V8 Supercars: Six drivers to watch during Perth Super 440

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V8 Supercars: Six drivers to watch during Perth Super 440

The Perth Super 440 is building as an early championship shaper as the V8 Supercars complete their first day in Wanneroo.

The grid had two practice sessions on Friday, ahead of the circuit reaching its 100th race on Sunday, and there was barely more than a second separating the fastest from the slowest.

Hometown hero Brodie Kostecki left his best for last on Friday but was slower than expected while some of the grid’s younger racers strutted their stuff atop the time sheets.

Championship leader Broc Feeney showed his strong form and will be one of the drivers to watch.

Broc Feeney

Feeney enters the fifth round of the Championship with his first-ever driver’s standings lead, having leapfrogged Red Bull teammate Will Brown with a tremendous weekend in Tasmania last month.

The 22-year-old was handed one of the toughest tasks in *********** motorsport when he entered the Supercars in 2022, replacing legend Jamie Whincup while also partnering Shane Van Gisbergen.

However, the youngster embraced the challenge, walking in his predecessor’s shoes with a sixth-placed rookie season before being pipped at the post for the Championship last year by Brown.

He has also started in style in 2025, winning three races and claiming six podiums.

And he made a bright start in Perth, tiptoeing through the early laps while the field layed down rubber after the circuit was scoured by rain during the week, before putting the foot down to finish in the top five in both 30-minute practise sessions.

Camera IconBroc Feeney. Credit: KASSANDRA BRUMLEY

Will Brown

Fellow Red Bull racer Brown put the disappointment of Tasmania behind him on Friday, finding consistent pace to claim lap times inside the top 10.

However, those laps are unlikely to satisfy the reigning champion, who became the first driver in 40 years to podium at every round during his first year with Triple Eight.

Brown has been a regular inside the top five to start the season but has just one win among his six podiums and would love to knock Feeney back down to second with a win or two in Perth.

There is no doubt the 28-year-old from Toowoomba is the hunted this year and will be under intense pressure again in Wanneroo.

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Brodie Kostecki

Hometown hero Kostecki will be hopeful that he can be the one applying the pressure as he adjusts to his new team.

Kostecki won the title in 2023, but a turbulent year off the track ruined his hopes last year before he made the switch to ***** Johnson Racing.

The 27-year-old has yet to break through in the Shell V-Power Mustang and looked to be on struggle street in first practice, finishing 21st.

The Ballajura product saved his best for last, recording his best two times on his last two laps, but could only go 18th fastest.

The increase in pace offers Kostecki hope, and he will be eager to fight towards the top of the grid in qualifying on Saturday.

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Matthew Payne

A man who had no issues in practice was 22-year-old Kiwi Matthew Payne.

Payne has the weight of expectations on his shoulders, touted as the next big thing out of New Zealand after Scott McLaughlin and Shane van Gisbergen.

But that weight did nothing to stop him in Perth on Friday, topping the second practice time charts.

The youngster has showed wisdom and patience beyond his years so far in 2025.

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Chaz Mostert

Chaz Mostert was one of only a handful of drivers who found consistency during practice, going seventh and sixth fastest.

Consistency has been a feature of the 33-year-old’s campaign to date, with the two-time Bathurst winner claiming one win.

However, he will be hoping to grab his first pole position of the season, with Perth always a friendly track for those at the front.

Should he fall into the middle of the pack, though, he has the skills and hunger to put on a show for the fans.

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Cam Waters

Always a divisive driver, Cam Waters will undoubtedly put his Monster Energy car in the thick of the action as the weekend progresses.

He sits fourth in the championship hunt with three wins and having earned three pole positions.

Practise will have left the two-time Supercars runner-up and three-time Bathurst podium-finisher wanting, however.

He managed to crack the top 10 with the eighth fastest time in practice one but fell outside of the 10 in the eleventh the second time around.

But as he has shown this year already, qualifying is where his competitive juices flow strongest.

And if anyone needed a reminder of how well Waters can perform in the spotlight, just remember how he earned his start in 2011.

At just 17, he tackled Mount Panorama in a Kelly Racing Commodore with Grant Denyer as his prize for winning the inaugural Supercar Showdown TV series.

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#Supercars #drivers #watch #Perth #Super

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