Winners and losers: Repco Bathurst 1000
The 2021 Repco Supercars Championship came to a close at Mount Panorama with the Repco Bathurst 1000.
The weekend ended as it began, with Chaz Mostert and Lee Holdsworth top of the tree.
However, as Bathurst usually operates, there were several tales of woe to go with the stories of delight.
WINNERS
Walkinshaw Andretti United
Mostert and Holdsworth helped the team to its eighth Bathurst win, and first since 2011. The #25 Mobil 1 Appliances Online Commodore was head and shoulders above the rest, with Mostert making no mistakes. Bryce Fullwood and Warren Luff finished fifth, helping the team to both cars in a Bathurst top five since 2002.
Tickford Racing
Cameron Waters and James Moffat were both disappointed to fall short, but it was a key day for Tickford in the scheme of 2022 following the recovery drive by the James Courtney/Thomas Randle car. The team will enter 2022 with new drivers and a swathe of confidence.
Brodie Kostecki/David Russell
Kostecki and Russell were superb on Sunday despite the #99 Boost Mobile Erebus Commodore suffering from a long brake pedal. Maiden Bathurst podiums for both drivers was the tonic for a tough Saturday, when both Erebus cars were disqualified from the shootout.
Brad Jones Racing
BJR will lose Nick Percat and Todd Hazelwood, but all four cars impressed on Sunday, combining for 28 positions gained. It was a strong recovery after Thursday, when the #96 entry struck reliability and later, the wall.
LOSERS
Red Bull Ampol Racing
Fourth and 18th isn't a Triple Eight Bathurst performance the team will enjoy, even though Shane van Gisbergen ended the day with the championship trophy in his hands. Van Gisbergen and Garth Tander, the 2020 winners, lost out late on after a puncture. The Jamie Whincup era ended with fourth, with the retiring great and Craig Lowndes fighting hard all day.
Shell V-Power Racing Team
It was a similar story for the Shell squad, with Davison brothers Will and Alex 10th after a day affected by double-stacking. The team's leading hope, the Anton De Pasquale/Tony D'Alberto car, was in the podium hunt all day until the car ground to a halt late on.
Will Brown/Jack Perkins
Provisional pole on Friday turned into power steering disaster on Sunday. The Brown/Perkins car reached the finish, but only after hours of circulating around the track after suffering the power steering issue early on.
Team 18
Results of 16th and DNF were hard on the team after a solid build-up to the race. Scott Pye didn't get to turn a lap due to the #20 DEWALT entry's steering dramas, before the Mark Winterbottom/Michael Caruso entry suffered a broken anti-roll car late on.
The 13-event 2022 Repco Supercars Championship will commence in Newcastle next year. Tickets for the event are on sale now.
The 13-round draft calendar was released on Sunday.
