Supercars field 'all over the shot' after practice

The form guide is completely up in the air for Boost Mobile Qualifying at The Bend, as winds, potential gamesmanship and track limits wreak havoc.

Chaz Mostert snapped Chevrolet’s stranglehold on practice at the AirTouch 500 at The Bend, setting the fastest time in Practice 5 for Toyota.

Against the backdrop of dual parity changes to the Camaro, all three manufacturers were in the top three in the final practice session of the weekend. However, the stories didn’t stop there.

Notably, 2025 winner Brodie Kostecki didn’t put a set of new tyres on as others completed a dress rehearsal for Boost Mobile Qualifying, and ended up last.

Kostecki wasn’t fazed, saying: “We’re focused on race trim and making sure the is good for race time tomorrow.

“The beauty about this format is that you get three sets of green tyres, so hopefully by the third run I should be able to figure it out, otherwise I might need to find a new job."

The Turn 5 left hand sweeper was a big action point throughout practice. Drivers repeatedly cut the Turn 5 kerb, bringing dirt onto the circuit. Many were caught out, running wide and even off the road.

“We’re all pushing the limits of the track there, and bringing on a lot of dirt,” Mostert said.

“Lap to lap, it changes dramatically… everyone’s kind of all over the shot.”

James Courtney, who is racing with David Reynolds, suggested drivers may continue to bring dirt onto the circuit to create headaches for their rivals.

“It swings, it’s not a consistent breeze,” Courtney said.

“Depending on where you are on track as to how if it’s blowing on the side of the car, it’ll keep you in to the corner, or if it’s on the front or the rear, it affects the aero.

“These cars are becoming so much more reliant and affected by the aero, so winds like this are changing and catching guys out.

“It reminds of when we first came and raced here [in 2020], in qualifying sessions, once they’d done the time, they were cutting and pulling dirt on to slow the guys up behind.

“It is constantly changing, and in the race, it’s going to be a big issue, we’re probably going to see a lot go guys running off there.”

Traffic and track limits are also set to play a crucial role in qualifying, with a staggering 286 breaches recorded at Turn 6 across the five practice sessions.

During a Practice, Qualifying or Top Ten Shootout session any driver triggering a track limit loop — whereby all four wheels cross the line — will have that lap time deleted. All told, the five sessions failed to produce a clear favourite heading into qualifying.

“It’s just really challenging around here, for some reasons with the wind, and the circuit is a really different layout to what we’re used to,” Matt Payne said.

“A lot of inconsistencies lap to lap, which is very difficult to find out what really is changing with the set-up.”

Boost Mobile Qualifying will commence at 2:45pm local time/3:15pm AEST.