"Work to do" after tough Perth, says DJR
Ford team to investigate latest refuelling issue
Brodie Kostecki dropped out of Sprint Cup contention
The Shell V-Power Racing Team cedes there’s work to be done following a tough weekend, which saw Brodie Kostecki drop out of Repco Sprint Cup contention.
Kostecki, who has won more races than any other driver, cannot fight for the Sprint Cup title after falling over 300 points behind leader Matt Payne.
The 2023 Supercars champion entered the week under pressure to claim his first Perth Supercars win, and it got off to a brutal start after a clash with Ford rival Kai Allen. To add insult to injury, Allen wasn’t penalised over the incident, with Kostecki deemed to have squeezed the Penrite Ford towards the inside.
After a run from seventh to sixth in the second race, Kostecki’s efforts in the finale were undone by a fuel flow issue. The #17 made a third pit stop, denying Kostecki a potential top five.
Crucially, Kostecki qualified no better than fifth, and was even penalised for impeding on Saturday. In contrast, he claimed two pole positions and a front row start in Townsville.
It’s understood the latest fuel flow issue is different to the one that delayed Kostecki in the Tasmania finale.
Meanwhile, rookie Rylan Gray made big strides with dual top 10 qualifying performances on Saturday, but was wiped out of contention on Sunday after a clash with Will Brown.
All told, Team 18 jumped the Ford squad to fifth in the teams’ championship.
The team will investigate the issue, but both cars won’t return to the team’s Staplyton base until after Gray’s rookie test at The Bend on Friday.
"A tough weekend for the team in Perth. A grid penalty for impeding before a clash with Kai Allen put Brodie Kostecki out of contention on Saturday,” Team Principal Mark Fenning said.
"But Rylan Gray continues to improve with two top 10 qualifying results and the first Top 10 finish of his Supercars career.
“The Sunday race was one to forget – Rylan was taken out on lap one which caused continual overheating issues, while Brodie had a fuel-flow issue that required an extra pit stop which dropped him out of podium contention.
"We leave Perth with work to do before our home round at Queensland Raceway.”
Track action in Ipswich commences on Friday August 21.
