Friday Talking Points: Title twist as Turn 8 bites hard
It was a dramatic Friday at the VAILO Adelaide 500, as the infamous Turn 8 sent a brutal reminder of just how treacherous a piece of road the sweeper is.
Three drivers all came unstuck within a minute of each other, which led to a highly unusual scenario where the Top Ten Shootout order and the back end of the Race 23 grid was set without most of the field setting a fast time.
The bizarre qualifying scenario wasn't the only unusual occurrence to occur in Adelaide, with a mid-event driver swap occurring for the first time since 2019.
Supercars.com takes a look at some of the key talking points from a weird and wild Friday at the VAILO Adelaide 500.
Turn 8 claims several victims
Boost Mobile Qualifying for Race 23 was marred and ultimately ended by a frightening sequence of crashes at the Turn 8 sweeper. First it was Richie Stanaway who clobbered the inside apex wall and pounded the outside concrete wall with enough force to lift the Penrite Mustang completely off the ground. As Stanaway had just made his way back to pit lane, Cameron Hill had an even bigger shunt after making an identical error to Stanaway, destroying all four corners of the SP Tools Camaro and leaving Matt Stone Racing with an enormous task if they are to turn the car around for any remaining session this weekend. David Reynolds then added to the chaos by making the exact same mistake and hitting the wall in near identical fashion to Hill before coming to rest on top of the rear of the MSR Camaro. Whilst Grove Racing got Stanaway's car was quickly repaired and would've resumed the session had it been restarted, the same can not be said for the two Camaros. To further underscore the pain for Team 18, Reynolds had topped today's practice session, and the chassis had made it's debut last event at the Gold Coast after Reynolds' nasty qualifying crash at Bathurst.
A bizarre Top Ten Shootout order
With the session declared, and hardly any representative lap times being set by the 24-car field, that has produced one of the most unusual Boost Mobile Top Ten Shootout line ups in recent memory. Whilst the top six of Will Brown, Cam Waters, Thomas Randle, Broc Feeney, James Courtney, and Matt Payne follows the recent Adelaide form guide, the first four cars to roll out in the Shootout tomorrow are a complete surprise. Amazingly three Brad Jones Racing Camaros will feature in the Shootout, with none of them the acknowledged team leader in Andre Heimgartner, whilst a difficult rookie season for Aaron Love will conclude on a positive with a maiden Shootout appearance. With nothing to lose from a championship perspective, it will be interesting to see how Bryce Fullwood, Macauley Jones, Jaxon Evans, and Love all attack the Shootout tomorrow, and if they can hold their own in tomorrow's 78 lap marathon.
Mostert buried deep in the pack
With such little representative running completed in the five minutes, there were bound to be tales of woe. Whilst Brodie Kostecki would end up 12th, and Nick Percat was 19th after both showing form in practice, Chaz Mostert was the biggest loser from the shortened qualifying, having not registered a single time in the session. As a result, Mostert will start 22nd and faces a mountain of work if he is to feature in the final reckoning tomorrow afternoon. There is plenty of time to make up positions, and both Mostert and Walkinshaw Andretti United's street circuit pace this year has been strong. Mostert scored a second and a third in Townsville, and another two podiums went begging on the Gold Coast through a myriad of problems, which also ruled him out of title contention.
Murray's early look at 2025
Whilst the chaos at Turn 8 captured a lot of attention this afternoon, Friday in Adelaide started with a dramatic development out of Erebus Motorsport. Jack Le Brocq was nowhere to be seen, having left Adelaide to be with his wife Mackenzie who is due to give birth to the couple's first child. Fortunately, Erebus had a ready-made replacement on hand in 2025 recruit Cooper Murray, fresh off a series of stirring performances in Triple Eight's wildcard. Murray kept his nose clean all day as he looks to get a headstart on his full-time debut next year with the reigning Supercars Teams' Champions. Murray spent the Gold Coast weekend in the Erebus garage to get a behind the scenes insight, and had his driving gear at ready at the Adelaide Parklands Circuit at the behest of Erebus CEO Barry Ryan. Murray is set to start 17th tomorrow on what is set to be one of the most physically demanding days of this season.
What happens tomorrow?
Now that it is official that there will not be a resumption of qualifying tomorrow, attention will now turn to Race 23 of the 2024 Repco Supercars Championship. With a jumbled up grid, a championship to decide, and extreme temperatures forecast, there is going to be a lot to keep an eye on tomorrow. Will Brown is on track to secure his maiden Supercars Championship title after a remarkably consistent season, and could become the first driver since Dick Johnson in 1984 to claim a podium at every event of a season. The bizarre qualifying results will also see several drivers out of position on the grid relative to their speed, which could spice up the on-track product, And with temperatures tipped to reach 37 degrees, cabin temperatures could soar to as high as 60 degrees tomorrow, which will place an incredible physical strain on all 24 drivers over 78 laps and 250km.
