Mostert, Walkinshaw TWG rocked by engine drama

Chaz Mostert's championship defence has suffered another major hit with a heartbreaking late engine issue in the betr Darwin Triple Crown finale.

The reigning champion was running seventh with four laps remaining when smoke emanated from his #1 Mobil 1 Optus Toyota Supra.

Mostert suffered the failure on the run to Turn 1, and pulled his smoking Supra over on the run to Turn 5. The stoppage triggered the Shannons Safety Car, and looked set to create a second one lap dash in three days.

"My engine just let go mate, gone," Mostert told his team.

Engineer Sam Scaffidi replied: "Oh, bloody hell."

However, try as officials might, the race ended behind the Safety Car, delivering a drought breaking victory for Anton De Pasquale, Team 18 and General Motors.

For the second time in three events, Walkinshaw TWG crew were left to watch on in anguish as one of their stars was forced out of the race in devastating fashion after Ryan Wood's Christchurch DNF.

Wood was also forced out of Saturday's race with a power steering issue, with prompted a precautionary engine change.

Team Director Ryan Walkinshaw and CEO Bruce Stewart could barely believe their misfortune, Walkinshaw saying on the broadcast: "Don't know what happened. Looks like his engine blew, which is a shame because he was doing okay.

"It's been a tough race for Chaz, though. He's managed to maintain his position a little bit, but a few mistakes and now an engine blow is not where you want to be. So it's disappointing."

The DNF proved costly on the scoreboard, with Walkinshaw TWG Racing dropping below Tickford Racing in the teams' championship. Mostert, meanwhile, dropped from ninth to 10th.

Through six rounds, Mostert is still only 51 points to safety, with Jack Le Brocq clawing back crucial points of his own with a finish of eighth.

The 2026 season resumes on July 10-12 in Townsville.