Brodie Kostecki/Todd Hazelwood steal incredible Bathurst win
Anton De Pasquale/Lee Holdsworth heartbroken after running out of fuel
Late Safety Car restart paved the way for remarkable Kostecki charge
Brodie Kostecki and Todd Hazelwood have stolen a remarkable 2026 Repco Bathurst 1000 victory after Anton De Pasquale ran out of fuel on the final lap whilst in the lead.
De Pasquale and Lee Holdsworth were in the box seat, Team 18 having worked themselves into a brilliant fuel window, yet they didn't put enough fuel in the tank to get to the chequered flag.
It was a remarkable comeback from Kostecki, who seemed to have lost his chance at victory with a botched brake change at their penultimate pit stop on lap 125, which dropped them from a comfortable lead to a distant fifth.
However, having flexibility in their strategy, Kostecki was able to stretch his final stop to lap 150, and a late Safety Car, combined with Team 18's extraordinary miscalculation, paved the way for a Bathurst finish for the ages.
The final 60 laps of the race started with a final hammer blow for Penrite Racing, with Kai Allen forced back into the lane after his left front brake duct came loose.
Tim Slade was thrown back in the #26 Ford to complete his co-driver minimum laps, but a one and a half minute stop sent the Bend 500 runners-up tumbling out of any contention.
Some teams elected to pivot towards trying the make the finish on five pit stops, as opposed to the vast majority of the field on the expected six stops, namely the #14 Brad Jones Racing Toyota of Cameron Hill/Brad Vaughan, and the #15 Team 18 wildcard Chevrolet of Craig Lowndes/Bayley Hall.
After clearing their drive through penalty, Davison had recovered to sixth by the time he made his penultimate stop on lap 112, with Payne jumping in for the run to the finish.
The race was turned upside down by the bungled Kostecki stop. What looked set to be a cruise home to victory for the 2024 Bathurst winner evaporated in an instant, as Zach Bates, De Pasquale, Will Brown, and Jack Le Brocq all blazed on by.
De Pasquale had also jumped ahead of Brown, having been applying serious pressure to the back of the #888 Ford as the DEWALT Chevrolet began to come alive in the final two hours.
De Pasquale crushed into Bates' lead as the race entered its final 30 laps, as the 22-year-old was in a slightly compromised fuel position relative to De Pasquale's Team 18 entry.
The gap had closed to within two seconds with 27 laps to go, with Team 18 in prime position needing less fuel to get their car home ahead of the #10 Bendix entry.
Brown and Le Brocq were both pushing hard in third and fourth, taking to the shortcut through The Esses as they looked to keep themselves in the fight for a maiden Bathurst win.
Hall was the first to fill up for the run home, stopping for the fifth time on lap 136, whilst Le Brocq and Matt Payne were the first of the leaders to pit on lap 138.
Team 18 weren't going to let their golden opportunity slip, and on lap 139 they made a last-minute call to pit De Pasquale as he ranged up onto the back of Bates.
Matt Stone Racing responded the next time by to bring Bates in, but Team 18's fuel advantage was laid bare as De Pasquale opened up an enormous 15.5s gap with 21 laps to go.
Bates was almost an innocent victim when Ryan Wood's miserable weekend came to an abrupt end when he whacked the wall at Reid Park, with Bates the next car on the scene.
Brown's last stop came on lap 143, however his race would be for third with Kostecki, who made his last stop on lap 150, leaving an 11 lap sprint home, and a five second gap to claw back.
De Pasquale was told to save fuel with 10 laps to go by engineer Andrew Donnelly, with Bates continuing to close the margin, but not
Kostecki, meanwhile, set a back-to-back Gen3 lap records on laps 152 and 153, as he mowed down Brown for the final step on the podium, closing right on the rear bumper of the #888 Ford with six laps to go.
The fuel save message from Team 18 was beginning to get desperate, until with six laps to go De Pasquale was told in no uncertain terms "maximum fuel save".
Brown and Kostecki were throwing haymakers, Brown copping a bad sportsmanship flag for moving under brakes, before Kostecki pulled a block pass at Murray's Corner.
That was right before the Safety Car was called for the first time all day with six laps to go, as Chaz Mostert crashed out at Forrests Elbow after clipping the inside wall.
That left a three lap dash to the flag, with De Pasquale getting a strong restart, and the fuel questions potentially cleared, whilst Bates had to fend off a hungry Kostecki.
Kostecki made an authoritative move on Bates with three laps to go at Murray's Corner, and was in the right place to pounce when De Pasquale coughed on Mountain Straight on the final lap.
That promoted Brown/Scott Pye to second, the pair securing the Ryco Sprint Cup in the process, and Brown an extra 25 bonus points for the Repco Supercars Finals Series.
Bates was shuffled back behind Brown after Kostecki's move, but was promoted back up to a richly deserved podium after a breakout weekend, with Aaron Seton securing his maiden Supercars podium at a place where his family have a rich history.
MSR secured a double top four finish thanks to Le Brocq/Harri Jones, with Payne/Davison salvaging fifth from a tough weekend.
The top 10 was rounded out by Cooper Murray/Lochie Dalton, Andre Heimgartner/Bryce Fullwood, James Golding/Richie Stanaway, Thomas Randle/Reuben Goodall, and Craig Lowndes/Bayley Hall.
The 2026 Repco Supercars Championship shifts into Finals mode at the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 from October 23-25.
