume that Race Control will deem that that's not a fair play. So, I think there's a fair chance that Anton's going to get a whack for that one. Did I just see some weather in the background there? Or did I daydream that then, in that shot? It's certainly hazier out there than it's been at other parts of the weekend. So, the field will now compress and yes, there is confirmation from our colleagues in Race Control that cars 18 and 7 are under investigation. So, it is dark out there, but it's held off longer than was being sold. So, it's just a little past 3.45 local time in Queensland. Talking about the weather potentially coming in the best part of an hour ago, but that hasn't been the case. And there's the reason for the safety car intervention in James Courtney, who's been celebrated this weekend for his last run as a local driver here on the Gold Coast as a full-timer. And he's had nose-to-tail contact from Anton Di Pasquale that sent him into the fence down there at Turn 11 and that car looks a bit second-hand in the rear. There's your numbers, but that won't take into account a possible penalty for Anton Di Pasquale. So, he's penalised. That's going to impact that, hey Rihanna? And somebody else that is suffering out there is Cam Hill. The team have told me his cool suit failed about 10 laps into this race during one of the pit stops. They tried to put ice in his race suit, but he is very uncomfortable at the moment. Yeah, there's not too many places in this country that can be as bad for the physical exertion and the demand on the driver around here. And we've had a few reports of some cool suit issues and some drink bottle issues through the course of the day, so there'll be some very fatigued drivers at the end of this. This is hard work. The physicality around here, plus the intensity. There should be no cars bigger than a five car length. Yep, so race control is administering this safety car deployment to ensure that there's no more than five car lengths between drivers. Which is often under-policed. Yes, I completely agree. It has been for decades. So I don't know the last time that anybody ever got penalised for being more than five car lengths when there should have been some for the last 30 years. Totally. Couldn't agree more. In fact, there's been times in the safety car periods that you go up and bump the car in front. So this was the lap beforehand. So Anton just gave James a little bump there. Now he redresses because we saw him behind him at the fast chicane. And then a sort of half move down here. And it wasn't a real move. It wasn't up far enough. He had the wheel locked in the end. So as he gets to the turn-in point, he had the wheel locked at the end. James was trying to cover down. And ultimately, two cars have made contact. So what does this do in tyre recovery? Who's got the firepower at the end of this when it lights back up? Because we don't have many laps of racing left here. It's going to be a mad sprint to the end. And there will be push and shove. Because there's a lot at stake here. Dive in at Team 18 as that weather closes on the Century Batteries' chopper camp. Adrian, you've seen a few replays of that one. Your thoughts on the contact between Anton and James there? Look, James is a buddy. But he looked like he moved in the braking area a couple of times while we clearly had car pace on him. So we've got to have a go. It's the finals. But, you know, he's moving in the braking area. So we'll see what the judges say. Had to try something, didn't he? You're not going to win anything by sitting and watching, are you? You've got to have a crack. Diplomatic answer from Adrian Burgess. The weather looking to the west and out towards the Gold Coast hinterland. Beautiful area of Australia out there. But at the moment it looks like they're getting some rain. It's very dry around here. So it'll be welcome water if it does turn up. And this part of southeastern Queensland is looking pretty parched here at the moment. As will our supercar drivers out there this afternoon. Particularly those that have got cool suit issues. And there are several of those out there. Brody Kostecki and Ryan Wood notably. So the Century Batteries' chopper camp shows us the start finish line area down there. And we're going to have four laps of racing at the end. As James Courtney's made his way back into the Blanchard Racing Team garage. We saw an image before. That's Mike Henry in the garage. And we saw an image of Tim Blanchard just a little bit earlier. Now this is going to be crazy. This is going to be wild. And who's got the firepower? And there's a couple of things here. Because Heingartner's going to go hardcore to try and deliver a podium that he's been in search of all season. Yep. Matt Payne's got a quick car sitting behind him. And he had a tough day yesterday. The Bathurst winner all want to get onto the podium. Feeney and Mostert, you can barely separate their performance with a cigarette paper. So there's nothing there. The first half of the race belonged to Brock. The second half belonging to Chas. And there was a slight anomaly in our numbers. And it's actually Chas that came out of the last pit stop supreme. But he's going to be able to hang on. And the freshest tyre of the lot is Kai Allen. Who come in on 66. So he's about almost 10 laps better off than Feeney. So Feeney in on 57. Mostert in on 59. Heingartner slightly better off than the others there. In on 61. They'll probably cycle Nick Burkett through the pits as a lap down here as well. It's going to be four to go after this one. Just a little over 12 kilometres from here. Chas Mostert's got control of the field. Brock stalks him. They advance the throttles and get rolling. Five laps to go on the Gold Coast for the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500. Part two of the elimination final. Heingartner in that R&J Batteries entry in third position. They're trying to hang on from a fast Matt Payne. Cam Waters in there if anybody makes a mistake. He needs to argue the lead of the race. Mostert versus Feeney. It's supercar rock and roll time with the chequered flag here. It's going to be a big pressure run to the back end of this one. The lights are on. Mostert's made a good start of it for the first half of this lap. That restart disadvantaged Andre Heingartner massively. With a couple of cars that were in there. Force control attention on team. Stewards have imposed a 15 second time penalty on car 18 for a driving infringement. Anton Di Pasquale pays the price for touching the back of James Courtney right there at turn 11. And there's more touching going on back in the field here at the moment between Kai Allen and Thomas Randall. Mark's been talking about the implications of their battle in this championship and who gets eliminated at the end of the day. They've got hand-to-hand combat going at the back end of this one. Meantime it's .4 of a second between Mostert and Feeney at the moment. And it's .5 of a second between Heingartner and Payne as the big argument rages at the front of the field. Heingartner was caught. There's at least one slow car caught between Feeney and him. But Heingartner's got away ever so slightly now from Payne. And this will be a bit of juice for Andre Heingartner if he can stitch together a result this afternoon. Down the inside comes Allen. He's on the dirty side of the road. He forces the issue with Thomas Randall and he makes good. And fires out the other side in first gear. So Thomas Randall on the radio. It's a thunderous train on the run up towards the beach. A chicane here that involves Allen, Randall, Brown and Deep Esqually who's got 15 seconds hanging over his name to be applied at the end of the race. And then it is Wood followed by Cameron Kostecki, Reynolds, Murray and Evans, our 15. That was pretty lively. Look at the side of Thomas Randall's car. It's battle scarred from all the way down the left front to the left rear of that car. Back to the lead of the race. And there's nothing in it. 0.4 of a second is the gap between Mustard and Feeney. Fruit and ale on the Gold Coast for day two. Sam Scafidi, the engineer on the radio, encouraging Mustard. Brock just fires in there with not a millimetre left under brakes. They throw both their cars up and over the top of the chicane. And he tries to go down the inside, Feeney, but it didn't quite work. There is absolutely nothing in it and he had to yield or it could have been considered a bump and run. And have a look at how Heingarten has ranged up in behind there now. Because he's blocking, Mustard was blocking, Feeney was all locked up. They actually hit but they were going slow in the end and they both got away with it. This is on at the front of the field and a big dive by Feeney. This massive moment. He rescued it, he rescued it, he threw everything at it, Brock Feeney, but he almost threw away either the lead or second place. Because now Heingarten is well and truly in this and so is Payne and so is Waters. If anything, it let Mustard off the hook. They were playing for keeps at the northern end of the racetrack and unfortunately the gamble didn't quite work for far. Mustard could be on here for the double. He puts it on Saturday. He's got a margin now of one second and they've got 2.9 kilometres to go on the Goldie. Can't help that. Feeney, then Heingarten, then Payne, then Waters. There is nothing between second, third, fourth and fifth at the moment. I don't think Heingarten has got the ultimate pace there now. I thought he was going to be able to make some ground on Feeney in the braking area. The last lap now, Feeney's been able to come off turn four with enough gap to capitalise on the way that car's been behaving all day. Big slide there for Heingarten coming off turn 11. This is a dive. This is a dive for the podium from Payne. And he's vulnerable. He's vulnerable on the run up here, the 12th, and he covers just in the nick of time as he turns in Heingarten. He's only got a couple more corners to negotiate. He's clinging by his fingernails to a spot on the podium here. This is going to mean a lot to him. It's going to mean a lot to Brad Jones Racing. But meantime, at the front of the pit, this guy sticks together. Great drive, great drive. Great job on the gold today. No performance for him. Grabs the chequered flag at 150 points and stamps his name out of place well and truly in the semifinals. Feeney threw everything at him. But he had that thing locked up, sliding, grinding, trying to find a way down the inside of Chas. He didn't get there, but in the process, he almost undid himself, almost exposed himself to a complete positional change involving Heingarten and Payne. But in the end, it settled, and he came home the runner up. And what a moment for this bloke. Brad Jones will be back in Albury-Unwell at the moment celebrating this. They've been looking for that. A little bit of sugar at the end of a tough run for Heingarten. And what a weekend for this guy. A double win on the Gold Coast. What a performance. They've been able to put together a WIU for Car 25. And he just drove again superbly. He come out after the final stop in front. We couldn't work out what happened, but it absolutely was dead on. They strategised themselves forward. Martin Walkinshaw there with all of the team. Bruce Stewart and all of the guys. Robbie Starr in the background. Everyone enjoying what was a very memorable weekend and certainly a memorable event for this man who's driven absolutely world-class performance again today. Brock Feeney down the inside. That was a bold move, Neil. Wasn't it? It was a big dive. That could be the understatement of the weekend. It was a bold move, mate. It was a seriously bold move. But that's what they're paid to do. They're actually paid to do that. Follow the leader is not one of the prerequisite requirements when you're a professional race driver. So Feeney had a huge go down here. This was awesome. I mean it's just off the scale watching those things jump here. At this stage we've all got serious blood pressure. And how's that? He's almost on the Hino. In fact, he's on the Hino side. He needed a three-quarter width car to be able to get down there. Chas is squeezing him. He made the apex. And in fact, Andre probably had the pace to go through there but there was just nowhere to go. Let's listen. It's going to graunch. That's all the backlash in the drivetrain. Not only are you hearing it grind itself on concrete, you're hearing metal to metal in the gearbox as well. And this is Heimgartner trying to find a way through here. So big celebrations there for everybody. And this young fellow is not going to be feeling well. So for Ryan Wood, that's the best part of an hour and three-quarters of motorsport this afternoon. Without the benefit of a cool suit, he will be feeling sick and dehydrated. And they're going to take him out the back and attend to his woes. And I think you'll find that Brodick Steck is probably in a similar boat, unfortunately. But what a turnaround for this guy. Early in the race, I wasn't sure whether they actually had enough in store to be able to take it to Brock Feeney. But here he is arriving for the second day in a row. Pertek Victory Lane with 150 points in his back pocket. He came into this second semifinal today with an assured position in the semifinals based on yesterday's race victory. And he's now put a very big stamp on that. And he's a player. He's a player for a championship at the back end of the year. And that's what the finals have done. They've flipped the way in which this has worked traditionally. And they are pretty happy about all that down there. Tom Randall just having a conversation. Doesn't look like he's overly thrilled with the universe after the battle that he had with Kai Allen. So he and Kai are having some words. Kim Chazok celebrates in five style. He went to Balthus, he went to Indies, come to the Gold Coast. And he's put together the double. Maximum points this weekend. And that's going to be a big celebration for him and the crew for this evening. And all of his family and friends that are from this neighborhood.