How 'jealousy' spurred on Mostert to revive stuttering title defence

Penalties, disqualifications, outperformed by his teammate. The opening four rounds of 2026 were not what anyone had dreamed up for Chaz Mostert's title defence.

As Ryan Wood racked up five podiums across Melbourne, Taupō, and Christchurch, Chaz Mostert was left in the lurch, straddling the Finals cut-line. Worse, a collision with Brodie Kostecki in Christchurch put him at the centre of attention for all the wrong reasons.

The controversial clash put Mostert 23 points outside the bubble before Tasmania, and in need of a strong result to reverse not only his form, but also his own mentality.

When the chips were down in changeable conditions, Mostert thrived, delivering his first pole of the year, and duly converting it into a dominant maiden win of 2026.

Post round, the 33-year-old revealed that watching Wood notching up major milestones for Toyota to start the season was a tough pill to swallow, however he used the disappointment as fuel to come out firing in Tasmania.

"So pumped to get a win for myself this year, and also with Toyota for the first time, it's really cool," Mostert said on Supercars' Equip Super Cool Down Lap podcast.

"I was very jealous of Woody in New Zealand, he went and got the first Toyota win, and I wanted that so bad.

"But he's been on hot form lately, and so it's really nice to come here to Tassie and be able to get one.

"The highlight was race one for the weekend, and the rest was a bit up and down, but good to get some points today and sneak back into the 10."

Mostert will also be hoping that a good luck charm from his 2025 title run can also serve him well again for the second half of the season.

Before the Supercars season kicks back into action in Darwin, Mostert is off to America to compete in his second event of the 2026 IMSA SportsCar Championship.

After finishing second in the Rolex 24 in a Mercedes, Mostert will jump behind the wheel of a Lexus RC F GT3 in a 100-minute race supporting IndyCar's Detroit GP, in a team co-owned by 1996 CART IndyCar champion Jimmy Vasser.

Last year Mostert launched into his brilliant Finals Series after another starring cameo in an American GT race, finishing sixth at the Indianapolis 8 Hour, and is hoping another one-off start can kickstart his title defence.

"I've got another race before then, I'm off to Detroit this week which will be really cool," Mostert continued.

"It was good omen last year to go and drive a GT car for a weekend and come back to the Finals, so probably need all the help I can to keep up with my hot young stud teammate here."

Mostert sits 10th in points heading into the betr Darwin Triple Crown from June 19-21. Tickets for the event are on sale now.