Why championship could have been now or never for Mostert

As the smoke settled around his Mobil 1 Optus Mustang, an exhausted and emotional Chaz Mostert doubled over, hands on knees in relief as the championship trophy sat proudly on the roof of his car.

Finally.

The simple fact is Mostert heads into 2026 as reigning Supercars champion, having finally ended his championship wait last year after a thrilling Repco Supercars Finals Series.

At 33, Mostert has a plenty of racing in him yet, but at nearly 400 starts, he had to do his waiting in a championship that is pivoting towards youth.

Since 2000, Mostert is the third oldest first-time champion, after Russell Ingall (age 41 in 2005) and Mark Winterbottom (age 34 in 2015).

After a season that saw James Courtney (45), Will Davison (43) and Nick Percat (38) retire, Mostert has suddenly emerged as the second oldest driver on the grid, behind David Reynolds (40).

It comes as five new rookies enter the fray: Rylan Gray (19), Zach Bates (21), Jobe Stewart (21), Jackson Walls (22), and Jayden Ojeda (26).

Next month, the average age of the Race 1 grid in Sydney will be 27 years and 117 days, which is nearly seven years younger than Mostert.

As time wore on, and as he became older and his rivals younger, Mostert began to sweat that he may watch someone else achieve his dream.

"Every year previous to this, you always think that it's never going to happen, especially once you get into your 30s," said an honest Mostert after winning the title.

"In this Gen3 era, there's all these unbelievably talented young blokes just coming into the field.

"It's funny, we lost some amazing champions in this sport, guys like Gizzy [Shane van Gisbergen] and [Scott] McLaughlin, but the new crop of young guys that's come through are just as talented.

"So many years of trying, and many years of trying to keep up with some of the best race car drivers around the world... we have some of the best racing drivers in the world here, and they're just getting better and better."

History shows Mostert will be up against it when he attempts to defend his Repco Supercars Championship title in 2026.

Of 28 first-time champions in 66 seasons, just five have backed it up in the following season: Bob Jane, Dick Johnson, Marcos Ambrose, Jamie Whincup and McLaughlin.

The new GR Supra presents the biggest unknown for Mostert, who will represent Toyota in 2026. He only drove the car for the first time late last year.

As the grid gets younger, racing gets closer and more drivers and teams race into contention, Mostert may soon look back at 2025 as his best chance.

Regardless, carrying the champion's No. 1, Mostert will be target No. 1 for his rivals this year. Look no further than Broc Feeney, who dominated 2025 before stumbling at the final hurdle.

Mostert admitted Feeney could be a tougher prospect this season, alongside teammate Ryan Wood (age 22), Bathurst champion Matt Payne (age 23) and fellow Grand Finalist Kai Allen (20).

"For Broc to be doing what he's done this year, breaking records in qualifying, the race wins he's had, it's scary. Now he's going to come hungrier next year," Mostert added.

"But saying that, we've got a pretty hungry young Kiwi [Wood], there's another Kiwi on the left of me [Payne] that's so fast, another Aussie boy from Mount Gambier [Allen].

"It's so cool to be in this sport at the moment, and it's cool to say that one of the older boys got the job done today.

"I'll take that proud, especially for a couple of old boys retiring this weekend. Guys like Will Davo, and Nick Percat I come through with in development series with, and JC.

"Guys that even in their age are still showing their talent in this sport, so just so cool to be sharing this grid with 24 guys that are just pushing everything."

Mostert will commence his championship defence in Sydney on February 20-22. Tickets are on sale now.