That pressure was amplified before a wheel was turned, with heavy rain falling ahead of qualifying and a rapidly evolving track promised as conditions began to improve.

Qualifying: Timing Was Everything

Cars rolled out into heavy wet conditions as the 20-minute qualifying session began, with Brad Newman the first to lay down a benchmark lap. That early reference time was quickly eclipsed by Ryan O’Sullivan, before tyre pressures came up and lap times tumbled rapidly.

Jack Widdas and Brian Borg briefly topped the timing screen before Hayden Veld emerged as a serious contender. As conditions continued to improve, the timesheets remained in constant motion.

At the halfway mark, Reyn Campbell led the session ahead of Widdas, O’Sullivan, Sam Blacklock, and Jordan Mazzaroli. Synergy Sim Racing teammates Denis Gataric and Tom Freer both surged into the top five, with Gataric briefly holding provisional pole as the circuit evolved lap by lap.

With five minutes remaining, Wayne Walker and Ryan Jones moved into contention, while drivers began timing their final runs to coincide with what promised to be the best track conditions at the flag. Riley Bilson received a 10-second penalty for impeding, effectively ending his qualifying hopes.

As the chequered flag flew, Ryan Jones appeared to have secured pole — but in the final moments, Eclipse Sim Sports’ Hayden Veld produced a stunning lap to steal pole position by just 0.087 seconds.

Veld led a top five of Jones, Gataric, Blake Worboys, and O’Sullivan, with Walker, Campbell, Blacklock, Borg, and Brad Rattew completing the top ten.

Looking ahead to the race, Veld was already weighing tyre options: “It’s hard to say… I’m thinking wets. That’s what I’ll be starting on.”

Race Start: Chaos From the First Corner

Spray filled the air as the field launched into Turn 1, and chaos followed immediately. While the leaders navigated cautiously, the midfield erupted in contact on the exit of the opening corner, with Marcello Rivera once again the biggest casualty, sustaining heavy damage and retiring for the second race in a row. Dylan Perera, William Sapstead, and Scott Gamble were among several others caught up.

The drama continued at the hairpin, while Riley Bilson’s slick-tyre gamble ended almost instantly with an off at Turn 1. Once the field settled, Veld wasted no time asserting control, opening a three-second lead by lap three. That advantage grew when O’Sullivan out-braked himself while challenging for third, spinning and falling back to 11th.

After five laps, Veld led Jones, Worboys, Walker, and Blacklock, with penalties beginning to stack up behind. Damien Johnstone received a five-second penalty for contact with Ross Rizzo, while Jack Widdas was handed a drive-through after an incident with Brad Rattew.

Strategy Roulette in Changing Conditions

As the rain eased and a dry line began to appear, the race turned into a strategic minefield. Brad Newman charged from the back of the grid into the top 20 within ten laps, joined by Ryan Bettess and Aaron Borg, while Jake Burton continued his recovery from a difficult qualifying, climbing into the top five.

Misfortune struck again for O’Sullivan, who was forced to the pit lane for multiple laps with a technical issue while fighting inside the top ten.

Blake Worboys blinked first on lap 16, diving into pit lane. Moments later, Burton made an unforced error at the hairpin, collecting Wayne Walker on the rejoin and earning himself a five-second penalty.

Walker struggled on with damage before pitting on lap 19, alongside Newman, now inside the top 15. Attention then turned to tyre choice as Burton rolled the dice on slicks on lap 21, but an unsafe pit entry penalty added 30 seconds to his race.

Veld followed one lap later, committing to slicks alongside Tom Freer, who immediately found out just how treacherous the conditions remained with an off at the hairpin. Despite the risk, Veld set the fastest lap of the race, confirming the slick tyre was the correct call — if you could keep it on the road.

Safety Cars and Survival

As the field cycled through pit stops, spins multiplied. Ryan Jones, Lachlan Caple, and Angus Lawford all had moments, while Billy Mole destroyed the left-front of his car at Turn 7. Moments later, William Brown suffered a huge impact at the same corner, finally triggering the Logitech G Safety Car.

With fuel windows open and rain returning, tyre choice once again became critical.

At the restart with 16 laps remaining, Veld led Blacklock, Worboys, Tyce Hodge, and Walker. Almost immediately, Blacklock ran off at Turn 1 and Damien Johnstone hit the white line and sending himself into a spin in the middle of the field. On the same lap Hodge’s impressive run ended with a heavy crash at Turn 7. Worboys also slid wide, and the Safety Car was deployed again after barely half a lap.

With rain intensifying, nearly the entire field switched to slicks — a decision that would soon be tested.

A Finish Nobody Saw Coming

More chaos unfolded at the next restart as Ross Rizzo ran off and triggered a major incident on the rejoin, leaving Aaron Borg stranded and Denis Gataric nursing suspension damage.

With ten laps to go and rain falling again, Veld led Walker, Blacklock, Worboys, and a charging Burton. That charge ended abruptly when Burton found the fence in the stadium section, dropping to ninth.

With five laps remaining, Walker pressured Veld for the lead — and made the move stick when Veld made his first mistake of the race. But moments later, Walker spun at Mercedes, handing the lead back to Veld, who then ran wide himself just two corners later.

Suddenly, Blake Worboys led with two laps to go, with Ric Kuznetsov in second. Then the rain struck harder.

Worboys ran off at the hairpin, Kuznetsov followed shortly after, and Lachlan Caple, flying on wets, surged to the front with Brad Newman and Sam Blacklock in tow. By the white flag, Caple had the lead under control, while Newman stormed through to second on the road after starting last, albeit carrying post-race penalties.

When the spray settled, the result looked nothing like it had just minutes earlier.

In one of the most chaotic races in Qualifying Series history, Caple emerged victorious, throwing the championship picture wide open heading into Round 3 and proving once again that in this series, survival can be just as important as speed.