Late crash threatened to end Bathurst 1000 under Safety Car
Quick work by officials ensured three lap dash to the end
Rarely-seen rule ensured lapped cars weren't a factor
For all of the accolades drivers and teams received on Sunday, spare a thought for officials, who expertly managed the tense finish.
The 2026 Repco Bathurst 1000 boiled down to a three-lap green flag run home, which saw Brodie Kostecki pass Anton De Pasquale on the final lap.
Kostecki picked off De Pasquale on Mountain Straight as the #18 DEWALT Camaro coughed, running out of fuel and failing to finish.
Remarkably, Kostecki — who had fought back after a slow stop — was fourth in the queue of cars as the Shannons Safety Car pulled away on Conrod Straight.
He still had De Pasquale and Zach Bates to pass, but keen-eyed viewers would have noticed the lapped car of Ryan Wood between Bates and Kostecki.
The Mostert extraction
Chaz Mostert’s heavy crash at Forrest’s Elbow came with five laps to go.
Officials deployed the Safety Car, and the recovery crew swiftly removed the Supra out of harm’s way behind the wall, rather than deployed a recovery truck.
That alone opened the door for a racing finish, with crews retrieving the Toyota post-race.
It’s happened before, such as 2019, when the recovery crew quickly removed Andre Heimgartner’s damaged car to ensure there would be a one-lap dash to the end.
The restart
De Pasquale led Bates through The Chase, with Wood — who crashed earlier — ahead of Kostecki, who passed Will Brown before the Safety Car.
Critically, Wood — along with David Reynolds, Declan Fraser, Macauley Jones, Nathan Herne, Jackson Walls, Kai Allen and Rylan Gray — came into pit lane, rather than being waved by.
Why? The wave-by period had expired.
Per Supercars rules, should a Safety Car be deployed within eight laps of the finish, cars one or more laps down must come into pit lane.
However, the green flags were only displayed at the crest exiting The Chase near pit entry, meaning De Pasquale couldn’t skip away. That’s because the field hadn’t arrived at the pit entry line.
Rule 10.2.13.1 reads: “Should a SC deployment end eight (8) laps or less from the last lap of a race, or ten (10) minutes or less prior to the time certain finish time of a race as published in the Supplementary Regulations or as amended by the Stewards, any Car that is one (1) or more laps behind the leader must reposition itself by driving through the Pit Lane so that it is not in front of any Car that is on the lead lap.”
The situation was expertly managed by officials and the lapped drivers.
Kostecki still had to win it, muscling past Bates at the end of the restart lap, before De Pasquale coughed.
However, the clean and incisive application of rules, and a quick recovery, ensured Bathurst got the pure finish it deserved.
