Closest Supercars finishes: How Sydney epic stacks up

The thrilling finish to Race 2 at the Thrifty Sydney 500 - Opening Round was as close as it gets, with Cam Waters beating Broc Feeney in a stunning drag race to the line.

In a race that got the motorsport world talking, Waters survived a clash and redress drama with Feeney and Will Brown with four laps remaining to steal victory at the death.

All told, after 200km of racing, the top two were covered by just 0.03s, with the battle unpacked in full in our exclusive analysis.

So, where does it stand in ATCC/Supercars Championship history?

Just three races have been decided by less than 0.1s, with the Waters/Feeney result the second-closest ever, just behind the tight finish at Adelaide International Raceway between Peter Brock and Allan Moffat in 1983.

Brock held out Moffat in a sensational finish, with the official margin coming in at 0.0s, when times were recorded to one decimal place. Various reports had the margin ranging from "a metre" to "half an inch," and even "the width of the front bumper."

Three decades before the Waters/Feeney finish in Sydney, John Bowe held off Craig Lowndes at the same venue. In Race 1 of the 1996 season, reigning champion Bowe held out rookie Lowndes by just 0.078s.

The following season, Larry Perkins charged from 12th on the grid to win in Perth, but only just.

In the opening race of the 1997 Perth round, Perkins beat Bowe by just 0.1164s. It remains the closest ‘racing’ finish in Perth Supercars history, and it was Perkins’ first and only victory in Western Australia.

Just behind is the tight finish at the 2013 Darwin event, with Lowndes holding off a fast-finishing Mark Winterbottom to win by 0.1165s.

Closest ATCC/Supercars Championship competitive race finishes*

*Correct to 2025 Thrifty Sydney 500 - Opening Round

What about each 2025 circuit?

Of the 13 circuits on the 2025 Repco Supercars Championship calendar, four have seen their closest finishes come in the last five years.

Obviously, Taupō's closest finish came in its debut year last season, with Andre Heimgartner winning by just over a second. When it comes to New Zealand, Shane van Gisbergen beat Winterbottom at Pukekohe by 0.2896s in 2014.

Remarkably, the Gold Coast record was broken twice in 2023, first by Waters and van Gisbergen on the Saturday, before David Reynolds edged out Brodie Kostecki on the Sunday.

There are some form finishes to take into account, which are official winning margins. Notably, Moffat beat Ford teammate Colin Bond in what remains the closest ever Bathurst finish in 1977. The closest 'competitive' finish in Bathurst history came in 2016, when Will Davison beat van Gisbergen by 0.1434s.

Eight of the 13 circuits in 2025 have seen a race decided by less than 0.2s; Sydney, Albert Park (1996 non-championship), Symmons Plains, Perth, Darwin, Bathurst, Gold Coast and Sandown.

Each 2025 circuit's closest race finish*

*Correct to 2025 Thrifty Sydney 500 - Opening Round

^Form finish

**Non-championship round