Saturday Wrap: Mostert turns up title heat on Triple Eight

Chaz Mostert entered 2024 as one of title favourites, and heading to Sydney, he had never been closer to the championship lead after six rounds.

The Ford star put on a clinic on Saturday night to land a blow to Triple Eight, with Mostert now within a race of championship leader Will Brown.

There's still a long way to go in season 2024, but in a heartbeat, Mostert is back in the game. Heading to Sunday, he's only 30 points behind Broc Feeney.

After a fascinating day at Sydney Motorsport Park, Supercars.com runs through the key talking points from the action.

Chaz putting title pressure on Triple Eight

In just three races, Chaz Mostert has wiped 153 points off the deficit to Will Brown, and is now just 126 points behind with 1660 still to win. Mostert was a class above in the final stint, having trailed the Tickford Mustangs before passing old foe Cam Waters. He still needed to catch and pass Matt Payne, and he did just that, eroding a 14-second margin to seal his second win of the year. All of a sudden, he's right back in the title fight. Can WAU keep it going?

Penrite Racing delivers on strategy, again

Penrite Racing delivered big time in Townsville, with Matt Payne taking a three-stop strategy to victory. On Saturday, Payne was put on a one-stopper, and led until the final laps. It was another masterstroke by the Grove team, with Payne just under two seconds from a second straight victory.

Randle shows his class with podium

On a day it didn't go Cam Waters' way, Thomas Randle was superb. Randle did everything right, winning the race to Turn 1 and building an early lead, but lost the lead to Chaz Mostert in the stops after being delayed by Mostert's teammate Ryan Wood. Randle's first podium of the season was long overdue, and it vaulted the Castrol Ford driver to seventh in the championship.

DJR gets much-needed result

The Shell V-Power Racing Team was desperate to convert to a result after missing out twice in Townsville, despite having strong one-lap pace. The team delivered on Saturday, with Will Davison and Anton De Pasquale completing an all-Ford top five. Davison is now sixth in the championship, with De Pasquale jumping from 14th to 11th.

Night race takes more casualties

Jack Le Brocq suffered a late engine failure and was consigned to just his second DNF of the season. Le Brocq was the only retirement of the race, but Mark Winterbottom could have joined him after a bizarre first-lap collision with Macauley Jones. Winterbottom finished 24th and 10 laps down after spearing into Jones into the Turn 2 braking zone. It was another hard-luck story for Team 18 teammate David Reynolds, who ended up 17th after spinning out battling Broc Feeney for a top 10 spot before the second stops.