Matt Payne, Broc Feeney clash lights up GC500 opener
Triple Eight's race unravels early in shocking conditions
Feeney, Will Brown drop down the order amid rainfall
A wet and wild start to the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 opener has been headlined by a clash between the championship top two.
After starting behind the Shannons Safety Car, pole sitter Broc Feeney plummeted down the field after being picked off by reigning champion Chaz Mostert at the end of the first racing lap.
Feeney, after being passed by Anton De Pasquale, was caught by points leader Matt Payne. On lap 15, Payne made his move into the Turn 4 hairpin, but contact pushed Feeney wide.
Feeney, who was struggling in the trying conditions, dropped behind Payne and Andre Heimgartner.
On lap 18, officials noted the incident between Payne and Feeney. By that stage, Mostert had eked out a whopping 12-second lead over De Pasquale. The lead was over 17 seconds once Mostert was pulled in, having caught traffic.
At lap 21, Feeney — who was then passed by Kostecki — was a staggering 23 seconds behind Mostert. Triple Eight pulled the pin, taking Feeney out of the action.
Behind them, Will Brown — who started ninth — had dropped from ninth to 15th, while 2025 Grand Finalist Kai Allen was also brought in early amid suspected alternator issues.
Aaron Cameron, meanwhile, nudged the tyre barriers at Turn 12.
David Reynolds, meanwhile, had been pulled out of the drama early by Team 18, which enacted a smart undercut to get the two-time Gold Coast winner into contention.
Approaching the halfway mark, Mostert effectively led Reynolds by nearly nine seconds, with Payne, De Pasquale, Waters, Kostecki, Heimgartner, Bates and Feeney the effective top 10, and Brown 11th.
