The 'uncharacteristic' mistake that keeps pressure on Mostert

Chaz Mostert heads into the biggest weekend of his Supercars career as one of four contenders for the 2025 Repco Supercars Championship.

For the first time since 2017, Mostert enters the final weekend of the season in contention for the championship, only this time it's not just mathematical contention, it's as legitimate as it comes.

The two-time Bathurst winner is just 20 points behind points leader Broc Feeney entering the final three races of the year, and with 300 points up for grabs across the weekend, anything could happen.

Mostert has been in impeccable form in the Finals Series to date, winning the first three races in a row, and securing his Grand Final berth as eliminated teammate Ryan Wood played the ultimate rear gunner.

However, with several drivers cracking under the Finals pressure at both Sandown and the Elimination Final on the Gold Coast, Mostert also proved that he isn't immune from errors himself, with a rare error on Sunday.

His race was immediately compromised by Wood being stricken in WAU's pit bay with a spindle failure as the heavens opened early.

What Mostert lost as he soldiered on with slick tyres was regained as the track dried, however, as the #25 Mustang was the first to dive back onto the pit lane and change back to slick tyres.

A net gain back to third quickly faded when Mostert slipped off the road at Turn 4 and thumped the tyres. Having already secured his Grand Final berth, it'd be easy to question why he was pushing so hard, but with the top seeding up for grabs, he simply had to push.

Mostert still recovered to fourth, his first non-win in the Finals Series, proving that there was still plenty of pace in the Mobil 1 Optus Mustang, despite chief title rival Broc Feeney reclaiming the top seeding with a crucial win.

Irrespective of Mostert's mistake, WAU still believe they have every chance to claim the team's first driver's championship since Mark Skaife claimed his last championship for the Holden Racing Team back in 2002.

“We’re really happy. It’s been nearly 10 years since we last won at Sandown, so to have a front-row lock-out and double podium on Saturday was great," said WAU Team Principal Carl Faux.

“Ryan Wood did a really good job to wash off the disappointment of not making the semi-finals and was the ultimate team mate to Chaz Mostert as he helped him win that race.

“On Sunday it was unfortunate that Ryan had a problem with a front wheel clip and Chazzy made a very uncharacteristic mistake.

“We've prepped all year for the new Finals series and going to Adelaide for the title decider. Now we’ve just go there and execute.”

For Mostert, there's a personal mission in Adelaide as well, that is to claim his elusive maiden title in his final weekend, at least for the time being, in a Ford.

Having started on the pathway to Supercars with the 2010 Formula Ford title, the vast majority of Mostert's starts across both Supercars and Super2 have been with Ford, save for the first three years of his WAU tenure between 2020-22.

For 2026, he will once again move away from the Blue Oval, as WAU enter a new era as Toyota's homologation team with the brand-new GR Supra.

Speaking to the Seven Network over the weekend, Mostert expressed his gratitude to Ford for the role they have played in his career, and wouldn't rule out ever returning to the Blue Oval camp.

"It would mean everything to me, I owe my whole career to Ford," said the 33-year-old.

"I've driven most of my Supercars races representing the Blue Oval, and the last couple of years have been a pretty tough slog for Ford, so it would be a really sensational feeling being able to wrap it up, especially my last time in a Ford too.

"You never know what the future holds, I may end up coming back around full circle, but we've got some pretty exciting things coming on for next year.

"You want to try and end relationships the best way, and the best way would be to try and win a title together.

"I'm looking forward to doing that for Walkinshaw Andretti United and Ford's relationship, and send them out in the right way."

On-track action in Adelaide begins on Thursday.