Kostecki wary of Sandown double stack

Erebus Camaros to start first and second on Sunday
Brown beat Kostecki in Saturday's Sandown Shootout
Double stacking could prove a big hurdle for series leaders

Double stacking in pit lane could prove a hurdle for Erebus Motorsport to overcome in Sunday’s Penrite Oil Sandown 500.

Coca-Cola Camaros will share the front row for Sunday’s 161-lap race, with Will Brown beating Brodie Kostecki to pole in the ARMOR ALL Top Ten Shootout.

Brown is sharing with Jack Perkins, and Kostecki with David Russell, with co-drivers expected to start Sunday’s race, which kicks off at 2:15pm AEST.

Strategy will be a big talking point during the 500km race, given there are no compulsory pit stops and anticipated higher tyre degradation.

The possibility of Safety Cars ensures Erebus, which could have both cars in the fight for victory, may have to contend with double stacking.

Add to that, a larger fuel cell, slower fuel flow rate and tricky driver changes with the new Gen3 cars, and cars could lose swags of time in pit lane — something series Kostecki leader is well aware of.

“Well, Will’s going to a different team next year… I’m only joking,” joked Kostecki, citing Brown’s impending move to Red Bull Ampol Racing in 2024.

“That’s actually going to be quite a tricky one.

“Obviously, the pit stops are going to be quite long with the fuel load that we’ve got to take on, so it’ll just be one of those things.

“It’ll be same for everyone and if the Safety Car falls, there’ll be a bunch of cars that will gain spots and a bunch of cars will lose spots.

“We’ll just see how the race plays out... it’s just going to be one of those things.”

Co-drivers will be in the spotlight off the line, with James Moffat set to start Cam Waters’ #6 Monster Energy Tickford Mustang from third alongside the Will Davison/Alex Davison #17 Shell V-Power Ford.

Moffat infamously bogged down off the line in the last two Bathurst 1000s, going from third to ninth in 2021, and first to fifth in 2022.

“My starts the last couple of years at Bathurst haven’t been anything to write home about,” Moffat said.

“The pressure’s definitely on there, but the practice start on Friday was okay. Just got to do it tomorrow.

“The rhythm of the race tomorrow is going to be really interesting, obviously not having any compulsory pit stops, obviously tyre life is the big talking point.

“It's going to be a long 500km, it’s going to be an endurance race, that’s for sure. Years gone by we’ve been spoilt with the cars being bulletproof and reliable, and flat-out sprint races.

"I don’t think tomorrow’s going to be the case there.”

Warm Up commences Sunday’s action at 10:10am AEST, followed by the feature 500km race at 2:15pm.