Brodie Kostecki achieved an impressive victory in the third and final race of the Supercars on the streets of Townsville, located in northern Queensland. The Dick Johnson Racing driver demonstrated his dominance throughout the race.
Despite being surpassed by Cam Waters (Tickford) during qualifying, who secured the pole position and led at the start, Kostecki quickly responded. He managed to overtake Ryan Wood (Walkinshaw TWG Toyota GR Supra) to take second place before making an early pit stop.
After recovering, Kostecki excellently managed his tires during a 32-lap stint, achieving a gap of up to eight seconds over his rivals, some of whom had fresher tires. At the end of the race, he crossed the finish line with a 9.34-second advantage over the second-placed driver.
Following his victory, Kostecki expressed his satisfaction with the speed of his vehicle, despite having slightly collided with a concrete wall during a burnout to celebrate the win. ‘The car has shown great potential all weekend, but we just didn’t get there until now,’ the driver stated.
Matt Payne of Grove Racing managed his tires well in the final phase, although his advance was benefited by the loss of speed from Waters after his second stop. Payne started third, and when facing a longer-than-expected pit stop, he had to focus on fuel conservation when he returned to the track.
Cameron Waters, also from Tickford, finished the race with very little fuel. ‘I think it would have been zero,’ he commented. ‘The car was fast except for the fuel issue, but it is what it is.’
Additionally, Chaz Mostert made his 200th race in Supercars, finishing fourth after a good start from sixth position, while Ryan Wood ended up fifth. Broc Feeney was the best driver from Triple Eight, achieving seventh place, while Will Brown had to settle for eighth after a poor start.
With this podium, Matt Payne extends his championship lead to 92 points over Feeney. Kostecki holds third place, with 187 points, ahead of Waters and Allen. Anton De Pasquale, despite being compromised on the first lap, finished in sixth place.
The next round of the Supercars Championship will take place at Wanneroo Raceway, near Perth, from July 31 to August 2.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
SourceID: SRC_83ccede5e28e3f4b5990447e04bcb78adb24756e