McLeod dominates 2025 season opener

Cameron McLeod has led from start to finish in the opening Dunlop Super2 Series race of 2025 at the Thrifty Sydney 500 - Opening Round.

The 20-year-old Queenslander streaked away to a 9.3078s margin in his first Super2 race for Kelly Racing, with Erebus Academy's Jobe Stewart running home second fending off a hard-charging Rylan Gray.

It was another special moment for McLeod, who once again emulated the feats of his father Ryan McLeod, who won the second-ever Super2 race at the same venue in 2000.

Of the two Mustangs on the front row, it was McLeod who by far got the best of the jumps, as Ayrton Hodson missed the kick altogether and bogged down.

Back on row three, Jackson Walls jumped the start in the #11 Triple Eight Commodore, and picked up a 15-second penalty for his troubles.

Walls' penalty ultimately robbed the Sydneysider of a strong top five result, having stuck with Stewart in second for the first half of the race before slipping back into the clutches of Gray.

The Tickford teenager ultimately got by the Triple Eight Commodore in the final three laps of the race, with Walls finishing fourth on road but ultimately being demoted to 10th in the final reckoning.

Walls was classified behind reigning Super2 champion Zach Bates, who had a struggle in his opening race as an Eggleston Motorsport driver.

After starting fifth alongside Walls, Bates would slip back to eighth off the start, before snagging a right front tyre on the run to Turn 2 on Lap 3.

For the remaining 20 laps, Bates would struggle with tyre damage, continually finding the flat spot, especially on the downhill braking zone to the Turn 8 hairpin.

Walls' teammate Ben Gomersall would give Bates grief on several occasions throughout the race, drawing alongside Bates at the exit of Turn 8 on Lap 6, before attempting a switchback at Turn 11.

Gomersall tagged the left rear corner of Bates' #1 Commodore and pushed him wide, with the Queensland teenager then backing out to allow the reigning champion to maintain position.

That allowed Image Racing's Jarrod Hughes to have half a look at Turn 1, with Gomersall nearly getting unloaded in excess of 200km/h.

Gomersall would close on Bates again on Lap 14, this time getting the job done at Turn 8 after Bates ran wide following yet another lock up.

Behind the front three, Nash Morris was a solid fourth on debut for Tickford, ahead of Hodson, Gonmersall, Jordyn Sinni, Lochie Dalton, Bates, and Walls rounding out the top 10.

The Dunlop Super2 Series return to the track tomorrow at 10:35am for Boost Mobile Qualifying, with the second race of the season set to begin at 2:40pm.