Ford sweep equals Supercar era record

The first race of the 2025 Repco Supercars Championship was one to remember for Blue Oval fans, with Ford Mustangs sweeping the top four positions.

Cam Waters crushed the field on Friday night to win Race 1 at the Thrifty Sydney 500 - Opening Round, leading Chaz Mostert, Thomas Randle and Matt Payne.

Randle passed Payne on the final lap to bring home a double podium for Tickford Racing, while Mostert raced his Walkinshaw Andretti United Mustang from eighth to second.

The result also helped Tickford become just the second team, after Triple Eight Race Engineering and Dick Johnson Racing, to claim 300 Supercars podiums.

The all-Ford top four marked just the second instance of a single brand locking out the top four in the opening race of a new season in the Supercars era.

The first instance came at the 2005 Adelaide 500, when Marcos Ambrose and Russell Ingall led a Stone Brothers Racing one-two, followed by Craig Lowndes and Steven Johnson.

To celebrate Ford’s success, Johnson was brought onto the podium for a photo opportunity, which ultimately breached podium regulations and saw Dick Johnson Racing hit with a $30,000 fine.

Friday’s result was also just the fifth instance of a brand locking out the podium in the first race of a new season, and the third time for Ford.

Jamie Whincup, Mark Winterbottom and Craig Lowndes locked out the podium in Adelaide in 2008, before Whincup led two all-Holden podiums in 2014 and 2016.

In 2014, Whincup beat Lowndes and Shane van Gisbergen in Adelaide, while he led James Courtney and van Gisbergen in 2016, also in Adelaide.

Supercars will return to the track on Saturday at 2:35pm AEDT for Boost Mobile Qualifying, followed by the Boost Mobile Top Ten Shootout at 4:35pm.

The 200km Race 2 will commence at 7:30pm.

Race 1 podium lockouts in Supercar era (1997-)

Ford, 2005: Marcos Ambrose, Russell Ingall, Craig Lowndes

Ford, 2008: Jamie Whincup, Mark Winterbottom, Craig Lowndes

Holden, 2014: Jamie Whincup, Craig Lowndes, Shane van Gisbergen

Holden, 2016: Jamie Whincup, James Courtney, Shane van Gisbergen

Ford, 2025: Cam Waters, Chaz Mostert, Thomas Randle