Broc Feeney, Matt Payne on high alert over GC500 chicanes
Anton De Pasquale, Feeney, Payne complete Friday top three
Cooper Murray first driver to crash at wild section of road
Championship leaders Matt Payne and Broc Feeney expect chicane craziness when Supercars returns on Saturday.
The unique event format of the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 sees Friday qualifying set the running order for Saturday’s Shootout, which is the first Supercars session of the day.
Wet or dry, the 10 Shootout runners will need to deliver at the first chance of asking, which is no mean feat given the wild nature of the Surfers Paradise track.
Anton De Pasquale, Feeney and Payne, as well as fourth-placed Andre Heimgartner, were covered by less than 0.1s in qualifying, but the best of the best will make a bigger difference when drivers have one lap to get it right in the Shootout.
When asked if he was expecting it to be as close in the Shootout, Red Bull Ampol Racing star Feeney replied: “To be honest, probably not. I think the Shootout might be a little bit more spread out tomorrow just due to it being maybe first lap of the day. I might be completely wrong.
“Obviously conditions will make a big part of that. But if it was dry again, it's going to take a lot of balls tomorrow to show up and throw it into Turn 1, first lap.
"I think, you know, a lot of guys have probably been getting it on second lap or something like that. So first lap of the day to be Shootout, it's gonna be pretty exciting.”
The Beach Chicane caught out several drivers, with Brodie Kostecki copping crucial kerb strikes, and Cooper Murray crashing out of qualifying.
Payne also troubled the Turn 10 kerb timing loop, and admitted there was little surprise each time he triggered the loop.
"I've got it a few times. You know when you've got it because you're dipping your left rear inside the kerb,” the 2025 Bathurst winner said.
“Every time I've got it, I've been like, 'Oh, yeah, I know I've got it’. And then Jack [Bell, engineer] comes over the radio and gives me the bad news."
Tyre bundles have been a hot topic, but cars still caught plenty of air throughout Friday’s action. The changes have been a challenge to adapt to, with Payne admitting he needed a few laps.
“The first push lap I did in the qual, went into the Beach Chicane with muscle memory from last year with no bundles, so that was a fail,” Payne said.
“It's tough adjusting to it. It still feels like crazy fast, because the one at [Turn] 8 doesn't seem actually to be that close. So you're still jumping that as much as you were last year...
"You're obviously not getting on four wheels. I think it's a good change. It's obviously, just got to have to watch how much you try and attack the bundle at 9 in the race and be cautious of the front bar really.”
Saturday's Supercars action at the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 commences with the Boost Mobile Top Ten Shootout at 12:35pm local time/1:35pm AEDT.
