It’s been a massive week turning the cars around after Bathurst, but we are off to take on the streets of Surfers Paradise for the first round of the 2025 Supercars Finals Series!
After an incredible moment in the garage at Bathurst where the crew managed to diagnose and fix Ryan Wood’s engine problem, he secured himself a spot in the Finals alongside Chaz Mostert.
Format
Friday kicks off the on-track action with two 30-minute practice sessions for the cars to get up to speed.
Saturday and Sunday follow the same format with a two-part qualifying with Part 1 setting the grid for P19 to P24, Part 2 setting the grid for P11 to P18. The top 10 drivers battle it out for pole in the Top 10 Shootout.
The lights go out for the 250km Race 28 on Saturday at 3.15pm and Race 29 on Sunday at 2.10pm.
The Finals Explained
At the first round of the Finals, all 10 drivers have their championship points reset to 3000 points. Standings from the regular season then define the regular season bonus points.
The driver in first has 150 points, with a decreasing bonus of 120, 96, 78, 66, 57, 48, 39, 30 down to 21 points for 10th. Sprint Cup and Enduro Cup Bonus points are then applied.
If a driver wins either race at the Gold Coast round, they are automatically into the next Finals round at Sandown.
After the two races at the Gold Coast, the three Finals drivers with the lowest points in the championship (eighth, ninth and 10th) are eliminated, unless those drivers have won a race at the event. In that case, the next driver with the lowest points in the championship would be eliminated, leaving seven drivers in contention going into the semi-final round at Sandown.
The Track
The streets of the Gold Coast are a 2.96km concrete canyon.
It’s a full commitment track, there is no runoff, no sand, no grass which means if you make a mistake you’ll be eating concrete for dinner.
You have to be aggressive into the chicane along the back straight, and the last corner provides a great opportunity to fire it down the inside; keep an eye out for a few moves to be made there over the weekend.
Tyres
For Saturday’s 250km race we will be running the Dunlop Super-Soft tyre and the Dunlop Soft tyre for Sunday’s on track action.
Pitstops
There are two compulsory fuel stops throughout each 250km race. How much fuel you take, and when, will be the big question.
Weather
It’s going to be a warm weekend in the Gold Coast, with possible showers on Saturday and Sunday.
How to Watch
Fox Sports and Kayo will cover every session live, while Channel 7 have you sorted Saturday and Sunday.
Ryan Wood
“We are still in the championship hunt thanks to the incredible WAU crew! The car is fast, we have put in the work, and we are hungry for redemption!
“I’m sure there will be plenty of team games this weekend, good thing Chaz and I have been getting a lot of Monopoly practice in.
“This weekend it’ll be more important than ever that we roll out of the truck strong and maximise every session to ensure we qualify up the front and stay up there.”
Chaz Mostert
“The first weekend of finals is here, the pressure is on, but we as a team are ready and capable to take on the fight.
“I love this track, it’s my home track so there is always a lot of support from friends and family at this round.
“The racing around here is always entertaining, this year I am sure it will step up another notch, the fans will definitely be in for a treat!”