Mostert stands tall to revive title defence

Cometh the hour, cometh the champion.

For all the doubts, trend lines and performance questions, Chaz Mostert proved the key difference on a weekend he recharged his championship defence.

The reigning Supercars champion was arguably best of the rest on a Townsville weekend dominated by Brodie Kostecki, Matt Payne and Cam Waters, recording his best points weekend of the season so far.

Mostert began the week under genuine pressure to improve his championship position after a rollercoaster first six rounds of 2026, punctuated by a Sydney disqualification, Christchurch controversy and Darwin DNF.

Supercars.com’s pre-round predictions tipped Mostert to drop out of the top 10, a point also furthered by 2010 Supercars champion James Courtney. Those comments made their way to Mostert, who repeatedly returned serve, both on and off the track.

Still, it was no accident, nor was it commentary plucked from the ether. Mostert himself said pre-round that he was in a mission of “survival.”

All told, Mostert turned a 51-point Finals gap into a 116-point gap with three crucial performances, which allows extra breathing room heading towards the all-important endurance races.

"Super stoked for the team, this weekend's been a big learning curve with the brand-new Supra here," said Mostert post-race.

"The weekend, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, all three races for Car #1 in the top 10 in particular, but today was our most competitive car, and most comfortable behind the wheel.

"I didn't quite have enough for the front three, but Sam [Scaffidi, engineer] did a pretty aggressive strategy to give me some clean air, and I did the best I could.

"So I'll take fourth today and a good amount of points. Like I said at the start of the day, good to prove the Supercars writers wrong."

Mostert’s weekend wasn’t spectacular, but he was smart. After charging to second on lap 1 in the opener, he made a split second call to avoid a collision with Payne, and was rewarded with a top five. After a circumspect run to seventh on Saturday, he led Wood home in a four-five result.

Mostert’s efforts weren’t lost on his teammate, who was again privy to the mentality that has netted two Bathurst wins and a drivers’ championship.

“You guys are writing off Mozzie already, you know what he's like,” Wood told Supercars’ Equip Super Cool Down Lap podcast.

He's one of the best in the business at standing tall in big moments, and he does that pretty well, and he did that again today.

“It's a hard benchmark to beat when he's got the same equipment as you, but I'm pushing really hard to make that happen, and I’m enjoying it, as much as I rant and rave sometimes.”

The season resumes on July 31-August 2 in Perth, where Wood claimed his maiden Supercars win last year.

Chaz Mostert: 2026 championship progression