WTWGR boss hails "relentless" sacrifice behind GC500 win
Chaz Mostert crushed the field to clinch Semi Final spot
Mostert, Ryan Wood crashed out of Repco Bathurst 1000
Walkinshaw TWG Racing CEO Bruce Stewart has hailed his team’s gut-busting efforts to turn around two “broken” Toyotas after Bathurst, which were rewarded with victory.
Chaz Mostert surged to a crushing victory in the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 opener, punching his Semi Final ticket in the process.
It was a far cry to the scenes of Bathurst race day, when Mostert totalled his Supra in a late crash in the race. Earlier, Ryan Wood suffered his second crash of the weekend.
The Clayton-based team had less than a week to repair Wood’s car and turn around a spare for Mostert, who dominated Saturday’s race to bring delight back to the team after a weekend of despair.
“Hats off to all the crew and the hard work that went in to get us here,” Stewart told Supercars.com.
“This wouldn’t be possible without their sacrifice after a huge week at Bathurst and the disappointment that we experienced there. They got back on the horse and fixed two cars that were very well broken.
"But it's also about the families and kids of all the mums and dads and partners of our team who allowed them to spend two weeks virtually missing in action, making sure that we get the cars right.”
Not only did the win seal Mostert’s Sandown spot, it was the 200th Supercars victory for the Walkinshaw organisation, dating back to its 1990 debut as the Holden Racing Team.
Walkinshaw joined arch-rival Triple Eight as the only teams to hit the 200-win milestone.
“This is an extraordinary win, after what we went through at Bathurst, I just couldn't be prouder of the team,” Stewart added.
When asked if it was one of the team’s best wins, Stewart replied: "Well, it's the 200th win. It's really special to do it for Toyota, and this wonderful GR Supra because it hasn't been easy sailing all year.
"And when you experience the ups and downs, to have someone as unwavering as Toyota, but also our partnership group and everyone onboard, without them and their support, we don't go racing.
"So for them to experience the biggest stage of Bathurst, seeing their team struggle and what happened to the cars, then get this win, it’s incredible.
“This is driven on people, and our culture of our team. It's not led by anyone but the team themselves. They will not let go. They are relentless."
The final day of the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 begins with Boost Mobile Qualifying at 11:20am local time/12:20pm AEDT.
