MOTORSPORT: Ford strikes back in Supercars
Double victory for the Blue Oval on the Gold Coast following a pair of thrilling racesIn the week in which the Ford Mustang received long-awaited aerodynamic concessions, Ford has broken through with its best event of the 2023 Repco Supercars Championship, with Cameron Waters and David Reynolds victorious at the Gold Coast 500 on the streets of Surfers Paradise.
Both races went down to the wire, with Waters just holding off Shane van Gisbergen in the opener, while the Sunday race similarly featured a tight finish, with Reynolds getting the better of Brodie Kostecki, with the leading Fords and Chevrolet split by only 0.3834sec after 500km.
Meanwhile, the battle for the championship is set to go down to the wire, with 131 points separating title leader Kostecki from van Gisbergen, with 300 points up for grabs in Adelaide next month.
Elsewhere, 170 points split the leading Erebus squad from Triple Eight, with significant bragging rights on the line in the final two races of the season.
Starting from pole for Saturday’s opening encounter, Waters was a leader throughout, with the race developing into a relatively straightforward affair until the closing laps, when van Gisbergen (Red Bull Ampol Camaro) homed in on the tail of the Monster Mustang.
At the chequered flag, only 0.1945sec split the duo, with Reynolds (Penrite Mustang) on the podium for the first time since April, while Thomas Randle (Castrol Mustang) and Kostecki finished fourth and fifth.
The Sunday top-ten shootout turned into a scrappy affair, with Kostecki claiming pole, as Waters, and Will Brown (Coca-Cola Camaro) had moments, while van Gisbergen and Anton De Pasquale (Shell V-Power Mustang) had their lap times scrubbed due to kerb strikes, an obstacle which proved to be a significant issue during the races.
After Saturday ran safety-car free, the Sunday race didn’t make it past turn four on the opening circuit, with a multi-car pile-up eliminating Tim Slade (Nulon Chevrolet), Macauley Jones (Pizza Hut Chevrolet) and James Courtney (Snowy River Mustang), who also crashed out of the Sunday qualifying session at the beach chicane.
The race then settled into a rhythm, with Reynolds utilising strategy to jump ahead of Kostecki at the final round of pit stops, before the duo traded places on laps 72 and 74 of 85.
One final twist in the race came with seven laps to go, when Scott Pye (Hino Trucks Camaro) came into contact with the spinning James Golding (Nulon Camaro), with the safety car called to clean up the mess.
In a four-lap shootout to the finish, Reynolds just held off Kostecki, with Waters claiming third from Matt Payne (Penrite Mustang) and van Gisbergen.
In other Supercars news, it has been confirmed that a Bathurst-double header will open the 2024 racing season, with the Bathurst 12 Hour set for February 18, followed the next weekend by a return of the Bathurst 500, with a pair of 250km long races.
The event replaces Newcastle on the calendar, while fulfilling the New South Wales Government’s deal for Supercars to host its season opener in the state.
The Supercars Championship concludes with the Vailo Adelaide 500 from November 23-26.
Race 1 – 85 laps
- Cameron Waters (Monster Mustang)
- Shane van Gisbergen (Red Bull Ampol Camaro)
- David Reynolds (Penrite Mustang)
- Thomas Randle (Castrol Mustang)
- Brodie Kostecki (Coca-Cola Camaro)
- Scott Pye (Hino Trucks Camaro)
- Andre Heimgartner (R&J Batteries Camaro)
- Chaz Mostert (Mobil 1 Optus Mustang)
- Matthew Payne (Penrite Mustang)
- James Courtney (Snowy River Mustang)
Race 2 – 85 laps
- David Reynolds
- Brodie Kostecki
- Cameron Waters
- Matthew Payne
- Shane van Gisbergen
- James Golding (Nulon Camaro)
- Thomas Randle
- Broc Feeney (Red Bull Ampol Camaro)
- Mark Winterbottom (DeWalt Camaro)
- Bryce Fullwood (Middy’s Camaro)
Championship points:
- Brodie Kostecki – 2696
- Shane van Gisbergen – 2565
- Will Brown – 2201
- Broc Feeney – 2192
- Chaz Mostert – 2056
- Andre Heimgartner – 1830
- Cameron Waters – 1829
- Anton De Pasquale (Shell V-Power Mustang) – 1680
- Bryce Fullwood – 1623
- Jack Le Brocq (Truck Assist Camaro) – 1616
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