Super2 talking points in 2025: The next crop of GR Cup graduates
Ahead of the 25th anniversary season of the Dunlop Super2 Series, Supercars.com takes a look at some of the key talking points ahead of the 2025, continuing with five rookie prospects graduating from Toyota 86 competition.
Since its inception in 2016, the Toyota GAZOO Racing Australia GR Cup (formerly the Toyota 86 Racing Series), has provided the Dunlop Super2 Series with an influx of young talent.
The likes of Will Brown, Broc Feeney, Declan Fraser, Kai Allen, and Zach Bates have won the Super2 Series having earlier raced in 86s, whilst Cameron Hill and Ryan Wood also competed in both series on his way to Supercars.
2025 is no exception, with five rookies in this year's Super2 field graduating straight out of the GR Cup and into the final stepping stone on the pathway to Supercars.
Max Geoghegan, Bradi Owen, Ben Gomersall, Matt Hillyer, and Ryan Tomsett all graduate from the ultra-competitive Toyota series, and will all be looking to follow in the footsteps of those listed above.
Max Geoghegan (#53 Image Racing Commodore)
Having swept all before him in Toyota's in 2024, one of Australian motorsport's most legendary names is one step away from returning to the top flight of motorsport in this country.
Max Geoghegan won both national Toyota 86 categories last year, starting off with the Scholarship Series for previous-spec GR86s, before claiming the GR Cup on the Gold Coast last year with the all-new GR86s.
The grandson of inaugural Supercars Hall of Fame inductee Ian "Pete" Geoghegan, Geoghegan was signed to the Erebus Academy in the lead-up to the Sandown 500 last year, and has been elevated into a third Image Racing Commodore in 2025.
With stablemates Jobe Stewart and Jarrod Hughes already secured for Erebus co-drives with Cooper Murray and Jack Le Brocq respectively this season, Geoghegan has proven teammates who he can learn from this year.
With Erebus' proven track record of promoting young talent to the main game, Geoghegan could be in the best position possible to earn his Supercars chance in years to come.
Bradi Owen (#88 Eggleston Motorsport Commodore)
One of the breakout stars of the early running in the GR Cup, the Gold Coast teenager got off to a dream start in Townsville with a clean sweep of all three races in North Queensland.
Eggleston Motorsport were quick to secure the services of Owen, announcing his signature just after the Sandown 500 last year to become the first confirmed driver on the 2025 grid.
Owen was a title contender right the way through the GR Cup season last year, leading the points standings up until a tough final round on the Gold Coast, where he slipped to third.
Having been handed the reigns to the #88 Commodore that has become something of a flagship entry for Eggleston Motorsport, Owen has the equipment beneath him to be competitive right from the outset.
After all, the last the time a driver made their Super2 debut in the #88, Cooper Murray won on debut at the Newcastle 500 in 2023.
Ben Gomersall (#35 Triple Eight Commodore)
Supercars powerhouse Triple Eight are back in the development series for 2025, and one of their two rookies this season is Queenslander Ben Gomersall.
Sixth in the GR Cup last year, whilst he didn't have the standout moments of the likes of Geoghegan, Owen, and Hillyer, Gomersall was a model of consistency scoring 13 top 10s in 15 starts with a best finish of fourth.
2024 was Gomersall's third season in Toyota 86 competition, having graduated from state level Hyundai Excel racing, and has got his big Super2 break.
Gomersall has stated that his primary objective is to have a clean weekend at Sydney Motorsport Park to open his campaign, and hopes to continue building throughout the season.
Matt Hillyer (#25 WAU Commodore)
Walkinshaw Andretti United have swapped out one Toyota 86 star for another, with six-time race winner in 2024 Matt Hillyer handed the task of stepping into reigning Super2 champion Zach Bates' shoes.
Hillyer proved to be arguably the most impressive driver of the 2024 GR Cup, however a heavy crash at Bathurst crushed any hopes of a title charge, with the damage ruling him out of the Gold Coast finale.
The 2023 Australian Formula Ford Champion has been a member of WAU's Foundation Academy since 2023, piloting the team's GR Cup entry over the past two years alongside a Scholarship Series campaign in a busy 2023.
Hillyer is well entrenched at Clayton, serving as a mechanic on Chaz Mostert's Mustang in the Repco Supercars Championship through a Kangan Institute apprenticeship last year.
With a proven championship-winning car and the likes of Mostert and 2023 Super2 standout Ryan Wood in his corner, the 20-year-old Victorian could be well placed be fighting at the front.
Ryan Tomsett (#17 Anderson Motorsport Mustang
Teenager Ryan Tomsett might've missed the top eight of the 2024 GR Cup standings, but his record in the previous season and his karting career are an indication of his raw talent.
The 2023 Kaizen Award winner in the GR Cup for his continuous improvement in the category, the 17-year-old was announced on a multi-year deal with Anderson Motorsport at Bathurst last year.
Tomsett was just 15 when he claimed a win at The Bend Motorsport Park in the 2023 GR Cup, a feat only matched by Broc Feeney in 2018, who also won his first race at The Bend.
With a multi-year commitment to the Anderson program locked in, expect 2025 to be a learning year for the New South Wales teen.
Tickets for the season-opening round in Sydney, on February 21-23, are on sale now.
