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Mostert explains lack of belief amid win drought

20 Apr 2021
Mostert snapped a 62-race winless run stretching back to 2019
4 mins by James Pavey
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Chaz gets real on first WAU podium

Race 8 winner Chaz Mostert has admitted he was weighed down of recurring thoughts he would never win again.

On Sunday at Symmons Plains, the Walkinshaw Andretti United driver snapped a 62-race winless run stretching back to the 2019 Albert Park event.

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It marked a first win for Mostert in 765 days, and a first win for WAU since March 2018.

Mostert’s high-profile move to WAU ahead of the 2020 season was heralded as a new era for driver and team as the Clayton squad eyed the top step.

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However, while Mostert impressed to finish fifth overall in 2020, he failed to secure a race win.

In 34 starts for WAU prior to his Symmons Plains breakthrough, Mostert started from the front two rows 13 times for just seven podiums.

On Sunday, he beat pole-sitter Cameron Waters to Turn 2 and raced away to a 10.2s victory, his 14th in his 239-race career.

When asked if thoughts of his win drought had had an impact. he replied: “I think they do massively.

Mostert celebrates with engineer Adam De Borre

“When you get yourself in a good starting position, and you’ve been on a drought for race wins for a long time.

“You start on the front row; so many times it’s gone the other way, you’ve gone backwards.

“Last win was 2019 before this year, it’s been a long time.”

Between 2014 and 2019, Mostert emerged as a proven winner for Tickford, but few would have predicted he would have to wait over two years between victories.

Mostert wins at Albert Park in 2019

It marked the end of another win drought, Mostert suffering a winless run between August 2015 and April 2017 as he battled to regain form following his horror Bathurst crash.

Amid the hype of his first WAU campaign, Mostert reiterated that the 2020 season was a "building year”.

However, despite having one of the quickest cars through the Mount Panorama and Sandown rounds, Mostert admitted there is still work to be done.

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Notably, he scored a pole at Sandown, yet failed to podium across the three sprint races.

“I think we rolled out a bit better this year, but we’re still trying to find our feet a bit,” he said.

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“We kicked ourselves at Sandown coming back from the weekend… you start off pole, and you want to win races from there.

“This weekend was a bit of a mixed bag in qualifying, and we tuned the car pretty well across the weekend.

“Just super pumped to finally get the win off the back, it’s a relief. I feel like I lost 20 kilos walking back from the podium to the shed.

“It’s a pretty crazy feeling.”

A big day for Mostert and WAU

The win ended WAU’s 1121-day wait for victory, having previously cracked the top step courtesy of Scott Pye at the Grand Prix in 2018.

To next month’s OTR SuperSprint at The Bend Motorsport Park, Mostert is a reduced 165 points in arrears of championship leader and Red Bull Ampol Racing rival Shane van Gisbergen.

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Having finally won for WAU, the 2014 Bathurst 1000 winner is eyeing more, and next heads to a circuit he claimed a pole position at last September.

“To finally reward them with a race win is so rewarding,” he said.

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“This will be really good for the team, this win. It gives us self-belief in what we can do.

“The podiums across the last 12 months have been great, but to get the win and know that you got the biggest trophy at the end of the day is really confidence-inspiring.

“Looking forward to going to The Bend; it is a bit of an Achilles heel track for us, like it was last year.

“I’m excited to go there now with this level of confidence, and try and move forward.”

Mostert is 26 points behind second-placed Jamie Whincup in the drivers’ standings.

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