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Find your local frequencyGold Coast drenching incoming as Supercars finals chase revs up
Sebastian Tan, AAP • October 22nd, 2026 9:15 pm
Brodie Kostecki is looking to add another title after winning the Bathurst 1000 in early October | Photo: Mark Evans/AAP
Brodie Kostecki admits the wet and wild conditions set to engulf the Gold Coast 500 have thrown a huge spanner in his plans as he looks to avenge last year's horror outing.
The beginning of the Supercars finals series will get under way when drivers take to the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit on Friday.
Kostecki is looking to wipe from his memory last year's performance on the Glitter Strip, when he clipped a tyre bundle at turn one and smashed into concrete barriers, hospitalising four trackside photographers.
Brodie Kostecki will be out to make amends for a horror Gold Coast campaign in 2025 | Photo: Mark Evans/AAP
The Dick Johnson Racing star missed the Saturday race and failed to secure enough points on the Sunday, dumping him out of finals.
This year, Kostecki is firmly in the running for a first Supercars title since 2023, but he's set to contend with more than just his demons, as between eight to 65mm of rain is expected to fall between Friday and Sunday.
"I feel like I need a boat to row myself into pit lane," the reigning Bathurst 1000 champion said on Thursday.
"The weather's going to throw a huge spanner in the works … bouncing off curves, and landing millimetres off the walls is quite draining on the mind, so (adding) a lot of rain to that is going to make it quite challenging for us.
"(Last year's crash) really forced us into who we are today, and we made a lot of changes after that weekend."
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Ten drivers are in with a chance of winning the championship heading into this weekend, but only seven will remain in the running after the chequered flag falls.
The winners of Saturday's and Sunday's 250km races will book their tickets to the next round at Sandown in Melbourne, regardless of their overall standing.
The bottom three drivers in the rankings who fail to win one of the races will be eliminated from securing the title.
Last year's champion Chaz Mostert, his teammate Ryan Wood and Matt Stone Racing's Jack Le Brocq are in grave danger of missing out on the top seven.
They currently sit eighth, ninth and 10th respectively.
Matt Payne leads the Supercars standings going into the weekend | Photo: Supercars
Triple Eight Race Engineering's Will Brown is sitting pretty in third, but he admits he is in two minds about how to approach this weekend.
"I want to go out there and win, but I don't have to win at all costs probably right now," Brown said.
"If I'm up the front and I'm consistent, two podiums or a couple of top fives would get us through.
"But you've got people like Ryan Wood who's at the back of the 10. He's probably going to go out there and (try to) win it, and he could win."
Supercars Standings
- Matt Payne (3150 points)
- Broc Feeney (3145)
- Will Brown (3103)
- Brodie Kostecki (3096)
- Kai Allen (3066)
- Cam Waters (3057)
- Anton De Pasquale (3048)
- Chaz Mostert (3039)
- Ryan Wood (3030)
- Jack Le Brocq (3021)
Tune into Sport Nation for live commentary of the Gold Coast 500 - October 25 from 4pm on SN Extra - download the app today on Google Play and the App Store.
