Last night, Coca-Cola Camaro’s Brodie Kostecki blasted back into the lead of the Repco Supercars Championship after taking out the inaugural race of the Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight. The victory, Kostecki’s third career win and his first since the Australian Grand Prix earlier in the year, marks his maiden triumph in Sydney.
The win puts Kostecki in a slim 14-point lead over Erebus teammate Will Brown, who grabbed third place. Ford Mustang’s Chaz Mostert managed to secure the second spot, with a penalty for a last-lap tussle putting Shane van Gisbergen down the list.
The drama unfolded right from the green light. Pole position holder Andre Heimgartner had a shocking start, blaming a steering issue. He eventually limped home in 14th place. Mid-race, David Reynolds in the Penrite Mustang ended up stuck in the grass after a mishap at Turn 10, triggering a Safety Car.
In a bold move, Cam Waters, piloting the Monster Mustang, made a pit stop hoping to steal a key advantage, but he ended up with a penalty for impeding Red Bull’s Broc Feeney. Despite the five-second setback, Waters kept his foot down, finding himself in a nail-biting four-way brawl with Mostert, Brown and van Gisbergen in the closing laps.
When the dust settled, Mostert locked down second place, while Brown and van Gisbergen went toe-to-toe for third. The final lap was a cracker, with several collisions between van Gisbergen and Brown. Despite crossing the line in third, a penalty pushed van Gisbergen back to seventh.
Brown ended up on the podium, joining Kostecki and Mostert in celebration as fireworks brightened the Sydney night. The event marked Erebus’ seventh win of 2023, strengthening their points lead over Triple Eight in the team championship race.
“It’s unreal. I can’t believe how fast the car was,” a thrilled Kostecki said after the race. “There’s still a bit to work on, but what a night. The thing was a rocket ship.”
With this result, Kostecki leads Brown by 14 points in the overall standings. Red Bull’s Broc Feeney is still in the chase in third, 97 points behind, while van Gisbergen is fourth, 114 points off the lead.
Teams are now regrouping for more action at Sydney Motorsport Park. Qualifying for today’s race kicks off at 12:35pm, with the final race of the Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight revving into action at 3:30pm local time this afternoon.
