Team TRTPower Rankings: Adelaide 500
Welcome to our 22nd and final race meeting Power Rankings for 2024, covering off all things HOT, NOT and WHAT from the VAILO Adelaide 500. And, we’ve saved our biggest ever rankings’ til now…
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 Adelaide 500
AT the end of the event this year, a lot of people were suggesting that of all the Adelaide 500s to date, this one was right up there as the best. It’s incredible that South Australia puts on such an incredible festival for the thing that we love. From the circuit racing to the speedway, motocross, concerts, air show, sideshows, this is the must-attend event in this corner of the world and this year it felt bigger than ever since it’s resurrection three years ago.
Adding the speedway improved the flow around the precinct, with the concert stage moving behind the Grandstand allowing a heap more people to comfortably enjoy the shows on Saturday and Sunday night, while the ‘Pub in the Park’ concept is something we absolutely got around.
Whether it was on track, off track, on another track, in the sky or on a stage there was always something happening at the weekend. The Adelaide 500 remains the standard on which every other street circuit event is and should be judged and after this year, there’s a chance some will need to push hard to keep up.
PS. Crowded House were magnificent.
2. Will Brown
On the podium every round, and outside of a 24th on Sunday in Townsville, scored top-ten results in all other races. A top-tier personality who will be a great representative for the sport moving forward. It would be hard not to like this result.
Then there was the Sunday race… punted into the scenery and set back to the rear of the field, he charged back through to the lead when the rest of the sport capitulated. A career-defining drive on the day he claimed the big prize.
3. Supercars Sunday Race
While many NOT-worthy things went down, there was plenty of Hot-Hot-Hot action, especially in the closing laps with a limping Chaz Mostert holding off the field. Definitely one of the better races of the Gen3 era.
As an aside, if this is the level of intensity around a championship race (with all the major prizes sorted, this race really did have winner-take-all stakes in a strange kind of way), then next year’s decider is going to be incredible. One of the better races on the Adelaide streets, full stop.
4. Broc Feeney
Second in the standings, the Saturday win, his fifth for the season, and pole on Sunday were big. Ultimately, 30sec of penalties cruelled his Sunday charge, which resulted in seventh. Expect him to once again be in the title calculations in 12 months.
5. V8 Superutes Race 2, Final Lap
One lap race to the finish, everyone went completely nuts. Most cars wound up in the scenery, or on top of another truck. Ryal Harris wound up “Busted and disgusted”. Somehow, after all of the shunting was finished, Adam Marjoram won the race, we think. Marjoram went on to sweep the weekend from pole and wrap up the season title.
6. NAPA Speedway
This sure shut the haters up. An unqualified success, the Speedway was an incredible addition to the event and, aside from that, it actually turned out to be a bloody good race track, too. It was a short track which meant the cars were wheel standing everywhere which made for spectacular viewing. It was a stacked field, and Thursday’s feature race was one of the better Sprint Car races of the year, with the leaders three-wide at some point. The changeable nature of Speedway track prep ensured Friday’s race wasn’t quite the same barnstormer, but overall, the NAPA speedway raced better than perhaps it deserved and definitely better than some permanent venues around, who should feel very nervous.
It wasn’t perfect – viewing was a challenge to be addressed for next year – however, it’s hard to see this as anything other than an enormous win for the event and for Speedway racing.
What an incredible thing to do. It was a brilliant spectacle and showcase of the sport, which raced remarkably well for a street race. Now, to get it on a more accessible TV platform for next year.
7. Supercars Teams
Once again, the repairability of the Gen3 platform came to the forefront. Team 18, Matt Stone Racing, and Brad Jones Racing, who would have patched Jaxon Evans’ battered machine if he were fit enough for the Sunday race, all went above and beyond.
8. Thomas Randle
A solid outing in Adelaide – fifth and third that gave him fifth for the year after Matthew Payne faltered in the finale. Now, for race wins in 2025… and we’re heading back to The Bend, just sayin’…
9. Chaz Mostert
A tough Saturday with a 13th finish after early clutch dramas and a pit lane start, while Sunday’s second could have been a win if he didn’t wind up in the wall. Much talk has centred on whether he should have let Broc Feeney, though, but the world will never know, and in the end, it was very Chaz to just box on – and the race was better for it.
Looked dead in the water at the end of the final race, and a podium looked like it was going to vanish when Will Davo slipped past, but a big move up the inside at Turn nine put him back in the mix with an absolute beauty of a drive in a car that was walking wounded. One of his better performances.
10. Cam Waters
Scored pole for Saturday, third in the race after not having the pace of the Red Bulls. A difficult Sunday resulted in tenth after a penalty, and fourth for the season. Race pace was a battle but his qualifying speed is electrifying and if he can continue to take all of Adderton’s Boost cash next year, and convert it into more wins than this year, he’ll be a factor again.
Super2 Decider & Zach Bates
It was the blockbuster title decider that promised so much. Ultimately, Zach Bates won the finale, which was enough for Walkinshaw Andretti United to claim its first title since 2009 (!). Despite being fenced in the Sunday race, Aaron Cameron claimed second for the round and the series for the team run by Todd Kelly. Kai Allen claimed third for the year after an at times scrappy Adelaide encounter.
Todd Hazelwood
He did enough to claim a very popular hometown win after a massive season of racing. Victory for James Moffat in the finale gave him the round win after Hazelwood won the opener, while the Saturday race was a non-event after a NOT-worthy all-in stack.
Carrera Cup
A big weekend for the one-make Porsches with a huge 29-car field fronting for the event. Dale Wood won the weekend with a pair of wins from pole, plus make a Supercars Saturday cameo. On that day, Bayley Hall claimed the victory with an incredible last-corner lap pass for the lead, which ended one of the best races the category has had. A high-class show once again.
Nick Percat/Matt Stone Racing
Results of 14th and fifth from Adelaide gave Percat eighth for the year and Matt Stone Racing seventh in the standings, ahead of five other teams, and hot on the heels of powerhouse outfits Dick Johnson Racing and Erebus Motorsport. A huge result from a genuine underdog.
Will Davison
Weekend results of 12th and fourth were just enough for DJR to claim fifth in the season standings, just ahead of Erebus. This is a team capable of better, and with a wholesale cleanout over the off-season, they will be aiming higher next year, but Will showed his class and rewarded the team for locking him in for another season with a ripper drive.
Brodie Kostecki
Sixth and sixth from the weekend in his last drive for the team that combined to win the title 12 months earlier… and what an incredible roller coaster that year has been.
Matthew Payne
Fourth Saturday, fenced Sunday and 23rd, sixth for the year.
Andre Heimgartner
Heimgartner rounded out a tough year for Brad Jones Racing with results of seventh and ninths, which followed on from a pair of top-tens on the GC, giving the Perth-based Kiwi tenth for the year.
Super2 Pole Award
The permutations coming into Friday afternoon’s final qualifying session of the year were ridiculous, but ultimately, when by setting the second-best time, Zach Bates was able to claim the pole award on a countback.
Track to Town
For the first time bringing the racecars into town was a big deal in little Adelaide.
The Air Show
Peerless again. And impeccable timing on the National Anthem.
JLB Jr
Well done to JLB and Kenz on the arrival of Romy Mae – almost perfect timing for the summer of sleepless nights ahead!
TV of Things
- Mark Larkham breaking down the pertinent subjects
- Benny Bishop with some 12th Man to open Sunday morning
- Matt Naulty’s voice breaking during Sunday’s Super2 podium
WHAT
“Man arrested for driving on Adelaide 500 circuit”
Viewer Discretion Advised
Bad Karma
Sent
NOT
1. Reuben Goodall Crash
We’re not sure if enough has been made of this very nasty-looking situation where an errant car cleared the field of play. Firstly, it’s great that everyone was able to walk away – but that was perhaps through good luck rather than good management. While the area at the end of the escape road isn’t filled with people, the space in question is utilised by all manner of officials, photographers and other associated people attached to the meeting for transiting around the circuit.
Clearly, the venue planners and Motorsport Australia – who sign off on such things – thought it was safe enough to place a portaloo there. The placement of the walls in the escape road are staggered in such a way that cars with failures should not be able to clear the circuit bounds. In this instance, the brakeless Commodore clearly knocked down a wall that was not connected to the barrier next to it. The design of the concrete blocks at street circuits in Australia features various steel loops, which overlap with the adjacent blocks, and are connected essentially by the upright that contains the catch fence. In this instance, the block clearly wasn’t mated to the one next one. That area is often used for vehicular access outside of competition times, and the last-minute placement of the block that was toppled clearly wasn’t up to scratch. A significant failing where we don’t often see such issues.
2. Concussions
Richie Stanway had to sit out the weekend’s racing after suffering concussion-like symptoms after his Friday afternoon qualifying shunt. Similarly, Jaxon Evans was ruled out for Sunday. Also, Will Davison felt concussion-like symptoms after his side-on shunt at Bathurst. Is this a bad trend for Gen3, or are the cars just being thrown at the scenery harder now than ever before? NASCAR’s latest generation had a series of issues when they first introduced their platform – that series has a different way to attack head injuries, with baseline testing at the start of the year retested after each trip to the infield care centre. This run of head injuries in Supercars is more akin to full-contact ball sports. Not.
3. Friday Supercars Qualifying Shunt
Is it about time we look at the merits of that bloody guardrail on the inside of turn eight, that for decades now has been feeding cars into the outside wall, causing some of the biggest crashes in the history of our sport? Seriously, what purpose does it serve? On the outside, other street circuits around the world employ SAFER Barriers – why can’t we? On Friday afternoon, first went in Richie Stanaway, but he drove on after creasing the outside walls. Cameron Hill then suffered his second uber-turn-eight shunt in as many Adelaide qualifying sessions, with his hits some of the biggest we have ever seen. David Reynolds then went into the wall, seemingly after other competitors had slowed for the yellow flags, with the red lights seemingly illuminated. Reynolds was very quick prior to the shunt, like Bathurst, and like Bathurst, he binned it big time as he wound up mounting Hill’s car. It appears that the already creased fence from Stanaway played a part in worsening the damage to the latter crashees. Coincidently, the triple-shunt happened at the exact same time as similar things were going down in Macau. The fracas ruined the session, which was bad, especially for Chaz Mostert, who failed to set a time… but it mixed the grid, which wasn’t necessarily bad.
4. Stadium Super Trucks
The Stadium Super Truck drama kicked off early when the cars were only released from Customs late on Wednesday night, despite landing on these shores back on November 2nd. Thus, many of the trucks were not sign written come the opening session On track, Shae Davies kicked things off in spectacular fashion with his endo barrel roll shunt moments into practice one. TV then cut to Robby Gordon’s in-car camera, where he educated children viewers in F words. Matt Mingay subsequently smote the fence, ejected his fuel tank, emerged unhurt, but buggered the wall and buggered the Thursday schedule before opening practice was canned. Subsequently, things remained in limbo, TV went to air ahead of Friday qualifying, however, a Motorsport Australia statement notifying of a steward’s hearing was issued within minutes of the posted start time of the session, and it was subsequently canned, necessitating Fox Sports to roll out a replay of Supercars’ Thursday run. Finally, qualifying was allowed to take place on Friday afternoon in place of the category’s first race, with the session going off without incident. Following a reasonably typical race on Saturday, Sunday morning’s race was replaced by a single-car shootout sans the jump that saw Mingay become unstuck. The second race on Sunday saw a car fall on its side roof first into the barriers after the Senna Chicane.
It was a debacle all round – and the Adelaide organisers who paid for it will be asking hard questions about the value of their investment – and if they come back to these parts, we’ll be among those surprised.
5. Jaxon Evans Qualifying Shunt
Massive. See previous.
6. Glen Wood/Harri Jones Porsche Shunt
Brutal. See: other turn eight shunts. Also, the extended cleanup cost Super2 almost half of their race time for their title decider, which was unfortunate.
7. Trans Am All-In
Eight cars were collected after slipping on a massive oil down, with five eliminated from participating in the Sunday race.
8. Broc Feeney on Chaz Mostert Sunday
Firstly, there was the unsafe release in the pits, where Feeney clattered into Mostert, which he then attempted to re-address, but unfortunately, you can’t undo a safety violation. A 15sec penalty ensued. Then, Feeney made contact with Mostert again in the staircase, which sent Mostert into the wall backwards. Chaz didn’t have a working mirror, but by the same token, he felt that he couldn’t maintain a 15sec gap to car 88. Another 15sec penalty was applied to Feeney.
9. Supercars Race Two Red Cordial Induced Biffo
What the bloody hell was that? Penalties galore: 15sec for Mark Winterbottom, Brodie Kostecki, Anton De Pasquale, Cameron Waters, and Dale Wood, 5sec for Aaron Love, and 30sec for a couple of dramas that Broc Feeney found himself in.
10. Motorsport Australia Butchering Saturday’s Grid
A bit of a dog’s breakfast due to a clerical error, which mixed the field. Anton De Pasquale won the lotto when he was allowed to start from grid 14 rather than the 22nd he should have.
Super2 Blues
Frosty and Slade Finale
Sad to see both walking away from the sport full time.
Significant Parking Fine
Triple Eight and Tickford failed to read the regs with respect to post-racing parking, and copped a $2,000 fine per car. Ouch.
Doing the Senna Chicane Wrong
Superutes Biffo
Porsche Biffo
Firstly, in race one, Sam Shahin copped the worst of a first lap squeeze, before engaging in some possibly misguided theatrics. Then Lachie Bloxson lost it under brakes for turn nine and comprehensively cleaned up David Russell. The final race was cut short after another not-worthy stack.
Blame Chad
Reynolds Blues
Finishing 11th on Sunday was a decent bounce back after a very tricky start to the weekend.
Ring Ins Thrown in Deep End
An almost impossible task for the three drivers involved: Cooper Murray 24th and 18th, Dale Wood 22nd, and Kai Allen 22nd.
Sad End to Super3
The sole entrant for the weekend, Tony Auddino’s FG Falcon, failed to make the races after early engine dramas. A disappointing petering out for the category.
Early in the Fence
Aaron Borg in V8 Superutes at turn eight, then Elliot Clearly in Trans Am came unstuck in the early portion of the lap in opening practice. The session ended early when Mark Bailey found the wall at turn eight.
SOCIALS
About Friday arvo…
Going the Distance
Not sure if that is how it works…
Shunt
Do it.
Live scenes at the end of Thursday practice
iRacing Been Scannin
Going the Undercut
Who got the headlights wrong?
Your most popular driver, and for good reason
@chazmozzie These filters keep getting weirder and weirder, lise some others in the comments I can try 🤣
♬ original sound – Chaz Mostert
Don’t
@adelaide.mail Beat the Adelaide 500 traffic with this one simple tip… #adelaide #southaustralia #adelaide500 #fyp #v8supercars ♬ original sound – Adelaide Mail
Also Don’t
@walkinshawandrettiunited Will is never safe around Chaz! #supercars #adelaide #australia #buggy ♬ original sound – Walkinshaw Andretti United
MEME
