Mostert falls out of Bathurst contention with engine failure
Chaz Mostert/Fabian Coulthard out of Repco Bathurst 1000
Engine failure cruelled the chances of #25 Mustang
Mostert brought out second Safety Car of the day
An engine failure has eliminated one of the key contenders in the 2025 Repco Bathurst 1000, with Chaz Mostert and Fabian Coulthard retiring on Lap 57.
The engine note of the Mobil 1 Optus Mustang was notably off song for several laps in the lead up, and lap times for Coulthard blew out to the range of two seconds a lap slower than the leaders.
Upon further investigation, Mark Larkham issued an update on the broadcast: "I just had a word with Carl Faux [Team Principal], one of the real technical brains at Walkinshaw Andretti United about car #25, Mostert and Coulthard.
"That noise, they thought it might've been cam timing, so they turned the car off, reset it, it didn't do anything. He said the coolant pressure is now through the roof, the cam trace pressure is through the roof, and we all know that's not good."
Neil Crompton succinctly added: "It's dying."
Coming to the Safety Car restart for Tony D'Alberto's crash, Crompton's prophecy came true, with the #25 coming to halt at the entry to The Chase. The second Safety Car of the day was deployed before a full racing lap was even completed.
The two-time Bathurst winner at least saw the funny side to it, immediately jumping the fence and cracking open a beer that was handed to him by a group of fans.
"Not the way we wanted to end the day for car #25, but Chaz is on the Mountain having a beer with the fans, so it's probably the happiest he's been all weekend," said Team Owner Ryan Walkinshaw.
"I'm not sure we're going to get him back before the end of the race, he looks pretty set up there.
The sister car of Ryan Wood and Jayden Ojeda has been a front runner throughout the opening stages of the race, with Ojeda third at the time of the Safety Car restart.
Added Walkinshaw of car #2's chances: "Woody's been doing a great job, so has Jayden. We're probably not as fast at the moment as the Red Bull boys, but it looks on par with car #38, so fingers crossed we can get a podium and maybe have a crack at the Red Bull guys towards the end."
