Young gun Chaz Mostert continued his charge up the championship table with a commanding victory in the wet at Sydney Motorsport Park.
Mostert started from third on the grid, but assumed the lead of the 200km race after an early safety car and wasn’t headed to take the chequered flag.
The Brad Jones Racing Commodores charged through the pack, maximising the soft tyre pace before the rain came. Fabian Coulthard and Jason Bright ultimately filled second and third place on the podium.
“A big thanks to the team, we did the right strategy, pitted at the right time,” Pepsi Max’s Mostert said.
“It was good to get out there, maintain the lead – it all came down to strategy and the rain. The car was good in the rain.”
It was lap one drama for Todd Kelly in the race, contact from David Wall tearing the rear corner out of his Nissan.
The heavens opened up mid-way through the race, and the Red Bulls raced all the way to pit lane as Craig Lowndes tried to avoid the double stack. The field made the switch to wet weather tyres and a new order formed after the stops.
Another safety car was called for Dale Wood, who was beached at turn one, and Lowndes continued to fight for position with Nick Percat and James Moffat having a tight battle.
As Mostert’s lead grew, the clock ticked down and the race went time certain.
Van Gisbergen hunted down Bright in the last minutes, using all of the road – and the grass – to try and cool his wet weather tyres.
A late dive from the Kiwi attempting to grab that final podium spot sent Bright spearing off. He rejoined the circuit and appeared to wait and rejoin ahead of the TEKNO Commodore, which will be analysed by the Stewards.
However Bright – who started 14th – took his position on the podium and van Gisbergen admitted fault post-race.
“That was my mistake – I went up the inside, it was a bit too wet still, I locked the brake and understeered a bit,” van Gisbergen said.
“He deserved the podium – I took him out there by accident. The car was not that great in the dry but as soon as it rained it came alive and that saved our weekend.”
There were some hard-fought battles in the pack throughout the race, with Holden Racing Team’s super-sub Jack Perkins finding himself at the front after a well-timed early pitstop. He finished 11th in the #22.
Championship leader Mark Winterbottom was 18th, his points lead down to 174 points over teammate Mostert, creating an interesting scenario as the teams now prepare for the first event of the PIRTEK Enduro Cup, the Wilson Security Sandown 500.
