'I could block you': Brown, Kostecki hit back at critics
Will Brown, Brodie Kostecki hit back at critics over Sandown pass
Kostecki side-stepped hard-charging Brown during Sandown opener
Brown was a large 0.2s/lap quicker than next best, Chaz Mostert
Brodie Kostecki and Will Brown have shut down suggestions the Ford star purposely made it easy for his Chevrolet rival in the Sandown opener.
Red Bull Ampol Racing star Brown charged from 15th on the grid to second at the chequered flag in Saturday’s Penrite Oil Sandown 500 opener.
Brown’s run was headlined by a battle with Chaz Mostert’s teammate Ryan Wood, who held off Brown in a thrilling fight to help secure victory for Mostert.
The #1 Red Bull Ampol Camaro was by far the fastest car on the track; Brown’s race pace (fastest 30% laps) of 1:10.24s was a large 0.2s/lap quicker than next best Mostert who was next best.
As he came through the field, Brown caught former teammate — and Lucky Dogs podcast co-host — Kostecki for fourth with 22 laps to go. Kostecki didn’t make it difficult for Brown, who cruised past before the Turn 1 braking zone.
In two laps, Brown put two seconds on Kostecki. In 10 laps, Brown had dropped Kostecki by 7.8s by the time he caught and passed teammate Broc Feeney. By race’s end, Brown finished 9.9s ahead of Kostecki.
"Andrew [Edwards, engineer] was trying to rein me in, which is what we do, but I couldn't believe how fast the car was,” Brown said on his podcast.
"Like, to come from 15th up to second... I really think if Woody wasn't there, I had a pretty good shot at Chaz. But that's the aim of the game."
Kostecki recounted Brown’s supreme pace, saying: "When I've come outta my pit stop, I saw your headlights, the matte blue like a whole straight behind.
"I looked like three laps later, and you were like half the straight up. And I'm like, 'what the heck?’
"Because I've got my time on my dash and I can see the car in front… I think I was staying the same as what Chaz and Woody were at that point.
“I could see you were catching me and the Super Soft puts heaps of marbles out.”
Brown quipped that Kostecki "copped a bit of shit” online about the pass, Kostecki claiming some even suggested the Ford driver “helped” a Chevrolet rival.
Both drivers, though, insisted that Brown’s pace always had the reigning champion in a superior position, and that a battle would have compromised Kostecki’s result.
“Apparently I helped a rival brand, but for anyone who doesn't understand, seven tenths a lap [faster]... you're gonna pass me anyways,” Kostecki said.
"I was just trying to do the fastest thing for me to get home, and that's to not run off.
“If there's four laps to go, we'll try [block]. If there's like 25 laps to go, I've gotta make these tyres last and I've got three guys not too far behind me. So, I can either finish fifth or I can finish eighth."
Brown added: “Everyone wants hard racing and there's hard racing, then they're not happy about that and whatnot.
"For us in the car we're racing along, I'm seven tenths faster, and you go, 'yeah, I could block you'. You could block me for two corners, heat up your tyres, and then I'm gonna get past you anyway.
"And then you're just gonna lose two or three more spots. And maybe that's a problem with the tyre we're running or whatnot, I don't know. But at the end of the day, that would happen in most categories.
