Masterful Mostert fends off Kostecki for Supercars win
Supercars championship contender Chaz Mostert has pulled off a masterful drive in New Zealand to outpace a red-hot Brodie Kostecki and claim the second Taupo 440 sprint.
Left smarting after finishing a frustrating 13th earlier on Saturday, Walkinshaw Andretti United ace Mostert got the jump on pole-sitter Kostecki in the second 120km race of the day on his way to career win No.25.
But his win did not come easy. Kostecki remained dogged throughout the 37-lap race, trading leads with Mostert before a brief dip off-track late in the sprint eventually forced him to give up top spot.
"I raced as hard as I could," Mostert said.
"I knew he had the better pace, so I had to be super aggressive ... or I wasn't going to have a chance to sit here (on top) today."
Kostecki gave up even more ground after suffering damage as a result of his run-ins with Mostert, but recovered to finish third.
Dick Johnson Racing teammate Will Davison was second, as Triple Eight heavyweight Broc Feeney, battling to master the new soft tyre compound, tumbled out of the top three.
It is Supercars veteran Davison's first podium finish in a year, last finishing in the top three in the inaugural Taupo race last season.
He said his Saturday outing with Kostecki is only a glimpse of what is to come from the pair.
"It's real," Davison said.
"At certain times of every weekend this year, I've felt, like, mega glimmers with the car and its potential.
"Such a big drive by Brodie. Such an amazing teammate, such an amazing driver for me now to keep digging deep, keep me on my toes as the old boy."
KOSTECKI AND MOSTERT TRADE BLOWS 🥊💥Follow along this weekend with our Live Feed and new Live Insights feature 👉 https://t.co/mDWXIwVczr#RepcoSC #Supercars pic.twitter.com/u6SOEsA2Z5
— Supercars (@supercars) April 12, 2025
Feeney finished fifth after qualifying in third.
His teammate and defending champion Will Brown also struggled with the new tyre, finishing seventh.
Brown at least returned to the top of the series standings, with Tickford rival Cam Waters finishing 14th.
New Zealand's Matt Payne, after claiming a first win on home soil in the opening sprint of the weekend, crossed the finish line in fourth.
He had earlier on Saturday led from start to finish in the opening sprint race to claim his third career win from his third career pole.
Waters was the beneficiary of pit-lane chaos and finished second to momentarily return to the top of the competition.
Young Kiwi driver Ryan Wood overtook Team 18's Anton De Pasquale in the penultimate lap to finish third and secure his first Supercars podium.
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Qualifying for Sunday's race starts at 8.35am (AEST), followed by the top-10 shootout at 10.50am, before lights out at 1.05pm.
RACE EIGHT RESULTS:
1. Matt Payne (Grove Racing)
2. Cam Waters (Tickford Racing)
3. Ryan Wood (Walkinshaw Andretti United)
4. Anton De Pasquale (Team 18)
5. Will Brown (Triple Eight Race Engineering)
RACE NINE RESULTS:
1. Chaz Mostert (Walkinshaw Andretti United)
2. Will Davison (Dick Johnson Racing)
3. Brodie Kostecki (DJR)
4. Matt Payne (Grove Racing)
5. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight Race Engineering)
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:
1. Will Brown (Triple Eight)
2. Cam Waters (Tickford)
3. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight)
4. Matt Payne (Grove)
5. Chaz Mostert (WAU)
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