Masterful Mostert punches Semi Final ticket in Surfers stunner

Chaz Mostert has made an emphatic championship statement, clinching a Semi Final berth with a masterful Saturday victory at the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500.

12 months after his championship hopes evaporated in a Surfers Paradise shocker, Mostert was class of the field in am enthralling race headlined by three bp pulse Safety Cars and high drama for fellow Finals contenders.

Mostert took the lead from Broc Feeney before the second stops, but still had to mow down David Reynolds and Kai Allen, who benefited from the sequence of Safety Cars. In a brilliant charge home, the Walkinshaw Andretti United star made his chances count, racing to a victory that sealed passage through to the Sandown Semi Final.

Feeney ended the day clear of seventh place, mathematically clinching a Sandown spot. Allen made it home in third, moving the Penrite Racing driver from 10th pre-round to sixth. The gamble didn't pay off for Reynolds, who was forced in with four laps to go, finishing 14th.

Mostert moved to third in points behind Matt Payne, who recovered from a pit lane clash with resultant penalty to finish 10th. Pole-sitter Ryan Wood dropped out early with a fuel leak and finished 20th, while Will Brown survived an early clash with Allen to finish fifth.

Thomas Randle, Brodie Kostecki and Wood will start Sunday below the cut-line. Anton De Pasquale is the bubble and only 16 points clear, having dropped from sixth to eighth due to a track limits penalty. There's doubt Kostecki will be competitive at all on Sunday, with his team hurrying repairs after his qualifying shunt.

"It's been an up and down year, but we just found our form here right at the right time," said Mostert, who claimed his first win since New Zealand in April.

"We're generally pretty good here at these point and squirt [tracks], I'm just so lost for words, honestly.

"I'm so gutted for Ryan, he's done a mega job all year, and then he did a mega job today in qualifying. God this sport is so brutal. But we got a fast car, and he can do the job tomorrow, so we'll be riding him."

22 cars lined up on the starting grid, with qualifying crasher Kostecki a non-starter, and Nick Percat forced into a pit lane start over a starter motor issue.

As lights went out, Wood got the jump and caught a slide through the first chicane, before holding off Feeney around Turn 4. Behind them, Reynolds let De Pasquale through, as Allen challenged Brown through the Beach Chicane. On lap 2, Allen sent Brown around at Turn 11, the latter dropping from 10th to 23rd and last.

As temperatures normalised, Wood began to eke out a margin, as Payne attacked Feeney. However, Wood's hopes evaporated in a heartbeat on lap 7, with a suspected fuel leak dropping the Kiwi out of contention. It handed the lead to Feeney, who had Payne and Mostert just behind.

Cladding on the run to the front chicane came adrift, delivering a surprise bp pulse Safety Car onto the track on lap 13. Feeney led the entire field into pit lane, where all hell broke loose. Mostert was baulked by the double-stacking Allen, with Payne released into the path of the #25 Mobil 1 Optus Ford. All the while, Cam Waters sailed into second, with Mostert, Payne, James Courtney, De Pasquale, Andre Heimgartner, Will Davison, Reynolds and Aaron Cameron the new-look top 10.

Feeney led the field to green on lap 17, before the race was neutralised almost immediately when Cooper Murray crashed at the Beach Chicane. A cut tyre from contact with Cameron sent Murray into the wall, with Jaxon Evans an innocent bystander to debris.

The race resumed on lap 24, and this time, Waters put the pressure on. A slide at Turn 4 opened the door to the Tickford star, who forced Feeney to defend into Turn 11, before a dislodged tyre bundle at Turn 1 gave Feeney a second reprieve.

Bryce Fullwood, Allen and Macauley Jones took the chance to stop under yellow, with Penrite Racing putting Allen on a bold fuel save strategy to get home.

For a third time, Feeney held off Waters when the race restarted on lap 30. However, Mostert muscled past his old teammate into P2 as Feeney's lead extended towards one second. In clean air, Mostert punched in the fastest lap of the race on lap 39, and set off after Feeney, taking the lead on lap 42. In just seven laps, Mostert was 2.8s up the road.

As Waters closed on Feeney, Payne was pulled in on lap 45 and served his 15-second penalty. De Pasquale stopped from fifth two laps later, but was noted for a pit stop infringement, which was placed under investigation. Later, Brown collided with the lapped Cameron at Turn 4 before stopping on lap 58.

By the time Mostert lowered his own benchmark on lap 53, his lead was four seconds. The margin had blown out to 7.1s once Waters and Courtney stopped on lap 59. Triple Eight responded with Feeney on lap 60, with the championship leader rejoining ahead of De Pasquale and Waters.

Mostert finally stopped on lap 61, and rejoined fourth behind Reynolds, Allen and Jack Le Brocq, who stopped on lap 63. With 23 laps remaining, the gap between Reynolds and Mostert was 11 seconds, with Percat fifth ahead of Feeney, De Pasquale, Waters, Brown and Heimgartner.

Reynolds fired in a personal best on lap 63, but the threat from Mostert behind wasn't going away. As Allen fell away from Reynolds, Mostert laid down fastest lap after fastest lap to make his presence felt.

Allen waved Mostert through with 14 laps to go, with the margin to Reynolds 2.2s. In quick time, Mostert got to Reynolds, and the move was made into Turn 11. With seven to go, Allen caught and passed the fuel-saving Reynolds for second amid the threat of Feeney behind. Feeney's car came alive, the points leader clearing Reynolds and Allen.

Down the order, a fired-up Payne was embroiled in a multi-car battle pack including Finals rival Randle, as the ailing Percat crawled home. Payne survived to finish 10th behind Randle, with a penalty dropping Will Davison out of the top 10.

Evans, Murray and Cameron Hill were the three non-finishers, Matt Stone Racing druver Hill ruled out in the closing laps with suspension failure.

Track action commences on Sunday with Boost Mobile Qualifying at 10:00am local time/11:00am AEDT.