Kostecki takes first DJR win in dramatic Townsville sprint
Brodie Kostecki takes first DJR win in dramatic Townsville sprint
Kostecki goes wire-to-wire as Cam Waters, Anton De Pasquale complete podium
Matt Payne jumps Will Brown for second in the championship
Brodie Kostecki has carried the Shell V-Power Racing Team back to victory lane, with the 2023 Supercars champion soaring to victory in an absorbing NTI Townsville 500 sprint.
Starting from pole, Kostecki denied Cam Waters before and after the stops to secure his first win of the season, his first for Ford, and Dick Johnson Racing's first since Townsville 500.
The 2024 Bathurst winner became the eighth different winner of the season, with Team 18's Anton De Pasquale rounding out the podium in third.
Fourth was enough for Penrite Racing's Matt Payne to jump Will Brown into second in the championship, albeit by five points. Brown charged from 20th to 10th, with Broc Feeney motoring from 14th to eighth.
"That felt awesome, the Shell V-Power Mustang was on fire today," Kostecki said.
"I had Cam breathing down my neck the whole race, I know I couldn't make a mistake. What an awesome feeling, to get the monkey off the back is just absolutely unreal.
"I've been pretty fortunate to win some pretty cool races, but this feels real special."
Kostecki and Waters dragged through Turn 1 into Turn 2, with the former claiming a clear lead through the hairpin. Behind them, De Pasquale got by Payne for fourth, while Jaxon Evans was forced into the garage with front end damage after a clash with Brad Jones Racing teammate Macauley Jones.
Both Triple Eight drivers looked to make up ground, and did so; on the first lap alone, Feeney moved from 14th to 10th, and Brown from 20th to 16th.
On lap 4, a side-to-side collision between Blanchard Racing Team teammates James Courtney and Aaron Cameron sent the former sailing through the grass at Turn 6, with the rookie surviving the clash. The clash was set up by a move by Andre Heimgartner, with Brown making significant contact with Cameron through Turn 3.
As Kostecki and Waters raced away, the former opening up a 1.5s led by lap 10, Will Davison fell into the clutches of De Pasquale. The Team 18's forceful move at Turn 11 on lap 7 helped Payne into fourth, with Davison falling back.
Walkinshaw Andretti United blinked first and brought Ryan Wood out of traffic on lap 9. All the while, Kostecki marched on, dropping Waters two seconds behind by lap 13. In the battle for the minors, meanwhile, an aggressive Chaz Mostert move on Thomas Randle helped Feeney gain more ground, the points leader up to ninth by lap 14.
Jack Le Brocq, Mostert and Randle were the first contenders to come in for four-tyre stops on lap 19, with a fast WAU stop helping Mostert by Le Brocq. The early-stopping Wood, Richie Stanaway and Courtney moved ahead.
Davison, Bryce Fullwood and Kai Allen stopped in response, with Fullwood jumping Davison. It left Davison vulnerable to Mostert, and scythed past at Turn 3. On the next lap, Brown was brought in, and the reigning champion resumed between Randle and Allen.
Tickford pulled the pin and brought Waters in with 12 laps to go, with Kostecki 3.7s clear. DJR responded and pulled Kostecki in, with Payne and Heimgartner also following the #38 Ford in. Kostecki was briefly delayed by Payne, but rejoined with a clear lead over Waters.
De Pasquale and Feeney were the final contenders to stop; De Pasquale narrowly denied Wood, while Feeney was forced to muscle past Allen through Turns 2 and 3. Brown, meanwhile, jumped Feeney through the stops.
It set up a nine-lap dash to the end between Kostecki and Waters, who were split by 1.4s. De Pasquale, Payne, Fullwood, Mostert, Davison, Wood, Le Brocq and Randle rounded out the top 10, with Brown 11th and Feeney 12th.
The Triple Eight drivers marched on, picking off Wood and Randle, and they caught Le Brocq. Amid a strong defensive display by Le Brocq, Feeney cleared Brown through Turn 8. After a lap of trying, Feeney picked off Le Brocq at Turn 2 on the final lap.
Kostecki, meanwhile, raced away to a 4.3158s victory, the ninth of his career. Waters and De Pasquale completed the podium, with Payne, Fullwood, Mostert, Davison, Feeney, Le Brocq and Brown rounding out the 10.
Supercars action resumes on Saturday with Boost Mobile Qualifying at 10:00am AEST, followed by the Boost Mobile Top Ten Shootout at 12:05pm. The first 200km race of the weekend, Race 21, commences at 3:00pm.
Foxtel/Kayo's Saturday coverage commences at 7:30am AEST, with the Seven Network taking live coverage from 12:00pm. Please check local guides.
