Team TRTPower Rankings: Gold Coast 500
It’s the HOT, the NOT, the WHAT and oh so many memes recapping a big outing on the streets of Surfers Paradise… so here goes!
ABOUT THE RANKINGS: The TRT Power Rankings are compiled by your nominations from social media and edited by the TRT editorial team. They’re designed to give a balanced, as fair as possible critical overview of those things that excelled and those things that struggled, at each event. It’s (mostly) a democracy, and what you nominate generates the order, so have your say next event via our social media channels, @theracetorque on Facebook, Twitter and Insta. Look for the call out each evening and get commenting!
HOT
1. The Crowd/The Event/The Vibe
Nothing will ever bring Indy back, but the modern Supercars party is still pretty bloody great. A lot of sideshows and attractions added to the mix, and the crowd was genuinely enormous. Boost Mobile once again activated harder than anyone in the sport, getting right the collective faces of their target market. The company also recommitted to the future of the event and the sport after earlier in the year announcing that they were walking away following the fallout of the Erebus/Kostecki saga – ultimately, the sport is better with people tipping cash into it and making some noise.
Activations like the drifting into the evening, the jet boat demos on the river in the middle of the precinct and everything else added to the excellent vibe.
2. Cam Waters
Tickford absolutely hit the ground running on the weekend, with their Saturday performance their first 1-2 result in seven years. Waters was absolutely mega from pole, which ultimately secured him the $25k season pole award bonus. Fourth on Sunday was solid.
3. Brodie Kostecki
Brodie is back. Fifth on Saturday, pole, and the Sunday win hot off the heels of his Bathurst success is a statement. How will he and George Commins fare at DJR next year? Ditto, how will Erebus go without the duo? But before then, the Kostecki/Erebus combination has one final hurrah in Adelaide, and they will be at the top of the odds list at the TAB.
4. Broc Feeney
Shaking off his Gold Coast hoodoo, a pair of thirds was a solid return from the event for the local lad. He struggled on the GC last year, so his form uptick at Surfers is timely, given the events added significance in 2025 as a key round in the new playoffs format.
5. Thomas Randle
Not much has gone right for Tom since a podium at the start of the SMP weekend, but results of second and fifth was his best outing since The Bend last year.
6. Will Brown
He was looking in the right spot of bother after shunting in Saturday qualifying (ref: NOT), but rebounding with finishes of seventh and second, which should see him roll out of Adelaide with a championship crown. No matter what, a new driver from Red Bull will be king for 2024.
7. The Air and Water Shows
Cool.
@v8_supercars Turn up your sound!! 🗣️ #dragboats #goldcoast500 #boostmoblie #fyp #boats #goldcoast #v8 #motors #crash ♬ original sound – v8_supercars
8. Andre Heimgartner
After a tough enduro campaign, Andre walked away from the GC with placings of eight and sixth despite finding the fence on Sunday morning. This combo is still strong.
9. Matthew Payne
Finishes of fourth and ninth, an absolute mirror image of his results from Surfers in 2023, which led to a victory at Adelaide. A repeat performance of that would not be unexpected in a few weeks.
10. David Reynolds/Team 18
A mammoth effort to get a new car turned around in a few days, with the work rewarded with results of sixth and tenth.
JLB Days of Thunder
Carrera Cup
It was an absolute Bayley Hall smackdown, with the hometown driver scoring three convincing race wins from the pole position. The battles for the minors were intense as always, and the intrigue, ‘will he, won’t he’ around Harri Jones sealing the title on Sunday added another layer to the plot. Tight racing, high stakes, good stuff.
V8 SuperUtes
Ryal Harris turned around a tough season with a trio of wins in claiming overall honours. Cameron Crick scored the pole and the opening race win to finish second for the event from Adam Marjoram.
Toyota 86s
While James Lodge claimed a weekend sweep in the debut of the Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia GR (Gazoo Racing) Cup on the streets of Main Beach, Max Geoghegan, in second for the round, claimed the series title some sixty years after a famous relative did the same just up the road at Lakeside. Max is a great kid and has a genuinely excellent story – and how cool is it to be able to teach people the history of the Geoghegan clan through his exploits? Great stuff.
Aussie Racing Cars
Kody Garland won the round overall, but in second by only two points was Joel Heinrich, who claimed the season title on a countback, making it the closest Aussie Cars title race in the series 24-year history. Joel’s third title puts him in legend status in the category, and even though the title was close he was clearly the class of the field.
TV Things
– Larko and live data – superb access.
– Super Slow-mos
– Great connect ‘around the grounds’ showcasing the scope and vibe of the event.
– The Neylon / Naulty ‘Party On, Matt’, ‘Party on, Chad’ throw to the podium on Sunday. Elite.
PURGATORY
Kerb Hops
The ultimate solution of not trying to seriously police the matter was probably for the best, but for each action there is a reaction, as per three-time series champion Scott McLaughlin…
WHAT
Pure Tickford Gold
Bowling a Pitlane Wide
Wot
WHAT & WHY?
– The editor endorses this nomination and placement.
Stress levels
NOT
1. Chaz Mostert
Chaz’s steering was absolutely deserving of big results, but the universe conspired against him. First came the gear shift indicator anomaly on Saturday, which ultimately cost him around 30sec in the pits when the 40km/h speed limiter wouldn’t do its job. Then on Sunday, he was refuelled from Ryan Wood’s fuel rig, he didn’t get enough gas and had to pit a third time. The team were fined $2,500 for the bugger up. Chaz was ultimately classified in tenth and 11th. He remains third in the points but is now out of championship contention.
2. Race Two Lap 1
Damaged all bar ten cars, although Anton De Pasquale was the only casualty that received race-ending damage. Incredible that with the circuit featuring the sketchiest chicanes on the planet, a run of the mill right angle left saw the field come wad up.
3. Erebus Motorsport
By rights, Erebus Motorsport should be the most popular team in Supercars – Australia loves an underdog overachieving – but in the court of public opinion, this squad continues to find drama in 2024.
4. Will Brown Qualifying Shunt
Ugly scenes on Saturday morning when the championship leader almost chucked it all away. Not also has to go for the rest of the field for trying to set a purple section under waved yellow flags.
5. James Golding
A super tough weekend that failed to deliver on its promising pace. On Saturday, a cool suit failure, radio dramas, and a wheel nut drama were backed up on Sunday by the car attempting to take off with only three wheels attached. Finishes of 16th and 13th were not representative of their place in the world.
6. Will Davison
Finishes of 19th and 20th were tough. Still sits ninth in the standings, although several others are well within striking distance – the GC weekend cannot be repeated in Adelaide. Teammate Anton De Pasquale scored an 11th before being the sole DNF on Sunday – not the results the world expects from DJR on home turf.
7. Saturday Pit Stop Blues
Grove Racing doing some serious officiating from their pit bunker.
8. People
There were oh so many people trackside over the weekend – it was genuinely difficult to get around. Extended waits to cross bridges have always been a feature of the event, which is unfortunate but perhaps a signal that it’s time to invest in some Adelaide 500 or AGP-style double-decker bridges and hey – it would give more space for signage anyway.
Also, while we appreciate the view of the choppers and whatnot from the McIntosh Island bridge, which is great, standing four deep blocking the walkway for everyone else is sub-optimal.
9. Josh Anderson Shunt in the Toyota 86s
A huge moment at the first chicane on Saturday which destroyed the outside wall, necessitating significant repairs that buggered up the program.
10. BJR
Jaxon Evans had a tough start to the weekend when fourth and fifth gears were the wrong way around in the transaxle fresh out of the truck, sidelining the rookie from practice one. We’ve heard of that sort of thing happening in Formula Vee, but it probably shouldn’t get past quality control in the professional world of Supercars racing.
Support race pits
If you were in the Carrera Cup or GR Cup located on the Esplanade, life was good – but if you were Aussies or SuperUtes, it was tougher. The Aussies were located in a building site down at Turn four, which was dusty when it was dry, muddy when it was wet and also had the side-effect of being outside the event precinct, which means no one could go visit it. The Utes were buried in the basement of a hotel, which is GC tradition, but also means it’s 8,000 degrees for the guys and gals working on the cars down there. We don’t have a solution – there’s no space anyway – but it remains not-worthy regardless.
Scum
Andre Heimgartner Sunday Qualifying
Nick Percat
Results of 12th and 22nd for the weekend after copping the worst of the Sunday start shunt. Not what we expected.
JLB & Frosty Start of Race 1
Came together with Mark Winterbottom at the start of Saturday’s encounter, with the resulting damage relegating him to the end of the result sheet.
Cam Hill Spin
TV Things
The circuit cameras going on the fritz at the start of Supercars practice two was suboptimal, while the virtual billboards continue to look rubbish, especially that Coates Hire on the track at turn four. How bad did it look hovering over the top of Cam Waters’ Saturday burnout?
The curtains fading
Everyone coming up from the South had just gotten used to this delightful thing called ‘Daylight Savings’ when we arrived in Surfers, so having to resort to the sun being up at 4 a.m. and being gone by 6 p.m. continues to demonstrate that Queensland, for all its delights, remains stuck in the dark ages. It’s a first-world problem, obviously, but the number of people who brought it up ensured it needed to be ranked here.
Blowing Shootout Laps
Shootouts are better at circuits with consequences, with multiple drivers blowing their glory laps over the weekend.
Richie Stanaway
Impeeded Anton De Pasquale in qualifying on Sunday and was docked three grid positions. Otherwise had good pace at times, especially early on Saturday, and registered finishes of ninth and seventh.
SOCIALS
@supercars This TikTok had to be done 😅 #RepcoSC #Supercars #GoldCoast #GC500 ♬ original sound – Supercars
MEME
