Tander explains upside in Mostert/Kostecki confrontation
Garth Tander explains upside in Chaz Mostert/Brodie Kostecki confrontation
Mostert and Kostecki spotted in conversation after their dramatic clash
Tander says conversation allowed drivers to speak their mind to each other
Supercars legend Garth Tander believes the post-race conversation between Chaz Mostert and Brodie Kostecki allowed both drivers to make their feelings felt following Sunday's controversial clash.
The Mostert/Kostecki incident in Race 13 has dominated headlines in recent days, with reigning champion Mostert penalised over the clash that saw Kostecki lose the points lead.
Both drivers fronted up on the broadcast after the race, before being spotted by TV cameras in pit lane having a conversation over the incident.
The conversation was initiated by Mostert, who later apologised to Kostecki and his team. It didn't stop Kostecki's engineer George Commins labelling the move as "unacceptably dangerous," while Walkinshaw TWG Racing CEO Bruce Stewart suggested there was "tit for tat."
On the post-race discussion between Mostert and Kostecki, Tander said both drivers gave themselves an opportunity to hear each other out in the moment.
"It's good to see this happening," Tander said on the broadcast of the conversation.
"They won't agree at the conclusion of this conversation, but at least they're seeing and hearing each other's point of view live, not second-hand through the media or something else."
On the initial contact, six-time Bathurst winner Tander said: "I thought Brodie was a fair way up the inside...[Kostecki] had to sort of get it up on the two wheels up on the kerb, but he was a long way up the inside and I'm not sure that Chaz realised how far up he was," Tander said.
“Then the tit for tat stuff afterwards was a bit how you're going."
Kostecki had to pass Mostert to have any chance of winning the Jason Richards Trophy, which after the incident, ended up in the lap of Broc Feeney.
Tander suggested that frustration got the better of Mostert, who is winless in 2026 and sits 11th in the standings, 131 points and five positions below teammate Ryan Wood.
"There's no doubt that Brodie was trying to make that pass to secure the JR Trophy because he was equal on points with Broc Feeney at that point," Tander said.
"So he makes that pass and gets in front of Chaz Mostert, he has the outright JR Trophy. That's what he was trying to achieve there. So that's what Brodie's motivation was.
“For Chaz, yes, there's been a degree of frustration. We've seen the body language of Chaz. It's been very down, shoulders down, head down because Ryan Wood's been on a tear.
“This was an opportunity to get one back for Chaz and to get a strong points haul. He finds himself now 11th in the championship. So, our reigning champion outside the top 10 right now as a result of what's happened with the 30-second penalty.
"So an opportunity gone begging for both of them… both hard heads, probably if they had their time over again, probably would do the exact same thing again, because that's just how they're wired.
"You're not wired to give up, and that's why they're champions in our sport."
