Kostecki bounces back, Triple Eight buried

Brodie Kostecki has brushed aside his Darwin health scare to claim his fifth Boost Mobile Pole Award of 2026 in a dramatic Friday qualifying in Townsville.

The 2024 Bathurst winner fended off a spirted attack by Cam Waters, claiming pole for Friday's sprint race by just 0.03s, whilst Matt Payne is poised to claim the championship lead after a nightmare run for both Triple Eight Fords.

Both championship leader Broc Feeney and 2024 champion Will Brown will start outside the top 15 after bailing out in Q1, whilst the team could face further sanctions after a wheel came loose on Brown's Ford.

The 35-lap Race 20 will kick off at 4:15pm AEST.

Q1

All 26 cars rolled out on to the streets of Townsville with next to nothing of a form guide to read, following a practice session that was ended early by a red flag for Jack Le Brocq.

Just 12 minutes were on the clock to whittle 26 down to 10 for Q2, and it was Cam Waters who made big inroads early, putting a tenth on the field off the bat with a 1:13.4160s.

The speed was consistent from both of Tickford's full-time Mustangs, Thomas Randle impressively going third on his opening run after Tickford replaced his steering rack after mysterious dramas effectively saw him miss practice.

Kostecki would then pip Waters by 0.0470s ahead of the final run, whilst Broc Feeney's Friday struggles were continuing as he was only 17th after the first run, complaining that the #88 Ford felt as though it was on a wet tyre.

The woes then transferred to the other side of the Red Bull Ampol Racing garage, as Will Brown brought out the red flag when he pulled up after exiting pit lane with a loose left front wheel.

Brown was provisionally in the transfer zone before triggering the red flag, but lost his fastest time per regulations, meaning he needed to bump his way back in when the session went back green with three minutes remaining.

The 2024 champion reported that something still felt broken when he went back out, whilst Feeney also struggled to find speed.

Come the end of the session, both were buried in the pack, Feeney only 16th, and Brown way back in 19th.

Waters sent out a statement with a 1:12.9635s to go more than a quarter of a second faster than Chaz Mostert in second, whilst Randle maintained third.

Anton De Pasquale was also knocked out in 14th after winning the most recent race in Darwin.

Q2

The clock was reset to eight minutes to decide the polesitter, with six Fords joined by both Walkinshaw TWG Racing Toyotas, as well as the Chevrolets of Jayden Ojeda and Jack Le Brocq.

All bar James Golding kept their powder dry until the final three minutes, the #7 Ford rolling out on a used tyre to bank a 1:13.9533s before swapping to a new tyre after the remainder of the field had rolled out.

Kostecki was the first to fire a shot with a 1:12.8214s, going a tenth clear of Waters' Q1 benchmark, who went on to go within three hundredths of the #17 Ford.

The Monster Mustang then set the fastest first sector of all on Waters' final lap, however his tyres faded as the lap wore on, handing Kostecki his fifth pole of the year.

That would turn out to be the battle for pole, with Matt Payne some 0.2144s back in third, and Chaz Mostert to start alongside on the second row, though with potential questions surrounding an off-song engine in Q2.

Randle's recovery ended in a fine fifth, with Kai Allen, Ryan Wood, Le Brocq, Ojeda, and Golding rounding out the top 10.