Dominant or dilemma? Mostert's Darwin head-scratcher

Few drivers have been on a rollercoaster in the Gen3 era quite like Chaz Mostert at Hidden Valley Raceway, which has proven a head-scratcher for Walkinshaw Andretti United.

Since the start of the Gen3 era in 2023, Mostert has taken podiums in Newcastle, Townsville, Sydney, The Bend, Bathurst, Albert Park, Perth, Tasmania, Adelaide and Taupō.

Of 2025 venues that have hosted Gen3 racing, the only ones missing are Darwin, Gold Coast and Sandown. Hidden Valley has proven particularly tricky for WAU, which remarkably boasts the worst average qualifying average of all teams.

Across Mostert, Ryan Wood and Nick Percat, WAU has an average qualifying result of 21.3 in Darwin. Mostert's average is a barely believable 21.6... yet it doesn't tell the full story.

The #25 Mobil 1 Optus Ford, while hamstrung by poor qualifying performance, has been staggering in race trim. On average, Mostert gains 11.4 positions per race in Darwin. That's right, per race, more than double the next best.

Mostert boasts the biggest number of positions made in a Gen3 era race in Darwin, with 17. He started 22nd and finished fifth in last year's first race at Hidden Valley.

While Broc Feeney looms as the one to beat, courtesy of his 2.0 qualifying average and three wins in his last four Darwin starts, Mostert could loom as a tough opponent to dislodge should WAU unlock qualifying speed.

Mostert took home two podiums in Perth, but was disappointed to let slip another shot at victory with poor qualifying on Sunday. He charged from 14th to sixth, and despite the Sunday miss, was in a "good mindset" heading to Darwin, where he has won three races.

"We didn’t qualify very well in 14th, but we executed the race really well and battled through," he said of the Perth finale.

"I think everyone was really struggling with tyre temp out there in that last race, but we somehow stayed out of trouble and get a bag of points for sixth.

"We’ll take that starting from 14th, but it was a hard one to swallow after having had such fast race cars on Saturday."

"We came into this weekend feeling confident given this track has been a happy hunting ground for the team. I’m grateful to bank some good points after the last round, and that puts us in a good mindset heading into Darwin in a couple of weeks."

The 2025 betr Darwin Triple Crown will run June 20-22 at Hidden Valley Raceway and will again be celebrated as Supercars Indigenous Round.

Foxtel, Kayo, 7plus and the Seven Network will provide live broadcast for the 2025 betr Darwin Triple Crown. Tickets are available through darwinsupercars.com.au or the Supercars website.

Driver records in Darwin (drivers who have contested all five Gen3 races)

Ranked by gain/loss

Team records in Darwin in Gen3

Ranked by gain/loss