There’s always something special about racing on home soil, and the Gold Coast 500 was no exception as the Supercars Championship rolled into the iconic Surfers Paradise street circuit. Arriving off the back of an incredible Bathurst 1000, Matt Stone Racing came into its home round with significant momentum after securing pole position, a double Top Ten Shootout appearance, a podium finish and seeing Jack Le Brocq lock in his place in the 2026 Finals. With plenty of confidence in the camp, the team was ready to put on a show for its home crowd — but the Gold Coast had other plans, with torrential rain turning an already challenging street circuit into a serious test of skill, strategy and determination.
It was a challenging weekend for Jack Le Brocq and the No.4 Sherrin Rentals Camaro. Entering the first elimination round of the Championship Finals, the focus was on maximising the weekend and building towards the final two events of the season. The No.4 battled through the wet conditions to finish P22 in Race 31, before contact with another car led to an early trip to pit lane on Lap 1 of Sunday’s race, leaving the No.4 with plenty of ground to make up. In true Jack fashion, he continued to fight through the field and the challenging conditions to bring the car home in P21. While the results weren’t quite what the team had hoped for at its home event, Jack’s Championship Top Ten Finals berth remains a major achievement and a testament to the consistency and hard work of the entire MSR crew throughout the year. With Sandown next on the calendar – a circuit Jack knows well and enjoys racing at – the team will be looking to turn the page and get back into the fight.
“It was a tough weekend out there and we had a few unlucky moments, but we kept fighting. The big positive is that we’ve already achieved our goal of making the Finals, which is something I’m incredibly proud of. We’ll take what we can from the weekend, reset and get stuck into Sandown. We’ve had some good runs there before, and we’re definitely hunting to put together a strong couple of rounds to finish the year,” commented Jack.
The No.10 Bendix Racing Camaro enjoyed a promising weekend, with rookie Zach Bates continuing to impress as he tackled the demanding street circuit for the first time. Despite the tough conditions Zach showed strong pace in qualifying, securing P13 for Race 31 before narrowly missing out on a place in the Top Ten Shootout for Race 32 by fractions of a second. He carried that speed into Saturday’s race, navigating the wet conditions to bring home an impressive P12 in his very first race at Surfers Paradise. Sunday looked set to provide another opportunity to build on that performance, but contact with another car on Lap 1 resulted in significant damage to the No.10, making for a difficult afternoon in the treacherous conditions. Despite the setback, Zach persevered to bring the car home in P18, capping off a weekend that showcased encouraging pace and continued growth in his rookie season.
“It was great to have some good speed in qualifying, especially coming to a track I’ve never driven before. Saturday was a solid result, and it’s a shame we got caught up in that contact early on Sunday because I think we had the pace to put together another solid race. There’s plenty of positives to take away, and I’m looking forward to carrying that momentum into the last two rounds,” said Zach.
Despite the unpredictable conditions and mixed results at home, there were plenty of positives for MSR to take away from the Gold Coast, particularly the speed shown by the No.10 Bendix Racing Camaro across qualifying and Saturday’s race. With just two rounds remaining in the 2026 Supercars Championship, the team will now make a quick turnaround before heading to Sandown, where we will look to build on our previous performances and bring home a bit more silverware to wrap-up the year.
Team Owner Matt Stone praised the team’s efforts across a challenging weekend and remains confident in what the squad can achieve as the season reaches its conclusion. “It was great to see the speed Zach showed throughout the weekend, particularly in qualifying and Saturday’s race. It’s a shame that contact on Lap 1 on Sunday took away the opportunity to see what he could do over the full race, but there are plenty of positives to take from his performance. Jack and the No.4 crew kept fighting despite a tough Sunday of their own, and we’re proud to have secured our place in the Finals. We’ll turn our attention to Sandown, regroup quickly and keep pushing hard — we’ve got two big opportunities left this year, and we’re keen to hopefully fill up the trophy cabinet a bit more before the season is out,” said Matt.
