26th to third: How Mostert pulled off the charge of 2021

"I don’t know how we got back to third."

They were the words uttered by Chaz Mostert after his remarkable charge from 26th to third last weekend.

The ARMOR ALL Sydney SuperNight finale was won by Jamie Whincup, but through the rain and darkness, Mostert emerged with the biggest single run in 2021 so far.

Mostert’s 23-position gain in Race 25 unseated Nick Percat’s Tailem Bend charge from 26th to fifth as the best charge this season.

To this weekend’s BP Ultimate Sydney SuperSprint, there have been 21 individual efforts where a driver has gained 10 or more positions in a race.

Four of them have been at Sydney Motorsport Park, each coming last weekend.

However, Mostert’s stands alone - so, how on earth did he do it?

The Walkinshaw Andretti United driver's first podium since July’s WD-40 Townsville SuperSprint featured his best charge since he won the 2014 Bathurst 1000 from 25th.

Earlier, Mostert was excluded from Race 25 qualifying over a technical infringement.

Overtakes aside, Mostert’s overall speed in the wet and in clear air that ensured he jumped several cars in the queue.

For so long, Mostert has been regarded as one of, if not the best drivers in wet-weather conditions.

On lap 8 alone, he overtook Jack Le Brocq, Scott Pye, Luke Youlden and Fabian Coulthard.

His most crucial pass, however, was on Tim Slade on lap 21. Seconds later, the BP Ultimate Safety Car was deployed for Jake Kostecki’s accident.

When Percat, Todd Hazelwood, Garry Jacobson, Coulthard and Zane Goddard pitted, Mostert emerged behind Jamie Whincup and Anton De Pasquale in third.

On lap 19, Mostert and Tim Slade cleared Will Davison and Will Brown, who had both pitted.

Slade bravely fought without a windscreen wiper, and sling-shotted Mostert with him past the cold-tyre-shod Davison and Brown.

It ensured Mostert, who stopped at the end of lap 11, had momentum on Slade, whose tyres were still coming up to temperature.

And, so it was; when the red flag was flown, and the race neutralised, Mostert was in the box seat for one of the more unlikely podiums.

Of course, that was the case on paper - but Mostert was at one with his car and the conditions, helping WAU to a long-awaited podium after five Sydney races of toil.

"The car was fantastic," he said.

"The visibility wasn’t too bad. I reckon the visibility is worse in the daytime when you’ve got the glare.

"A lot of fun, heaps of stories throughout the field, heaps of battles, back and forths.

"The boys had a good stop and yeah, we needed this because we’ve been struggling the last week or two. This will give us some good confidence.

"You try to do something different to the car in front. Sometimes it works for you and sometimes it doesn’t.

"Obviously today, a lot of times it worked out pretty good for me.”

The 2021 Repco Supercars Championship will resume this weekend at the BP Ultimate Sydney SuperSprint.

Every session of the event will be broadcast live on Foxtel (Fox Sports 506) and streamed on Kayo.

The Seven Network will showcase highlights of the event.

Tickets for the event are on sale now.

Chaz Mostert’s lap-by-lap charge in Race 25

22nd after lap 1: James Courtney and Brodie Kostecki crash; overtakes Jack Smith, Thomas Randle pits21st after lap 6 restart: Jake Kostecki pitted under yellow18th after lap 7: Shane van Gisbergen off; Macauley Jones spun by Kurt Kostecki; overtakes Kurt Kostecki14th after lap 8: overtakes Jack Le Brocq, Scott Pye, Luke Youlden, Fabian Coulthard12th after lap 9: Bryce Fullwood, Mark Winterbottom pit11th after lap 10: overtakes Garry Jacobson9th after lap 11: overtakes Zane Goddard; Cameron Waters, Luke Youlden, Jack Le Brocq, Thomas Randle pitPit stop at end of lap 11: emerges 17th16th after lap 14: Kurt Kostecki pits14th after lap 17: Macauley Jones, Shane van Gisbergen pit12th after lap 18: Scott Pye, Bryce Fullwood pit10th after lap 19: Will Davison, Will Brown pit; overtakes Davison and Brown9th after lap 20: Andre Heimgartner pits8th after lap 21: overtakes Tim Slade; Jake Kostecki crashes, Safety Car deployed3rd after lap 22: Nick Percat, Todd Hazelwood, Garry Jacobson, Fabian Coulthard, Zane Goddard pitRace stopped on lap 24: Mostert on podium once race declared

10 or more positions gained in a race in 2021*

23 positions: Chaz Mostert, SMSP Race 25 (26th to 3rd)21 positions: Nick Percat, Tailem Bend Race 9 (26th to 5th)18 positions: Will Brown, Darwin Race 12 (22nd to 4th)16 positions: Shane van Gisbergen, Sandown Race 3 (17th to 1st)15 positions: Tim Slade, Townsville Race 17 (19th to 4th)14 positions: Anton De Pasquale, SMSP Race 23 (26th to 12th)13 positions: Scott Pye, SMSP Race 23 (22nd to 9th)12 positions: Will Brown, Sandown Race 5 (19th to 7th)12 positions: Jack Le Brocq, Tailem Bend Race 9 (22nd to 10th)12 positions: Tim Slade, Townsville Race 18 (24th to 12th)11 positions: Andre Heimgartner, Darwin Race 12 (26th to 15th)11 positions: James Courtney, Darwin Race 12 (21st to 10th)11 positions: Mark Winterbottom, Townsville Race 15 (21st to 10th)11 positions: Scott Pye, Townsville Race 17 (18th to 7th)11 positions: Will Brown, SMSP Race 25 (17th to 6th)10 positions: Jake Kostecki, Bathurst Race 1 (23rd to 13th)10 positions: Brodie Kostecki, Sandown Race 4 (23rd to 13th)10 positions: Todd Hazelwood, Tasmania Race 6 (24th to 14th)10 positions: Nick Percat, Tasmania Race 8 (20th to 10th)10 positions: Shane van Gisbergen, Tailem Bend Race 10 (13th to 3rd)10 positions: Will Davison, Darwin Race 12 (24th to 14th)

*Correct to the ARMOR ALL Sydney SuperNight