Mostert doubts he would have overcame rampant SVG

Chaz Mostert believes he would have struggled to beat Shane van Gisbergen in Race 12 had the series leader not struck trouble in the pits.

Both drivers survived the first corner, first lap melee, with van Gisbergen emerging in the lead ahead of Nick Percat and Mostert.

The series leader eked out a three-second margin by the time Walkinshaw Andretti United pitted Mostert at the end of lap 20.

Two laps later, van Gisbergen made his fateful stop, which dragged on for nearly 30 seconds after an issue with the left-rear wheel nut.

WATCH: SVG'S HORROR STOP

It enabled Mostert to take an effective lead he wouldn’t surrender, with van Gisbergen coming home 13th.

Van Gisbergen later claimed the stop cost him the race win, which would have driven in a nail through the hearts of his rivals.

Speaking after the race, Mostert admitted van Gisbergen’s pace may have been a hurdle too steep to overcome.

“It was great to come out in third [in the Turn 1 crash], but at the end of the day, we had a really fast race car,” Mostert said.

“The first stint, our car was awesome. I was able to race Nick and get a bit of a run on him.

“I don’t think I would have had much for Shane, he was really quick. But obviously he had a bit of bad luck today as well.

“We’ll take ‘em while we can get ‘em.”

WATCH: RACE 12 HIGHLIGHTS

Van Gisbergen rejoined the race last of the stoppers, and worked his way back towards the back of the top 10.

He was just three seconds from the top 10, but Mostert was nearly 30 seconds down the road by the time the WAU driver greeted the chequered flag after 38 laps.

Mostest, however, wasn’t told van Gisbergen had struck drama, instead finding out about his pit stop woes until after the race.

“[I was told] Shane was pitting this lap, and I came around expecting to see Shane on the exit,” Mostert explained.

“I thought maybe they got the call wrong, and then next lap they said I was the effective leader.

“I thought he might have had a stop-and-go, or something like that.

“I didn’t know it was a wheel nut until the end of the race."

The result ensured Mostert wiped 56 points from the deficit to van Gisbergen, and heads into Sunday’s action 195 points in arrears.

It was a welcome day in Mostert’s title bid, having ceded critical ground due to his involvement in the Race 10 accident at the OTR SuperSprint.

“I really wanted to keep pushing all the way to the end to see if we could learn something for tomorrow,” he said.

“There’s still room for improvement, for sure. I wasn’t really happy with the second part of our race.

“It’s all about trying to tune it, and make it better and make it better.

“After Tailem Bend, where we really struggled to get the car into the top five, we went back and assessed what was wrong with the car.”

WATCH: MOSTERT DELIGHTED WITH VICTORY

Regardless, Mostert was delighted with the win, which not only came from eighth on the grid, but in a race he and long-time rival Cameron Waters managed to avoid a repeat of their Tailem Bend contact.

“I’m super pumped,” he said after the race.

“Starting eighth, I didn’t expect to be up here today.

“Starting next to Cam, you never expect to get anywhere!

“Overall, pumped to get through Turn 1 without hitting Cam, and yeah, coming out and seeing some other people have bad luck for a change."