Feeney dominates GC500 finale, De Pasquale squeaks into Sandown

Broc Feeney has finally broken through for his maiden home win at the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500, punching his ticket through to the Semi Final at Sandown.

Feeney was in a league of his own in the finale, winning the start and cruising home to the tune of almost seven seconds over Brodie Kostecki. Matt Payne recovered to sixth from 12th, and will take the lead to Sandown.

The battle for Finals positions went right down to the final lap, with Anton De Pasquale securing the seventh and final transfer position to Sandown after a dramatic final 10 laps. Ryan Wood, Kai Allen and Jack Le Brocq were eliminated.

It was a dry start to Race 32, but drivers were wary on the grid of raining arriving before the end of the 85-lap finale, though the race remained dry throughout.

It was pole sitter Feeney who led the way from an all-Triple Eight front row, with Cam Waters and Cooper Murray trading paint on the run to Turn 1. However, there was massive Finals drama deep in the pack.

Allen, De Pasquale, and Le Brocq all tripped over one another on the run to Turn 1, with De Pasquale and Le Brocq both limping back to the pits with damage. De Pasquale's right rear tyre let go before entering pit lane, the debris triggering a Shannons Safety Car on lap 3.

Team 18's pain was compounded by David Reynolds also being fed into the wall at Turn 13 on the opening lap, Reynolds losing two laps as he had his damage fixed. Crucially, De Pasquale remained on the lead lap.

The race went back to green on lap 7, with Feeney leading Will Brown, Aaron Cameron, Kostecki, and Wood, who needed a big result to lift himself out of the elimination zone.

Cameron fell away from the leading Fords, and soon came under pressure from Kostecki and Chaz Mostert, who had swapped positions with Wood to cause havoc for those ahead.

Kostecki pitted out of the battle on lap 19, to which Mostert responded on the following lap, though he was delayed by a wheel gun failure.

Cameron's solid first stint was also undone by a wheel delay with his first stop, whilst with clear air Kostecki was able to once again outfox his podcast co-host Brown after the Red Bull Ampol Mustang made its first stop, diving down the inside at Turn 12 on lap 23.

However, despite his slow first stop, Mostert's pace was still supreme, carrying on with his Saturday form despite polar opposite conditions and heavier fuel load, closing to within half a second of Brown by lap 40.

Mostert had a big look on Brown at the final corner on lap 44, but got all crossed up at corner exit as he clobbered the apex tyre bundle, with Brown on his last warning for track limits at the Beach Chicane.

Such was Brown's struggle, that both Wood and Jarrod Hughes were ranging up on the back of the battle for effective third. Mostert made his move with an audacious dive at Turn 11 on lap 48, parking Brown wide and allowing Wood through in the process.

Mostert then played the team game, allowing Wood by into what at that stage was a provisional berth through to Sandown, though with 35 laps there was still plenty of water to go under the bridge.

Whilst the battle for the podium was heating up, Kostecki had quietly eaten into Feeney's lead, and after the pair made their final stops on laps 57 and 58, Feeney had just over a second in hand over the #17 Shell V-Power Ford.

Mostert's final stop came on lap 62, though he emerged some five seconds off the pace, though he was quickly eating up that margin on fresher tyres, setting the fastest lap of the race on lap 67.

Wood, had to fend off the advances of Hughes, copping a big whack in the door for his trouble on lap 63, though Hughes found himself divebombed by an opportune Andre Heimgartner at Turn 12.

Walkinshaw TWG Racing were left with a dilemma, with Wood needing one more spot to secure a provisional Semi Final berth, whilst Mostert was closing rapidly on Kostecki for second.

Mostert repaid the favour from Wood's efforts 12 months ago, dropping in behind his teammate, who was coming under pressure from Heimgartner.

However, both Hughes and Cooper Murray were forced to pit for fuel inside the final 10 laps, promoting De Pasquale up two positions and giving him crucial points to get back ahead of Wood, and into the final transfer position.

While all the was going on, Feeney extended his buffer to Kostecki, eventually claiming victory by 6.9s, whilst Mostert was swapped back ahead of Wood on the final lap.

Heimgartner, Payne, Cam Waters, James Golding, Cameron Hill, and Thomas Randle rounded out the top 10.