Scene set for qualifying thriller as Wood denies Kostecki, Feeney

The scene is set for a thrilling Boost Mobile Qualifying session at the AirTouch 500 at The Bend after a closely-fought, action-packed final practice.

Through 40 minutes at The Bend Motorsport Park, Ryan Wood pipped Brodie Kostecki, with Broc Feeney third. The top three drivers were covered by 0.058s, with Thomas Randle fourth.

Drivers return for Boost Mobile Qualifying at 3:05pm local/3:35pm AEST, which sets the running order for the Boost Mobile Top Ten Shootout at 4:50pm local/5:20pm AEST.

"It was awesome to get back out there, Juice [co-driver Jayden Ojeda] was tuning it this morning, and he's managed to push it in the right direction," said Wood, who is ninth in points.

"The Mobil 1 Truck Assist Mustang was solid in that practice session, but we need to do it when it matters this afternoon, so excited to get going.

"We've found a lot overnight which is exciting for us, so we'll see how we stack up."

Teams rolled through pit stops and driver changes throughout the session, with Wood's co-driver Ojeda leading the times early with a 1:52.1618s. Team 18's David Reynolds (1:51.4125s) and Tickford Racing wildcard Rylan Gray (1:50.8303s) both went quicker, with two-time Bathurst winner Chaz Mostert firing in consecutive laps to go second.

Blanchard Racing Team rookie Aaron Cameron went fastest with a 1:50.5343s, before Anton De Pasquale fired in a 1:49.9992s to go 0.5s clear. Championship leader Feeney then slashed the margin to 0.2s with a 1:50.2470s.

Gremlins crept in as the day wore on; notably, the Matt Payne/Garth Tander and Richie Stanaway/Nash Morris entries encountered starter motor issues, while the #1 was forced into the garage early amid running repairs. The Payne/Tander Mustang ended up 27th and last.

Drivers were pushing hard, James Courtney finding the grass at Turn 5, De Pasquale and Andre Heimgartner firing off at Turn 8, and Triple Eight wildcard Zach Bates into the Turn 11 gravel trap. With 15 minutes remaining, Wood (1:50.1491s) and Jack Le Brocq (1:50.2037s) moved ahead of Feeney, with Matt Stone Racing wildcard Cameron Crick (1:50.3899s) and Nick Percat (1:50.4454s) moving into the top six.

At the 26-minute mark, reigning champion Will Brown clocked a 1:49.9344s to jump De Pasquale by 0.064s, and went on with it on the following lap before giving it away. It opened the door for Randle to take top spot with a 1:49.8044s.

As some teams cycled through pit stops, green tyres were laid out for both Triple Eight drivers for a qualifying simulation, with Randle holding sway into the final four minutes.

Courtney kicked off the final two minutes to rise to fifth, before De Pasquale (1:49.7241s) and Wood (1:49.2867s) lowered the benchmark. Feeney (1:49.3451s) and Reynolds (1:49.6375s) moved up, before Kostecki slotted in behind Wood with a 1:49.3139s.

Reynolds, Cameron Hill, De Pasquale, Cam Waters, Kai Allen and Mostert rounded out the top 10, with the top 17 covered by 0.93s.