We are headed north to the Gold Coast, for the first round of the 2026 Supercars Finals with both Chaz Mostert and Ryan Wood in contention.

It’s been a busy week at the workshop for the crew turning around the damaged cars from Bathurst but we go into this week fresh and ready to take on the finals.

The Finals Explained

At the first round of the Finals at the Gold Coast, all 10 drivers in the Finals 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.

Chaz Mostert: 3039 pts
Ryan Wood: 3030 pts

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.

Format

Friday: On track action kicks off with two 30-minute practice sessions. We head straight into qualifying on Friday which will set the grid for positions 11 – 24.

Saturday: The top 10 drivers from Friday’s qualifying session will fight for pole position during the Top 10 shootout at 12:35pm (AEST). Lights will go out for the first of two 250km races at 3:15pm.

Sunday: There is a three-part qualifying session to start our Sunday, split below:

• Part 1: Sets the grid for P19 – P26
• Part 2: Sets the grid for P11 – P18
• Top 10 Shootout: Determines the top 10 positions for the race

The final race of the weekend will commence at 2:45pm, where it will be decided which seven drivers will make it to the Supercars Semi-Finals.

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

On Saturday we will be running on the Dunlop Super-Soft tyre and the Dunlop Soft tyre on Sunday. But the way the weather forecast is shaping up, we will be running the Dunlop wet tyre all weekend.

Pitstops

There are a minimum of two compulsory pitstops per race, with a minimum of two tyres.

Weather

We will be feeling right at home this weekend, it’s raining torrentially all weekend, with up to 20mm each day. If you’re coming out to the track, make sure you bring a rain jacket and umbrella with you.

How to Watch

Kayo will have you covered for all on track action from Friday onwards. Channel 7 will broadcast both 250km races on Saturday and Sunday.

Chaz Mostert

“It’s been a massive last week for our entire crew getting the Mobil 1 Optus Racing No. 1 swapped over to a new chassis ahead of this weekend. I can’t thank each and every single person for their long hours and dedication to getting both Ryan and I out racing this weekend.

“We will be giving it everything we’ve got this weekend for the whole crew, fans and our partners. There’s one goal, win and you’re in.”

“It looks to be a pretty wet weekend, and we know our cars are strong in the wet conditions, I’ll definitely be doing my rain dance each morning, so it stays that way.”

Ryan Wood

“The amount of work the boys and girls at Walkinshaw TWG Racing have put into getting both of our cars turned around, is nothing short of a miracle. They have worked all day, all night and throughout the weekend to ensure we can have a chance to fight in the Top 10.

“It’s great to be in with a shot going into this weekend, we need to keep it clean but take risks to make sure we get that race win to head into the semi-finals.

“The weather is going to play a big part this weekend, there’s going to be a lot of chaos out there, qualifying up the front is going to help minimise that sort of risk during the races.”