The moments that proved Mostert was cooking something special
It hasn't been a usual championship-contending year for Chaz Mostert.
That's not to say it's been a poor year. He and Walkinshaw Andretti United have been there or thereabouts right through the season, however it hadn't quite clicked in the same way it did for his stunning mid-season surge last year.
At least, it didn't until last weekend in Surfers Paradise.
In the space of one weekend, Mostert has become a serious contender for the 2025 Repco Supercars Championship, however it's a story that has it's roots all the way back in February.
Short-term pain for a long-term gain
Entering the opening round of the season in Sydney, a lot of people had earmarked Mostert for big things.
His mid-season run of form in 2024 had started with a clean sweep at Eastern Creek, and many thought this was the perfect opportunity for Mostert to establish an early march on the field.
It was a strong weekend, two podiums and a fourth, however the headlines were stolen by his former teammate Cam Waters, who was in supreme form.
However, the team were quick to say that their eyes were already trained eight months down the line, trialling set-ups that were looking ahead to the Finals Series.
WAU Team Principal Carl Faux said at the time: “It’s a different championship this year. You’ve just got to stay in the Top 10 and make sure you have a fast car for the end of the season.
“That means we’re exploring things differently than we would have last year. We can take more risks.
“We’re allowing ourselves the freedom to look for things that will make us the fastest at the end of the year. We’ve found some things that might not work at SMP but will definitely work at other places.”
Achilles heel banished in New Zealand
WAU's performances on the Dunlop Super Soft tyre in 2024 were a key contributor to Mostert not being able to clinch an elusive championship.
So when the softer rubber made it's first appearance for the season at the inaugural Super 440 round in Taupō, eyes were trained on WAU to see whether or not they could perform.
They duly responded with an emphatic, yet hard-fought victory in Race 9 at Taupō, Mostert brutally muscling his way past Brodie Kostecki for his first win of the year.
It was an important breakthrough for the team, however Faux declared that the job wasn't done: "I think we're still searching for the best combination of qualifying speed and race pace. When we get it right, we're definitely in contention.”
The first sign of Finals intent
The NTI Townsville 500 was arguably the first time all season that Mostert and WAU sent out a genuine warning to the field that they meant business come Finals time.
Much like Sydney, there were no wins for Mostert, but the race pace was red hot. Ninth to sixth in Race 20, 17th to second in Race 21, and eighth to third in Race 22.
"There was a point at probably Townsville where I thought we were going to have a really good car, we had a really good, fast car there," reflected Mostert on Saturday on the Gold Coast.
"We didn't execute on Sunday the best, and the Bulls were quite fast there, and we didn't really qualify real well either, but our race pace was mega, and something that we've been focusing on, especially on the #25 side of the garage."
The second bullet in the gun
Make no mistake, Ryan Wood also deserves praise for how he has pushed both Mostert and WAU forward this year.
The Kiwi has been sensational in just his second season, repaying WAU's faith in spades. Indeed, if it wasn't for terrible luck, the team would have two genuine title contenders, and Wood potentially a Bathurst winner at 21.
"Ryan has been awesome to be able to lean on this year, and probably been a little bit more consistent, and running something that's probably a bit more within our parameters as well," said Mostert on Saturday.
"Bathurst probably really showed the telltale for us, we rolled out two very similar cars and we've just come back together at the right time and trying to work together."
Now that he's out of the hunt, he's free to act as Mostert's rear gunner at both Sandown and Adelaide.
The statement weekend
On the streets of Surfers Paradise, everything came together in a way that hadn't been seen since his Sydney dominance last year, or perhaps even Mostert and WAU's extraordinary Bathurst win with Lee Holdsworth in 2021.
All of these elements above combined to create an unstoppable force, winning through raw speed on Saturday and jumping Broc Feeney through a fuel save strategy on Sunday.
"So every circuit we go to has got multiple different corners, and we can target those types of corners for what is coming up in these last three," said Team Principal Carl Faux on the Cool Down Lap presented by Moza Racing.
"We went to Sydney Motorsport Park last year and were dominant, and this year we took the chance to learn some things. We weren't as quick there, but it was always with a view to what's going to make us quick at the end of the year.
"That's clearly paying off now."
The million dollar question
It's one that Mostert is sick of being asked, but is this his best ever chance to win a championship?
The points reset pre-Gold Coast brought him right back into the game, and he made the absolute most of it.
Now sitting second in the championship ahead of the Penrite Oil Sandown 500, Mostert is a legitimate contender, arguably more so than he ever was last year.
"I think every year I come into this saying it's my best chance, but it's starting to become a bit of a broken record," said Mostert on Sunday.
"It's so competitive, there's been so many great drivers I've versed here over the years, and every single one of them deserves the championship.
"This year it's been such a consistent championship, the guys that have put together the amount of race wins like Broc has this year have generally won it.
"If there is a format that probably might suit me, it's probably this new one.
"So yeah, I'd say it probably is my best chance going forward."
The views in this article do not necessarily express the opinions of Supercars, teams or drivers.
