Mosport has a history of producing wild Qualifying Series races, and after a thriller in 2025, expectations were high heading into the 2026 opener. The equation is simple but unforgiving — win one of the four Qualifying Series races to secure automatic promotion, or finish inside the top 16 in points to earn an invitation when the main championship begins at Sebring in March.

Qualifying: Burton Strikes Late

Threatening rain clouds hovered over Mosport, but qualifying got underway in dry, overcast conditions. Lachlan Caple set the early pace before several drivers opted for two-lap runs, allowing Jake Burton to jump to provisional pole ahead of Josh Houghton, Angus Lawford, and Denis Gataric, with Caple slipping back to fifth.

Drama struck early for Ric Kuznetsov, who suffered an engine failure on his opening run, ending his session prematurely. Traffic proved difficult on the tight circuit, and with under ten minutes remaining, Dylan Perera made contact with Daniel Poulton exiting pit lane, damaging both cars and disrupting the closing stages of qualifying.

With six minutes to go, Brad Rattew vaulted to the top of the timesheets as Ryan O’Sullivan, Sam Blacklock, Robbie Gibbs, and Kurt Stenberg all surged into the top ten. But in the dying seconds, Burton delivered once again, reclaiming pole position and pushing Rattew to the outside of the front row.

Gibbs and Houghton lined up third and fourth, while ERT teammates Marcello Rivera and O’Sullivan locked out row three. Orbit Drop Bear Motorsport secured row four with Blacklock and Caple, and Blake Worboys and Stenberg completed the top ten.

Speaking during the grid walk, Burton reflected on his return to full-time driving:

“I think doing the enduros reminded me how much I enjoy being a main driver — it felt like the right time to come back.”

Rivera and Poulton would both start the race under pressure, receiving 10-second penalties for impeding during qualifying.

Race Start: Immediate Chaos

With rain still threatening, the field launched — and chaos followed instantly. A jump start and subsequent stall from Marcello Rivera triggered a chain reaction on the grid, collecting Bilson, Rizzo, Dike, Buchanan, and Duncan, with Scott Gamble also caught up elsewhere on the opening lap.

Out front, Brad Rattew got the perfect launch to lead Burton, followed by Gibbs, Houghton, and Blacklock. The Safety Car was deployed at the end of lap one, and several drivers made the bold call to pit early to clear the first of their compulsory stops — a strategy reminiscent of the 2025 race.

At the lap six restart, Sapstead, O’Sullivan, and Worboys led the field away. The intensity returned immediately, but Rivera’s night went from bad to worse as he parked his ERT Camaro behind the wall, recording a DNF before the race had properly settled.

Up front, Gibbs and Worboys came together at Turn 5, drawing the stewards’ attention and earning Gibbs a five-second penalty that would loom large later in the race.

Mid-Race Mayhem

The lead group remained tightly packed until lap 11, when Burton tagged Sapstead and had to check up to avoid spinning him. The front five briefly erupted into a frantic battle before settling again, with Sapstead still leading Burton, Gibbs, Worboys, and O’Sullivan.

As pit strategies began to diverge, Sapstead — yet to pit — appeared to be holding up the queue. Burton finally reclaimed the lead on lap 14, with Gibbs following him through. Over the next two laps, Worboys, O’Sullivan, and Blacklock also cleared Sapstead.

Then, at the start of lap 17, everything unraveled. Burton suffered a rare lapse at Turn 1, dropping his TTR Camaro into the gravel and tumbling from the lead to ninth. Moments later, Tom Freer and Sapstead made awkward contact down the back straight, sending Sapstead off at high speed and down the order, with Freer handed a 10-second penalty.

Further chaos followed as Brody Sentence ground to a halt, triggering a wave of pit activity in anticipation of another Safety Car — one that never came. The stewards were kept busy as Tao Soerono also ran wide at Moss Corner after contact.

Final Stops and the Run to the Flag

Approaching halfway, the field finally settled as drivers prepared to clear their final compulsory stops. Freer pitted first to serve his penalty, triggering a sequence of stops. On lap 32, Sam Blacklock headed to pit lane, followed immediately by Gibbs, Burton, O’Sullivan, and Worboys.

Once the cycle completed, Gibbs emerged as the effective leader — but with a five-second penalty hanging over him. Behind, contact between O’Sullivan, Worboys, and Blacklock at Moss nearly ended all three races, though they miraculously continued inside the top five.

Further back, Angus Lawford and Hayden Veld clashed, earning Veld a drive-through penalty.

With ten laps remaining, O’Sullivan appeared poised to challenge for victory, but his own five-second penalty shifted the balance once more. That opened the door for Worboys and Burton, with Burton slicing past Worboys at Moss on lap 43 to begin an all-out charge toward Gibbs.

A Margin Measured in Tenths

As the final laps ticked down, Burton relentlessly closed the gap, turning the race into a virtual time trial. The margin shrank to just over five seconds with two laps to go and hovered on the edge of penalty range as the leaders took the white flag.

At the line, Gibbs held on — just. Burton crossed 5.308 seconds behind on the road, leaving him agonisingly close once penalties were applied. The final classification confirmed Robbie Gibbs as the winner, locking in automatic promotion to the 2026 V8PRO Series grid.

Burton was classified second, with Blake Worboys completing the podium. Ryan O’Sullivan, initially second across the line, was relegated to fifth due to his penalty, while Sam Blacklock secured fourth. The remainder of the top ten was Rattew, Perera, Stenberg, Gataric, and Bettess.

In victory lane, Gibbs summed up the pressure perfectly:

“I was just trying to hold the number and stick to my lap times. I was pretty happy with that.”

With one driver already promoted, the Qualifying Series now resets — and the fight for the remaining spots is only just beginning.