Mostert enters uncharted territory for Supercars title
Joanna Guelas |
It’s now or never for Chaz Mostert in his bid for a maiden Supercars championship as the Walkinshaw Andretti United veteran looks to upset series leader Broc Feeney.
Mostert, 33, concedes he is the closest he’s ever been to breaking through for a championship after reaching the first-ever Supercars grand final in Adelaide.
The two-time Bathurst 1000 winner roared to form to kick start the finals series, pulling off a sensational clean sweep of the Gold Coast 500 before claiming the first Sandown 500 race to sit second ahead of the decider.
Triple Eight prodigy Feeney had the final say at Sandown Raceway to maintain his slim lead of 20 points.
Feeney’s teammate and defending champion Will Brown is third, with Grove rookie and South Australian product Kai Allen completing the final four.
Mostert is the most experienced driver in the grand final after making his debut in 2013, but concedes he’s entering uncharted territory.
The veteran has only come as close as third on three previous occasions (2021, 2022, 2024) in the championships.
“I’ve been in championship hunt once or twice before, but never been able to really make it to the final round,” Mostert said.
“It’s a pretty unique position for me to be in, and our whole team.
“But these three boys behind me will make that really, really tough this weekend.”
Dethroning Feeney will be no easy feat for Mostert, with his 23-year-old rival having finished on the podium in Adelaide at least once since claiming his first career win in 2022.
Feeney, who won this year’s Sprint Cup trophy, would have all but wrapped up the championship under the old points format after claiming 13 wins and 16 pole positions this season.
But Mostert and fellow finals contenders won’t be the only drivers looking to spoil Feeney’s campaign, with the rest of the Supercars grid still vying for a win across the weekend’s three races.
Tickford ace Cam Waters and reigning Bathurst 1000 winner Matt Payne will be out for redemption after a disastrous collision at Sandown denied the pair a grand-final berth.
Waters kicked off the weekend by going fastest during practice on Thursday, setting a lap time of one minute 19.576 seconds.
Team 18’s David Reynolds was just 0.006 seconds slower, while Dick Johnson Racing driver Brodie Kostecki was a further 0.005 seconds behind in third.
“I joked with someone at the end of the session, I wish we had that car at Sandown, but it is what it is,” Waters said.
‘If it were a normal championship, we wouldn’t have been in the hunt anyway.”
Mostert led the final four by going sixth fastest, followed by Brown (seventh), Feeney (11th) and Allen (18th).
Kostecki joked he sensed Mostert was feeling the pressure to nab a maiden title.
“Chaz is a bit of a pest and gets in everyone’s way when he’s warming his ties up,” Kostecki said.
“(Today) he’s got the blinkers on, making sure he doesn’t impede on anyone.
“It’s pretty funny how things change when it gets time to make friends.”
NASCAR driver and Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric was 23rd out of the 25 drivers as a Tickford wildcard.
Drivers return to the track for practice at 11am (AEDT) on Friday before qualifying at 1.10pm.
AAP
