Brown wins Tassie opener; Kostecki, Mostert crash out
Will Brown has won a dramatic NED Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint opener, with Brodie Kostecki and Chaz Mostert both wiped out of contention.
Brown (#8 Coca-Cola Camaro) outlasted Andre Heimgartner (#8 R&J Batteries Camaro) to take his second win of the season.
It was Erebus Motorsport’s first win at Symmons Plains Raceway, and fourth of the 2023 season.
Shane van Gisbergen (#97 Red Bull Ampol Camaro) stole third from Cam Waters (#6 Monster Mustang) on the final lap.
It denied Waters a first podium since the Thrifty Newcastle 500 season opener.
Kostecki and Mostert started the day first and second in the championship, but were caught up in separate incidents early in the race.
The series leader dropped several laps after contact with Waters, while Mostert was rubbed out altogether after a clash with Broc Feeney (#88 Red Bull Ampol Camaro).
Kostecki was classified 23rd ahead of James Courtney (#5 Snowy Rivers Caravans Mustang), who was delayed after a clash with Mark Winterbottom (#18 DEWALT Camaro) at Turn 6.
It helped Brown and van Gisbergen close the gap in the points standings heading into Sunday.
Kostecki now has a reduced 74-point series lead over van Gisbergen, with Brown jumping to third ahead of Mostert. Waters, meanwhile, jumped to fifth at the expense of Feeney, who was classified 18th.
"Andre was hustling at the end, I could see he was catching me a bit, I was trying to save my rear tyres," an elated Brown said.
"It was definitely squirming around at the end... I knew once I got off the line and saw the guys fighting behind me, I had to stay out there and watch for the undercut.
"I'm ecstatic, it's awesome to get another win."
Brown won the start and led Le Brocq through Turn 3 for the first time, with Kostecki picking off Waters.
Kostecki managed to get around Le Brocq and made it an Erebus one-two, before the race turned on its head on lap 3.
Le Brocq made nose-to-tail contact with Kostecki, with Waters slipping up the inside of both Camaros.
Waters and Kostecki collided as they rounded Turn 4; the latter picked up steering damage, hit the wall and was forced into the garage for repairs.
Behind them, Feeney tipped Mostert into a spin and was hit by Scott Pye (#20 East Coast Car Rentals Camaro), with both cars rotating to in the infield.
Feeney carried on, but Mostert was also forced into the garage. Where Kostecki lost six laps, Mostert was rubbed out of the race with a steering rack issue.
It consigned Mostert to his first DNF since Tailem Bend 2021, ending a finish streak of over 50 races.
Hill and van Gisbergen benefitted from the drama, and the latter took fourth from the #35 Truck Assist Camaro at Turn 6 on lap 12.
Le Brocq stopped on lap 15, four laps before teammate Hill, and emerged behind the undercutting Pye.
On lap 21, Heimgartner jumped Waters in the lane for effective second, before Brown stopped from the lead on the following lap to prevent an undercut.
Red Bull Ampol Racing left van Gisbergen out until lap 27, and the series leader emerged some 5.6s behind Waters.
Once Hazelwood stopped on lap 29, Brown assumed the lead with a 1.3s margin over Heimgartner, who kept Waters at bay.
Heimgartner began to reel in Brown, with Waters falling back from the rear of the #8 R&J Batteries Chevrolet.
Brown took the win by 0.6856s over Heimgartner, who scored his second podium of the year and first since the Beaurepaires Melbourne SuperSprint finale.
Behind them, van Gisbergen outfoxed Waters on the 42nd and final lap, the two making contact at Turn 6 as the Tickford star battled in vain to deny the reigning champion.
Waters did manage to take home fastest lap bonus points, having clocked a 51.6797s on lap 6.
Pye came home fifth ahead of Tim Slade (#23 Nulon Camaro) and Le Brocq, with Hill, Nick Percat (#2 Mobil 1 NTI Mustang) and Thomas Randle (#55 Castrol Mustang) rounding out the top 10.
Supercars will return to the track on Sunday for Race 11 qualifying at 9:50am local time, immediately followed by Race 12 qualifying.
The Tasmania round will conclude with two more 42-lap sprints, at 1:05pm and 3:50pm local time.
