Smoke hung over Turn 1 as marshals and recovery crews fanned out around twisted metal and scattered debris — a scene stamped into the memory of everyone trackside when the broc feeney crash took the #88 Red Bull Ampol Mustang out of contention and left three cars in pieces.
Broc Feeney Crash: what happened at Turn 1?
The finale was already tight when a pit-straight clash between Kai Allen and Ryan Wood cascaded into chaos through Turn 1. Carrying damage from that initial contact, Allen tipped Broc Feeney into a spin; the #88 Mustang spun directly in front of the field and, through smoke and limited visibility, Cooper Murray collided with the stricken car. Zach Bates was also taken out on the spot. Feeney and Murray’s machines sustained the heaviest damage, with Feeney’s Ford suffering heavy front and rear damage. Despite the carnage, Feeney, Bates and Murray all walked away from the incident, but their teams were left facing significant repair work ahead of the flyaway tour to New Zealand.
How the incident reshaped the race
After an extensive clean-up the race resumed, but the Turn 1 melee had already rewritten the script. Will Brown, who later described his closing-lap error as a “rookie error”, had earlier bowled a wide line in the closing laps that opened the door for Brodie Kostecki. Kostecki capitalised, making it three wins in four starts and securing a second Larry Perkins Trophy as well as moving to the top of the championship standings.
The restart sequence and tyre dramas continued to unsettle the order. Matt Payne and Aaron Cameron were undone by punctures that strewn tyre debris across the circuit, while the earlier collision that began the chaos had left a trail of damaged machines. Thomas Randle recovered to claim his first podium of the season, with Jack Le Brocq, James Golding, Cam Waters, Jayden Ojeda, Chaz Mostert, Kai Allen and Macauley Jones filling out the top ten.
Voices from the paddock and a specialist perspective
Will Brown’s candid description of his late-race mistake — calling it a “rookie error” — framed the emotional contrast of the day: small misjudgements magnified at high speed. Brodie Kostecki, who had been alerted that he held the championship and Larry Perkins Trophy points lead, drove with the composure of a title contender, picking off rivals after the safety interruption and seizing the position that mattered when it counted.
The human toll in the paddock was visible beyond the podium. Team mechanics and engineers now face an immediate repair bill and logistics challenge for the next event. With multiple cars carrying heavy damage, work will focus on reconstructing chassis, front and rear bodywork, and assessing any underlying structural issues before the teams travel. For drivers like Feeney, Murray and Bates, walking away intact was the best possible outcome from a sporting and safety perspective; for their crews, the clock to prepare again has already started.
What this means going forward
Race control and teams will pore over the incident data to understand the sequence that culminated at Turn 1: a pit-straight clash, damage-carrying contact, a spin in the middle of the pack, and a follow-up impact from an unsighted car. The event swung both the race result and the championship narrative — Kostecki’s win and the Larry Perkins Trophy carry weight now that the series heads to its next venue.
Back at Turn 1, the scrap of carbon and rubber that marked the broc feeney crash had been cleared, but its effects echoed through garages and conversations; the drivers involved were unhurt, the championship picture altered, and teams faced urgent, practical work to turn wreckage back into race-ready cars. The scene ended with action: crews already sketching repairs, engineers planning parts lists, and drivers steeling themselves for the next start. The track may be clean, but the memory of the incident will travel with the paddock to New Zealand — and everyone involved knows the fine line between a race won and a race undone.
