QUALIFYING
P2
0.0033S OFF POLE
RACE 1
P4
CLEAN RUN
RACE 2
P5
PENALTY APPLIED
RACE 3
P5
CONSISTENT PACE
CHAMPIONSHIP
4TH
220 PTS
THE WEEKEND
AN UNUSUAL START
The 2026 GR Cup season opened at Sydney Motorsport Park as part of the Sydney 500 undercard — and before a wheel had been turned in anger, the weekend dealt its first challenge. Emergency track repairs at the Gardner circuit forced GR Cup qualifying and all three races to be moved to the shorter Druitt layout, bypassing Turns 5 through 8. It was an unusual situation made even more interesting by the fact that the GR Cup cars were the first category sent out on the Druitt configuration — with no benchmark times to work from and no circuit knowledge to draw on.
A 27-car field took to the grid, including invited drivers Fabian Coulthard and Jaxon Evans representing Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia — two experienced campaigners who would add an extra dimension to the weekend.
SATURDAY - QUALIFYING
P2 BY 0.00033 SECONDS
In the first qualifying session ever held on the Druitt layout, Jack Szewczuk put his #39 Toyota 86 second on the grid — separated from pole-sitter Brock Stinson by just 0.0033 seconds. It was a margin so fine it might as well have been a coin flip, and it set the tone for a weekend where the front runners would never be far apart.
Guest driver Fabian Coulthard qualified 13th, with fellow invited driver Jaxon Evans 15th — a result that underscored the depth of the regular field.
SATURDAY - RACE 1
SAFETY CAR DRAMA - SZEWCZUK FINISHES FOURTH
Stinson nailed the start and led into Turn 1 from the moment the lights went out. Behind him, the opening lap turned chaotic. A clash between Pip Casabene and Romeo Nasr brought out the Safety Car at the end of Lap 1 — Casabene was tipped into a spin, and the incident collected William Seal and Fabian Coulthard, the latter sustaining damage to his front right suspension that ended his race prematurely.
On the restart, Kade Davey and others were forced into evasive action as the field bunched up behind the leader. Jack ran cleanly through the drama to take fourth place at the flag — a composed, points-paying result from a race that caught out several frontrunners.
RACE 1 RESULT
1ST STINSON
2ND BARNES
3RD GIBBONS
4TH SZEWCZUK
SUNDAY - RACE 2
INTO THE LEAD BATTLE - FRONT-PACK RACING
Sunday delivered back-to-back sprints and the race that best captured what Jack can do at the front of a field. Cooper Barnes got the jump over Stinson at the start and led the opening laps. Jack seized his moment — capitalising on a side-by-side battle between the two leaders through Turn 1 to move himself into second, shuffling Barnes back to third.
Three cars, three lines, one corner. It was exactly the kind of hard, clean racecraft that marks out drivers ready to race at the front. Jack held his position in the lead battle before the race's defining storyline took hold: the Druitt layout's kerb strikes were being monitored, and nearly a dozen drivers were penalised across Race 2. Jack was among those caught, which dropped him to fifth at the chequered flag.
Further back, Fabian Coulthard had made up six positions in the opening laps after his Race 1 retirement, only to be collected in contact between Ayce Buckley and Ashton Sieders.
"Cooper Barnes got a brilliant start to take charge across the opening laps. Jack Szewczuk also joined in the battle, making it a three-car arm wrestle."
Auto Action — February 2026
RACE 2 RESULT
1ST STINSON
2ND BARNES
3RD GIBBONS
5TH SZEWCZUK (Penalty)
SUNDAY - RACE 3
STINSON COMPLETES THE SWEEP - SZEWCZUK FIFTH
In Race 3, Stinson led from lights to flag and was never seriously threatened. Lachlan Gibbons made his move, working past Cooper Barnes for second and closing to within two seconds of the leader in the closing laps — but Stinson held firm and completed a perfect round clean sweep.
Jack crossed the line fifth — three finishes, three sets of championship points, and a weekend that showed real front-pack speed. The penalty in Race 2 was the only thing that prevented a stronger points total.
RACE 3 RESULT
1ST STINSON
2ND GIBBONS
3RD BARNES
5TH SZEWCZUK