Speedcafe

The Townsville weekend kicked off with a bang, almost literally, with a bomb scare that delayed early track action. When Supercars did get underway it was Cam Waters that owned the day, converting a front row start into victory as his season resurgence continues. He was under plenty of pressure from fast Ford drivers Brodie Kostecki and Matt Payne, though, with some strategy intrigue ultimately making the difference.

Cam Waters celebrates victory at the Townsville 500. Image: Supplied Waters led the way from Dick Johnson Racing’s Brodie Kostecki and Grove Racing’s Matt Payne as the pit stop cycle began in the 35-lap race. Payne dived in on lap 17 and DJR set up to bring Kostecki in a lap later, potentially threatening Waters’ lead with an undercut. According to Tickford manager Matt Roberts, that’s when engineering manager and strategist Brad Wischusen sprung into action.

Cameron Waters leads Brodie Kostecki during the Townsville 500. Image: InSyde Media Waters extended his standing as the best active Supercars driver at the Reid Park Street Circuit with his fourth Townsville win for Tickford Racing. After a slow start dropped Kostecki to fourth, the Dick Johnson Racing driver worked his way back to second before threatening to usurp Waters before the pit stops.

Anton De Pasquale and Macauley Jones at the Townsville 500. Image: InSyde Media The championship returned to a formal parity review structure this season, featuring lap time based triggers. Supercars’ system crunches in-race lap time data from cars of each manufacturer on a rolling six-race average. The category is required to launch a review if the calculated disparity is outside the stated 0.1s threshold once equated to a 60-second lap.

Andrew Corish rolled after being clipped by Ayrton Hodson during the first Aussie Racing Cars race at the Townsville 500. Hodson was running two positions ahead of Corish on the final lap of the race when the front-end fibreglass bodywork came loose. As Hodson leapt over the kerb at Turn 7, part of the nose went under the front wheels of Hodson’s #28 machine, leaving the Kiwi unable to steer.

Broc Feeney during Friday's qualifying for the Townsville 500. After the first qualifying runs, Brown brought out the red flag shortly after exiting the pits when he stopped his Ford Mustang on the run to Turn 2 with a loose left front wheel. The brief stoppage set up a three-minute dash to the end of the session. Feeney improved from 17th to sixth and Brown to 10th but were eventually demoted to 16th and 19th as other drivers improved.

Speedcafe will once again host the premier post-race party on the Sunday night of the Townsville 500 at The Mad Cow in the heart of the city. This year Fireball has joined the party to keep the heat going well into the night. Doors open at 8pm with free entry and live music from Cailin Malley and The Wet Whistles. Don’t miss the perfect end to the Townsville 500 weekend thanks to Speedcafe, Fireball and The Mad Cow.

Kai Allen suffered a dangerous helmet air malfunction in Darwin. Image: Supplied The Grove Racing driver revealed on the Fox Sports broadcast that his helmet air fan system malfunctioned during the immediate build-up to the Darwin finale. He swiftly unplugged the system once he realised he was breathing carbon dioxide and went on to finish the race sixth. However it was after the race that symptoms began to set in, Supercars medical delegate Dr Carl Le putting Allen on oxygen at the circuit.

Jack Le Brocq's Matt Stone Racing Chevrolet Camaro after crashing during practice at the Townsville 500. Matt Stone Racing’s Jack Le Brocq reported a steering issue after crashing at Turn 8. With only one practice session on Friday, the red flag fell awkwardly just as teams and drivers were preparing to start their qualifying simulations. That meant Kostecki’s chart-topping 1:13.6835s went unchallenged. Kostecki, who completed just eight laps, was happy with Ford Mustang.

Ai Ogura rides for Trackhouse Racing. Ai Ogura will leave Aprilia satellite squad Trackhouse to join factory outfit Yamaha on a two-year deal. The 25-year-old, who is in just his second season in the premier class, won the most recent race at Assen ahead of his teammate Raul Fernandez. The Aprilia RS-GP has been the bike to beat in 2026, upstaging Ducati and its Desmosedici.