Kostecki beats Payne to Adelaide pole by 0.03s
Supercars
26 Nov
Brodie Kostecki denies Matt Payne Adelaide pole by 0.0314s
Kostecki qualified seventh, but ultimately set an unbeatable Shootout time
Cam Waters and Chaz Mostert to share second row
Brodie Kostecki has denied Matt Payne a maiden pole position by 0.0314s in a thrilling ARMOR ALL Top Ten Shootout at the VAILO Adelaide 500.
The Erebus Motorsport driver, who has already secured the drivers’ championship and ARMOR ALL Pole Champion Award, only qualified seventh.
Kostecki, who was fourth man out, didn’t set the fastest time in any sector. However, his 1:19.5438s proved good enough to keep his rivals at bay.
Payne, 21, was aiming to become the fourth youngest pole winner in Supercars history. However, he fell agonisingly short, with Saturday winner Cam Waters just behind.
The #99 Coca-Cola Camaro, #19 Penrite Mustang and #43 Monster Energy Mustang were covered by just 0.0937s. The top six drivers were covered by just 0.1408s.
Payne's teammate David Reynolds, meanwhile, will start his final race for Penrite Racing from 10th after copping a kerb strike at the Senna Chicane.
Kostecki again proved his mettle as the best of 2023 with his 10th pole of the season, and sixth of the last nine. The next best, teammate Will Brown, has four poles.
"It's awesome to back it up today, we had awesome qualifying speed yesterday," said Kostecki, who now has 11 career pole positions.
"Congrats to Matty Payne on a front row again, we were having a joke prior to qualifying, and I was trying to put the young fella under a bit of pressure. He's done an awesome job.
"Really looking forward to this afternoon, and hopefully finish off the season with a win."
Waters will share the second row with Walkinshaw Andretti United star Chaz Mostert, who is chasing his first victory of the season and fourth in the championship.
Mostert (#25 Mobil 1 Optus Mustang) is just 25 points behind Erebus driver Brown, who will start Race 28 from 11th. Shane van Gisbergen, meanwhile, will start his final full-time Supercars race from 15th after missing a Shootout berth in morning qualifying.
Broc Feeney (#88 Red Bull Ampol Camaro) and Thomas Randle (#55 Castrol Mustang) will start fifth and sixth, ahead of James Golding (#31 Nulon Camaro) and local driver Todd Hazewood (#3 REDARC Mustang), who will start his last full-time race for the forseeable future from eighth.
Reynolds will share the fifth row with Andre Heimgartner (#8 R&J Batteries Camaro).
The final race of the 2023 Repco Supercars Championship, Race 28, is scheduled to commence at 2:45pm local time/3:15pm AEDT.
