MOTORSPORT: Mostert steals Bathurst 1000

Chaz Mostert was the smartest driver in the fastest car as he stole the Repco Bathurst 1000 from the best driver of season 2021, Shane van Gisbergen.

Mostert survived a series of nail-biting re-starts in the dying laps of Australia’s Great Race, skipping away from van Gisbergen each time in the Holden Commodore from Walkinshaw Andretti that had already carried him to pole position for the first Bathurst battle to be raced in December.

Their tussle was only decided when van Gisbergen had a right-front tyre failure just seven laps from the flag. He resumed, but could only finish 18th.

“It was a tricky day. Car speed was what won it for us today. It was a very enjoyable car to drive,” said Mostert.

It was his co-driver, ‘Lethal’ Lee Holdsworth, who led from the first of 161 laps and the only hiccup for the winning pair was a tyre problem after just 49 laps.

“What a way to end a pretty crappy year,” said Holdsworth.

Van Gisbergen and his co-driver Garth Tander came into the race as the red-hot favourites for Red Bull Ampol Racing but never had enough speed to challenge seriously, while Cam Waters and James Moffat were solid throughout to run home solidly to second and the best of the Fords in their Monster Mustang for Tickford Racing.

“It was bittersweet. But we’ll take it,” said Waters.

There was no fairy-tale finish for Jamie Whincup, driving his final full-time Supercars race with fellow legend Craig Lowndes, as they only made it to fourth.

James Courtney drove the best comeback of the race, finishing seventh for Tickford after his co-driver Thomas Randle dropped their Mustang into a sand bunker in the early laps.

Third position went to Supercars rookie Brodie Kostecki, who muscled past a string of drivers to share the final podium place with veteran David Russell in an Erebus Commodore.

“We sort of battled a little bit today with brakes. We didn’t have the car speed to beat Chazzy,” said Kostecki.

Much of the race was boring and processional, but finally came alive after a safety car period to protect an echidna that had wandered onto the track.

More mishaps and mistakes followed, before the shootout between Mostert and van Gisbergen in the dying laps.

“When he was out in front of me he played silly buggers. Cars got into me. When he was doing that to me, it was confidence building. He knew we had a fast car,” said Mostert.

As always, there were a string of retirements led by Scott Pye and James Golding, whose Commodore broke its power steering after just six laps.

Anton De Pasquale and Tony D’Alberto, who started from the front row, pulled up with driveline failure in their Mustang after 139 laps while Jayden Ojeda crashed the Commodore he was sharing with Zane Goddard.

The last to go out was Broc Feeney, the young gun who clinched the Super2 series on Saturday and will jump into Jamie Whincup’s seat next year.

He tagged a wall at the top of the mountain on cold tyres at a re-start and then went straight ahead at McPhillamy Park, in a mistake he is not likely to repeat.

2021 Bathurst 1000 results – 161 laps

2021 Repco Supercars Championship final standings:

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