Kostecki DJR Ford on track amid overnight repairs
Brodie Kostecki DJR Ford on track amid overnight repairs
Kostecki crashed out of Saturday morning qualifying
Sunday morning qualifying to commence at 10:00am local
The Shell V-Power Racing Team is hopeful of getting Brodie Kostecki’s damaged Ford Mustang out for Sunday qualifying following his big Gold Coast crash.
Kostecki crashed heavily in Boost Mobile Qualifying on Saturday morning, forcing the 2023 champion onto the sidelines for Race 28, and in doubt for the remainder of the weekend.
The car didn’t even make it back to the paddock after the crash, with the team quickly acting to send it back to base to be stripped, before undergoing chassis repairs at PACE Innovations.
The #38 Shell V-Power Mustang is set to return to the paddock on Saturday night, with Dick Johnson Racing Team Principal Dr Ryan Story hopeful of getting the car back out for qualifying at 10:00am local time.
“The front clip is destroyed, but the damage to the centre section was minimal,” Story told Supercars.com.
"We're really grateful to Paul Ceprnich and his team at PACE Innovations. They've done a ripper job. They've jumped in and they've got it done for us.
“It won't be too long before the car heads back to the track to finish its repairs. A new front clip and all the subsidiaries will be installed there.”
Kostecki was cleared by on-site medical staff after the 19g impact, and will be ready to compete on Sunday. The West Aussie followed his team to its Staplyton base.
Kostecki dropped from fifth to ninth in the standings, and is 81 points below the cut-line. It puts Kostecki in a near must-win scenario on Sunday, but given Saturday’s action, anything could happen.
For now, DJR is on track to repeat its 2016 heroics, when it repaired Fabian Coulthard’s Falcon overnight following a major Saturday crash.
On that occasion, though, the Coulthard Ford sustained heavy front and rear damage, versus the significant front damage for the Kostecki Mustang.
“We're hoping we'll be on track for qualifying. That's certainly the plan. We'll do our best to get through the workload,” Story continued.
"We expected that there might've been a bit more damage than what there's ultimately been. But these guys have jumped in and just done a ripper job."
When asked about the similarities to 2016, Story replied: “At least it's only the front of the car as opposed to 2016, which was every damn corner of the thing."
