Disappointment soon turned to elation for Brodie Kostecki and Todd Hazelwood after securing their second Repco Bathurst 1000 victory.
It was a remarkable change of fortune for the pair after a late-race brake change dropped the Shell V-Power Racing Team Mustang to fourth, with a disappointed Kostecki resigned to defeat.
Kostecki didn’t give up on his charge, first disposing of Red Bull Ampol Racing’s Will Brown before a late-race safety car was required following Chaz Mostert’s heavy hit at Forrest’s Elbow.
This allowed Kostecki back into contention and he soon disposed of pole winner Zach Bates to pursue race leader Anton De Pasquale.
However, despite holding a handy advantage following the restart De Pasquale had been on maximum fuel save with 10-laps to go, but it wasn’t enough when he slowed travelling up Mountain Straight on the final lap.
Kostecki breezed by to score his second victory alongside Hazelwood and the first for the pair in the famed #17 Shell V-Power Racing Team entry.
Brown and Scott Pye finished second, with this result securing the Ryco Enduro Cup.
Third went to the pole-sitting Matt Stone Racing Camaro of Bates and third-generation racer Aaron Seton.
Mostert’s late-race incident required the first safety car of the race on lap 156 and capped off a disastrous day for Walkinshaw TWG Racing, with teammate Ryan Wood contacting the fence heavily at Reid Park and forced to limp to the finish.
It was essential for Wood to finish to make Finals, which he succeeded in doing.
Matt Stone Racing’s Jack Le Brocq finished fourth partnered by Porsche ace Harri Jones to ensure his Finals qualification.
Reigning winner Matt Payne was penalised twice on the way to fifth in the Penrite Racing Mustang with Will Davison ahead of Erebus Motorsport’s Cooper Murray and Lochie Dalton.
Toyota’s attack was led by the R&J Batteries Racing entry of Andre Heimgartner and Bryce Fullwood in seventh, while James Golding’s Finals chances ended in eighth for Blanchard Racing Team partnered by Richie Stanaway.
Monster Castrol Racing was never in contention, but Thomas Randle and debutant Rueben Goodall scored ninth from the Team 18 Wildcard of Craig Lowndes and Bayley Hall.
Brake problems for Kai Allen resulted in a disappointing 20th with Tim Slade just behind the Garry Rogers Motorsport Wildcard of James Moffat and Nathan Herne, which was delayed on the opening lap due to a collision at The Cutting.
Macauley Jones backed in the Brad Jones Racing Supra at The Cutting to hamper he and Jordan Boys’ progress to 21st.
A suspension problem dropped the Rylan Gray/Tony D’Alberto Shell V-Power Racing Team Mustang out of contention, while a power steering fault before race start significantly delayed the Jackson Walls/Jack Perkins Objective Racing entry.
De Pasquale and Lee Holdsworth didn’t register a finish after the DEWALT Racing Camaro stopped at The Chase.
It was the quickest Repco Bathurst 1000 ever and despite the lack of safety car interruptions, conditions were tough as demonstrated by the many tyre problems experienced.
Next up for the Repco Supercars Championship is the first round of Finals on the Gold Coast from October 23-25.