What was the biggest surprise of the 2025 Supercars season?

How could we possibly prepare for what 2026 could throw at us? We don't have to look too far back at all.

The 2025 Repco Supercars Championship had it all, from moments of elation, historic winning margins, heartbreaks and shocks.

There were also some eye-catching, jaw-dropping “wow” moments that even the best drama novelists could have scripted. Sport, like a movie thriller, is at its best when you don’t see the twists coming.

Here are those we identified as the biggest surprises of the 2025 season.

Allen’s rookie surge

All of 20, rookie Kai Allen fought for a championship in Adelaide. How crazy is that to think? The Penrite Racing driver started the year in his teens, and was a lowly 19th in points after Round 4. However, he picked himself up off the canvas and avoided chaos and carnage to sit fourth after Sandown, giving him an unexpected chance to win it all in Adelaide.

Feeney misses out on the title

After being defeated by Will Brown in 2024, Broc Feeney entered 2025 as a hot favourite. He delivered on that with a remarkable haul of 14 wins and 19 pole positions. After the Repco Sprint Cup, though, cracks began to show, headlined by wobbles throughout the enduros. Contact with Ryan Wood on lap 1 of the Adelaide finale presented a chance for Feeney to fight back, but an engine issue was a surprising own goal by Triple Eight, costing their young star the crown.

Triple Eight's wobbles

An extension of Feeney's Adelaide heartache is the fate that hit Triple Eight, which despite its brilliant speed, fell victim to a number of uncharacteristic hiccups throughout the season. Brown just couldn't get qualifying right, and it got even worse in The Finals when it mattered most, putting him under pressure. Taupō was a struggle, but from the enduros, the headaches really crept in. The Feeney/Jamie Whincup refuelling issue at The Bend was a shock, before both stars crashed out as rain fell in Bathurst. Who could possibly have predicted both Triple Eight cars finding the fence in the biggest race of the year?

Waters, Payne fail to reach Adelaide

Cam Waters clean swept Sydney, and while his season was short of highlights from there, he left the Gold Coast in a provisional Grand Final position. Matt Payne, meanwhile, was no lower than third in points between Round 3 and Round 10. Both drivers didn’t throw punches at their rivals in opening Finals, but punches at each other in the Sandown finale cost both drivers a shot at the title in Adelaide.

Hill’s first Supercars win

After two rollercoaster seasons, Cameron Hill burst onto the scene in Melbourne, following his maiden podium with a shock victory in the second race. It was just the fourth win for Matt Stone Racing, and first for a Canberran in Supercars. He remained in The Finals hunt until the latter part of the Sprint Cup, and he only just missed out.

PremiAir nearly wins Bathurst

Cooper Murray and Erebus Motorsport loomed to pull off another win in the Great Race, which in itself would have been a big surprise. However, the performance of James Golding, David Russell and PremiAir Racing was beyond anything the Peter Xiberras-owned team could have imagined. Russell starred in the heavy wet, before handing over to Golding, who was a revelation. Unfortunately, the controversial clash with Murray with five laps to go ensured Golding wouldn’t take home the Peter Brock Trophy despite crossing the line first. No doubt, it would have been the biggest upset in Bathurst history.

Aaron Cameron leads Adelaide

As the season started in Sydney, Aaron Cameron watched on from the sidelines. By the end of the season, he launched from the front row and passed Broc Feeney for the lead. Sadly, he crashed out, but Cameron had made his mark. If you predicted that at the start of the year, can we privately ask if you can read the future? Outrageous.

Courtney races to the podium

Cameron’s stunner was just another moment of joy for the Blanchard Racing Team, which after years of trying, finally reached the podium courtesy of a 44-year-old James Courtney in Perth. Starting outside the top 10, Courtney benefited from a Safety Car to jump up the order, and picked off Ryan Wood after the restart to claim third. Wood later collided with James Golding, taking the headlines, but no one could deny an emotional Courtney delivering long-awaited joy to BRT.

The views in this article do not necessarily express the opinions of Supercars, teams or drivers.