Chaz Mostert makes late move to win Sydney night race
2024-07-20 22:00:00
Mostert waited until the final laps to edgeinto the lead before he rolled on to victory,.
It was his fourth win in Sydney, second for 2024 and 23rd for his career, equalling the great Jim Richards at 16th on the all-time winners list in Supercars history.
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The result played Mostert back into the championship fight and turned the tables on youngster Matt Payne who got the better of Mostert in Townsville earlier this month.
Two weeks after putting a bold strategy to work in Townsville, a one-stopping Payne was powerless to deny a rampant Mostert, who claimed the lead with four laps remaining.
Tickford Mustang driver Thomas Randle finished third to round out the all Ford podium, the second consecutive race Ford has claimed the top three spots.
“I was thinking when they told me Matty Payne was right up the road, I'm like, I know the pace the car can do, I just hope his [tyres] deg[rade] at the pace that he was doing," Mostert said.
“I think he was probably the man of the match on looking after his tyres but our team was man of the match for having a super fast car today.
“We had to work hard for it at the start in those stints and build gaps but it was a lot of fun.”
With Will Brown sixth and Broc Feeney ninth, Mostert is now just 126 points from the championship leader, and just 30 points behind Feeney.
Payne crossed the line 2.6412s behind Mostert, with Thomas Randle, Will Davison and Anton De Pasquale completing an all-Ford top five.
Brown was the first Chevrolet home in sixth ahead of pole-sitter Cam Waters, who was undone by fuel flow issues and a clumsy redress attempt midway through the race.
Nick Percat, Feeney and Brodie Kostecki rounded out the top 10, with reigning champion Kostecki racing from 18th into the top 10.
Randle got the jump on pole position winner Cam Waters, with the Castrol Ford leading the field through Turn 1. As the Tickford teammates rolled around Turn 2, Mark Winterbottom and Macauley Jones spun into the outfield.
Replays showed Winterbottom spearing right under brakes, taking out Jones. Winterbottom was forced into the garage with damage, and returned to the race, albeit nine laps down.
Randle built a gap as Waters fought off Mostert, with the WAU Mustang getting by on lap 11 after a spirited battle through Turns 2 to 8. The battle helped Randle open up a 2.3s lead, which quickly blew out to 3.3s.
With an eye on a one-stop strategy, Payne extended to lap 23, with Cameron Hill and Fullwood pressing on. Hill stopped on lap 26, handing the effective lead to Mostert, who had 4.8s over Randle.
Mostert had opened up a 5.8s lead over Randle, with De Pasquale, Davison, Percat, Kostecki, Waters, Brown, Feeney and Reynolds rounding out the top 10. On lap 28, an ill-fated dive on Feeney at Turn 5 sent Reynolds into a spin, with Reynolds dropping to 16th.
On lap 31, De Pasquale, Waters, Percat, Kostecki and Reynolds came in for their second stops, with Davison in on lap 32. Mostert stopped from the lead on lap 33, and emerged 12 seconds ahead of Davison.
Randle, Brown, Le Brocq and Wood came in on the following lap. Randle was forced to hold behind Wood, who benefited teammate Mostert, who now had a seven-second margin over the Castrol Ford.
By that stage, Payne regained the lead, with Mostert 14 seconds behind. It set up a 17-lap run home, with Mostert beginning to eat into the race leader’s margin.
As Mostert caught and overtook Payne into Turn 6 with four laps remaining, Le Brocq — who had already been penalised over an unsafe release on Andre Heimgartner — pulled over into retirement with smoke emanating from from his Camaro.
Le Brocq was the only retirement from the race, with Reynolds crossing the line in 17th.
Supercars will return to the track on Sunday for Boost Mobile Qualifying at 12:05pm AEST, before the Top Ten Shootout at 1:40pm. The Panasonic Air Conditioning Sydney SuperNight will conclude with Race 16 at 4:05pm.
Will Brown still leads by 96-points from Red Bull teammate Broc Feeney, but Mostert is continuing to chip away, now just 126 points off the lead in the Repco Supercars Championship.
Boost Mobile Qualifying will kick off Sundaymade his cation at 12:05pm followed by a Top Ten Shootout at 1:40pm and Race 16 which begins at 4:05pm, another 51-lap slog around Sydney Motorsport Park.
The Panasonic Air Conditioning Sydney SuperNight is broadcast exclusively live on Foxtel and Kayo, highlights on 7plus and the Seven Network.
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