Yesterday, Brodie Kostecki made history by claiming pole position for the 2024 Repco Bathurst 1000 in an intense Boost Mobile Top Ten Shootout. In a thrilling showdown, the West Australian driver denied Cam Waters to secure back-to-back Great Race poles, becoming just the sixth driver in Bathurst history to achieve this feat.
.Kostecki, the reigning champion, stunned fans with his lap and now joins an elite group of consecutive pole winners including Allan Moffat, Peter Brock, Kevin Bartlett, Mark Skaife, and Garth Tander. His performance marked the 10th different pole winner this season, with Kostecki’s last P1 start dating back to his championship-clinching weekend in Adelaide last November.
Sharing the second row are Broc Feeney and Richie Stanaway, with current championship leader Will Brown starting fifth. The rest of the top ten includes Jack Le Brocq, provisional pole-sitter Matt Payne, Anton De Pasquale, Chaz Mostert, and Andre Heimgartner.
Reflecting on his lap, Kostecki said, “I wasn’t sure if I was going to get it, it wasn’t the best lap I’ve done around here, but the car has been stellar all weekend. Everyone in the crew has been working really hard, and it’s heads down for today.”
The drama unfolded with several drivers facing challenges, including Heimgartner, who made an error at the first corner during his Great Race Shootout debut, and Payne, who clipped the wall coming down the Mountain. Despite these incidents, Stanaway kicked off the Shootout with a solid 2:05.9286s lap.
Kostecki, battling a suspected virus, put on a masterclass as he navigated the Mountain and finished his lap with an impressive 2:05.5119s, a full 0.4167s ahead of Stanaway. Feeney pushed hard but had to settle for second, and despite Waters’ best efforts, he fell short by 0.1310s. Payne ended up in sixth place after clipping Forrest’s Elbow wall, sealing Kostecki’s historic pole.
Today, Kostecki will aim to turn his pole position into victory as the 2024 Repco Bathurst 1000 kicks off. History may not be on his side, as only three of the last ten Bathurst 1000s have been won by a car starting on the front row of the grid. However, with Kostecki’s form, anything is possible in the 161-lap showdown.
The main race will commence at 11:30 am. Fans are in for an exciting day as all 26 Supercars return to the track to battle for supremacy on Mount Panorama.
The Repco Bathurst 1000 is proudly supported by the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.
