Overwhelmed Mostert's message to fans after modest Toyota start

In his 14 seasons, Chaz Mostert can't recall having so many interactions with fans at a season opener — and that's just part of the motivation for the reigning Supercars champion.

The record books will show Mostert raced from 20th to 15th in his new #1 Mobil 1 Optus Toyota GR Supra in Race 1 at Sydney Motorsport Park. However, it was much more than that to the 33-year-old.

The anticipation surrounding Toyota and Mostert as reigning champion has gripped the driver himself, who despite not getting the result he wanted on Friday night, has been overwhelmed by the response.

Mostert moved four positions on lap 1 alone, before Walkinshaw TWG Racing opted for two-tyre strategies on both their cars. Mostert and Ryan Wood were effective 10th and 15th, but couldn't hold on as their rivals picked them off with superior grip.

Andre Heimgartner led the way for the Supra brigade in eighth, ahead of Mostert. Four of the five Toyota drivers moved forward at least two positions each in the race.

“It’s not the results we want for sure, but we always knew it was going to be a mountain to climb, especially with Toyota coming in, into the fourth year of Gen3,” Mostert told Supercars.com.

“But I’m excited for the future. There's so many positives that outweigh the negatives, and I'm always excited to be part of something, developing something new.

“I’m looking forward to the rest of this weekend. There's still a lot for us to fight for. I'm excited what the engineers can cook up. We moved forward five spots tonight.

“Hopefully we can tune up a bit more and keep moving forward.”

Mostert is already 41 points behind leader Broc Feeney, who raced his new #88 Red Bull Ampol Mustang to victory in what was a red letter day for the Blue Oval.

In his first weekend as reigning champion, Mostert is enjoying the view, even if it isn't from the top just yet.

“For me, it was just so cool to see how many fans were at the back of the pits here waiting for us at the race,” Mostert said.

“This whole weekend's been pretty nuts to be honest. I've never had as many interactions with fans at the first round of a new season.

"I dunno if that's just being lucky enough winning the championship last year, but everyone's got new merch and new things to sign from last year.

“That’s really, really cool. It's really, really special for the sport. I hope they keep coming out in numbers throughout the year, especially fans of our team and me personally.

“To fans of our team, we need you ever more than ever now to keep backing us, keep coming up, keep seeing us, and we’ll keep pressing on."

Racing resumes in Sydney at 7:35pm local time on Saturday night.