Kostecki engine scare explained as Ruapuna dust wreaks havoc
Brodie Kostecki engine scare explained as dust wreaks havoc
Dust and rocks in Christchurch races akin to “driving in the wet”
Kostecki engine changed after DJR Ford surfed through grass
Supercars’ first foray in Christchurch has featured dust clouds and debris, which nearly caught out points leader Brodie Kostecki.
Three entertaining 120km sprint races have been held at the Ruapuna circuit, and one thing has been a constant — drivers pushing the limits, and kicking up dust.
The fast Turn 3 right hander has been the key action point, with Kostecki following Ryan Wood through the grass and dust midway through Race 12.
Such was the debris picked up by the #17 Shell V-Power Ford, that Dick Johnson Racing has opted to change a fresh engine into the Mustang for Sunday.
In details shared with Supercars.com, DJR confirmed that Kostecki’s engine issues arose due to the off, leading to increasing engine temperatures, which peaked on the pit straight two laps later.
The coolant temperature reached 123 degrees, and oil temperature 149 degrees. Oil pressure dropped to lap minimums of 17psi, and after the ECU responded, engine temperatures stabilised over the final laps.
"To be honest, I couldn't even see where I was going,” said Kostecki, who managed to come home fifth.
"My windscreen got really dirty around lap 5, lap 6, and it was quite hard to see all the marbles and stuff off line. It was quite hard to place the Shell V-Power Ford Mustang.”
Race 12 third-place finisher James Golding quipped that it was like “driving in the wet,” while runner-up Broc Feeney quipped in the bp Cooldown Room that his helmet had filled with dust.
“It reminded me of Bathurst, you can’t see for a bit and just hope that there isn’t a car stopped on the other side,” Golding said.
“Some of the rocks and stuff that have been flying up, it honestly felt like we were in a bloody motorbike race, not a car race."
Race winner Matt Payne was pragmatic, saying: “You can come around there and — if the car in front of you just dropped a wheel and if you kind of drop a wheel — you end up running half the back straight off the track.
“It brings a lot of stuff on, you kind of have to come out of there, drive way to the left, and then come back and brake for Turn 4. It is a little bit annoying.
"I don’t see it as a problem, I think it’s just a characteristic of the track. Obviously, the dust and everything’s not ideal, driving through that, you’re blind. But it’s I think it’s just a theme of the track.
“Everyone’s pushing to the limit. I think it shows how much everyone’s trying.”
Feeney added that drivers are facing consequences for their mistakes: “I suppose there’s just a lot of rocks that sort of get flicked up a little bit, but if you make a mistake, you run off, there’s consequences.
“Sometimes you come around and there’s some decent sized rocks on the track and you’re obviously trying to avoid those. It was the same with the marbles at the end, there’s so many marbles with the Super Soft.”
In a shift away from more potential dust drama, inclement weather is forecast for Sunday, with on-track action beginning with Boost Mobile Qualifying at 11:50am NZST/9:50am AEST.
