Ford has ended Chevrolet’s 12-race winning streak in Supercars after Brodie Kostecki took victory in the opening race of the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix weekend at Albert Park.
Kostecki led a Ford Mustang domination of the opening race on Thursday, as the Dick Johnson Racing driver took pole position, the fifth different driver to do so in five races, under odd and somewhat brave circumstances. Feeling unwell, he was ill inside the car during his fastest lap and then had to shake off the effects, and wash out his helmet, before the second session, immediately after.
But that did not hamper his form in the race. He held the lead at the start, built a small gap and led Triple Eight’s Broc Feeney home by 0.46s, despite a mid-race safety car period that saw the race shortened from 19 laps to 17 laps.
“I need a little more in race trim, Matty [Payne] was breathing down my neck at the end there,” said Kostecki after his third career win at Albert Park. “I have had better days. The last time I felt like this I was a race at the Mountain!
"I knew that I had the car underneath me, but we did not execute that well [in Sydney last month].”
After the restart, the top four Fords – Kostecki, Payne (Grove Racing), Feeney (Triple Eight) and James Golding (Blanchard Racing Team) built a small gap to the next group of cars. That was led by the Walkinshaw TWG Toyota GR Supra of Chaz Mostert, who was under fire from Cam Waters, who was followed closely by Triple Eight’s Will Brown.
Kostecki ended Chevrolet's run of 12 race wins
Photo by: Edge Photographics
“I think we were pretty close, we got right to the back of him on the last lap,” said Payne who, with second, takes a narrow championship points lead from third-placed Feeney. “It’s chess racing; I was trying to save the tyres, but we just ran out of laps at the end.”
Feeney was satisfied with a podium finish, his fourth in five races.
“Not a bad day, a podium, but not what we came here for,” he said. “I was happy with that one [the start] but I just didn’t have the pace of these two guys. We are just lacking a little bit of speed.”
Ryan Wood took eighth in the other WTWG Supra ahead of Anton De Pasquale, the best-placed Chevrolet Camaro driver in ninth place.
There were two impressive fightback drives, one from Kai Allen, who found himself facing backwards on the opening lap of the race. The Grove Racing Ford stormed through the pack from there, Allen getting up to 11th place after passing 13 cars.
It was a mixed day for Jayden Ojeda. The Supercars rookie topped the opening practice session but in the second session, he found the wall at the exit of Turn 5. The PremiAir Racing team could not repair the Chevrolet Camaro in time for qualifying, but made it to the back of the grid with the repaired car and recovered to 16th.
Brodie Kostecki, Dick Johnson Racing Ford Mustang GT
Photo by: Edge Photographics
In other news, Supercars has confirmed that it will remain on the Australian Grand Prix support programme for the next three years.
Supercars will return to the Albert Park circuit for Friday’s second race of four over the weekend.
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- The Autosport.com Team
Source: Autosport