Huge shocks in finals qualifying as De Pasquale dazzles

Sebastian Tan |

Anton De Pasquale has had a flying session as the Gold Coast 500 kicks off the finals series.
Anton De Pasquale has had a flying session as the Gold Coast 500 kicks off the finals series.

Anton De Pasquale has rebounded from his Bathurst 1000 devastation in emphatic fashion,  securing provisional pole before the first race of the Supercars finals series. 

De Pasquale will be the last driver to have a solo attempt in the top-10 shootout after claiming the fastest lap in one minute and 9.077 seconds ahead of the first 85-lap, 250km race of the Gold Coast 500.

Friday’s Surfers Paradise Street Circuit qualifying result comes after the Team 18 star had a gut-wrenching end to his Bathurst campaign when he ran out of fuel on the last lap and surrendered the lead. 

“It’s good just to have a good day at the racetrack after what was a really bad one,” De Pasquale said.

“It’s not our typical Gold Coast where if you qualify good, you’re going to have a decent race. It’s probably going to rain at some point tomorrow.”

Feeney
Broc Feeney was second fastest in qualifying for the Gold Coast 500. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS)

But while De Pasquale shone, Matt Stone Racing’s Jack Le Brocq suffered a huge blow to his championship hopes after finishing 17th on Friday. 

Le Brocq currently sits 10th in the overall standings. 

By the end of the weekend only seven drivers will remain, with the bottom three racers of the top 10 who fail to win on the Gold Coast eliminated from securing the title.

In a bigger shock, Brodie Kostecki will start 11th on the grid despite winning his second Bathurst 1000 last time out. 

Kostecki endured a horror weekend at 2025’s Gold Coast 500, when the Dick Johnson Racing star clipped a tyre bundle at turn one and smashed into concrete barriers, hospitalising four trackside photographers.

Triple Eight Race Engineering’s Broc Feeney was second fastest on Friday, with championship leader Matt Payne third after dealing with power steering issues in practice. 

Brodie Kostecki.
He won at Bathurst, but Brodie Kostecki has endured a below-par start to the Gold Coast 500. (Mark Evans/AAP PHOTOS)

Non-finalist Andre Heimgartner was fourth, with last year’s champion Chaz Mostert, Kiwi Ryan Wood and Triple Eight’s Will Brown fifth, sixth and seventh respectively. 

Brown’s finish came after he had an engine change between the two practice sessions, while in qualifying he veered off the track at one point. 

Another non-finalist, Thomas Randle, qualified in eighth, while Grove Racing’s Kai Allen and Tickford Racing’s Cam Waters rounded out the top 10.

Drivers will return for the shootout on Saturday at 12.35pm local time to determine the final grid ahead of Race 31 at 3.15pm.

RACE 31 QUALIFYING RESULTS: 

1. Anton De Pasquale (Team 18)

2. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight Race Engineering)

3. Matt Payne (Grove Racing)

4. Andre Heimgartner (Brad Jones Racing) 

5. Chaz Mostert (Walkinshaw TWG Racing)

6. Ryan Wood (Walkinshaw TWG) 

7. Will Brown (Triple Eight)

8. Thomas Randle (Tickford Racing)

9. Kai Allen (Grove) 

10. Cam Waters (Tickford)

AAP