Red Bull Ampol Racing Dominates Qualifying
Will Brown secured the Boost Mobile Pole position for Race 28 of the 2026 Century Batteries Ipswich Super 440, leading an all-Red Bull Ampol Racing front row. Brown, who also won Saturday’s second race, edged out his teammate Broc Feeney by a narrow margin of 0.099 seconds. This performance marks Brown’s second Boost Mobile Pole Award of the current season, continuing a strong resurgence for the 2024 Supercars champion.
The final race of the 2026 Sprint Cup is scheduled to begin at 3:20 PM local time and will cover a distance of 200 kilometres. Live coverage of the event will be available through Fox, KAYO, Sky NZ, and SuperView.
Shootout and Top Ten Performances
The Top Ten Shootout saw intense competition, with drivers having only one opportunity to set their fastest lap on a track described as significantly more slippery than the previous day. Rylan Gray initially set the benchmark with a 1:09.8438s. This was quickly surpassed by Aaron Cameron, who posted a 1:09.4327s, benefiting from a new set of tyres compared to Gray’s used set. Cam Waters then took the lead with a 1:09.3116s, despite a slight slide at Turn 1.
James Golding showed strong pace early in his lap, going two-tenths faster in the first sector, but ultimately fell short by 0.0190s. Repco Sprint Cup leader Matt Payne, who had provisionally qualified sixth, recorded a 1:09.2798s to lead at the halfway point of the Shootout. Chaz Mostert then delivered a strong effort with a 1:09.0915s, closely followed by Brodie Kostecki, who went even faster with a 1:09.0435s.
Feeney was the first driver to break into the 1:08s range for Sunday, setting a 1:08.9309s. However, Brown immediately bettered this with a brilliant 1:08.8316s. Kai Allen, who was fastest through the first two sectors, ultimately secured third place, ensuring the Red Bull Ampol Racing team locked out the front row.
The top ten qualifiers for Race 28 are as follows:
- Will Brown (#888 Red Bull Ampol Ford)
- Broc Feeney (#88 Red Bull Ampol Ford)
- Kai Allen (#26 Penrite Ford)
- Brodie Kostecki (#17 Shell V-Power Ford)
- Chaz Mostert (#1 Mobil 1 Optus Toyota)
- Matt Payne (#19 Penrite Ford)
- Cam Waters (#6 Monster Energy Ford)
- James Golding (#7 CoolDrive Ford)
- Aaron Cameron (#3 LIQUI MOLY BLAHST Ford)
- Rylan Gray (#38 Shell V-Power Ford)
Investigation Clears Kai Allen
Kai Allen initially secured provisional pole position under scrutiny due to an investigation into his actions during the second segment of the three-part qualifying session. Triple Eight Race Engineering had raised concerns with Motorsport Australia stewards regarding an alleged impeding incident involving Jackson Walls.
After reviewing broadcast and in-car vision from Car 11 (Walls’ vehicle), the stewards determined that no further action was required. The stewards’ report indicated that Car 11 was at the rear of a train of cars approaching Turn 6, with Car 26 (Allen’s car) directly in front. Both cars were on push laps. Car 26 slowed as cars ahead had also slowed, and the stewards concluded that the progress of Car 11 was affected by a combination of circumstances for which neither Car 26 nor any other car was predominantly responsible. This decision allowed Allen to retain his third-place starting position for the upcoming race.
The 62-lap Race 28 is set to commence at 3:20 PM local time.
Source: supercars.com
