Kostecki and Hazelwood dominate Bathurst 1000

Kostecki and Hazelwood dominated the 161-lap race at Mount Panorama in the Chiko-backed Chevrolet Camaro, beating Triple Eight Race Engineering’s Broc Feeney and Jamie Whincup.

The race was a relatively processional affair with the contest going caution-free from Lap 1 until Lap 132.

Grove Racing’s Matt Payne brought out the solitary Safety Car intervention when he lost control of the #26 Ford Mustang he shared with Garth Tander at The Cutting.

That set up a 27-lap dash to the flag, eliminating Kostecki’s four-second lead over Feeney.

In the closing laps, Kostecki and Feeney set about clocking the fastest laps of the race, leaving the #87 of Will Brown and Scott Pye in their wake.

The gap hovered around the one-second mark but ultimately the #1 couldn’t be caught. All told, Kostecki came home 1.3 seconds clear of Feeney.

It marked the second Bathurst 1000 win for Erebus Motorsport after their 2017 triumph with David Reynolds and Luke Youlden and the first win for Kostecki and Hazelwood.

“I can’t believe it. This guy (Hazelwood) did a stellar job,” said Kostecki.

“The whole weekend I knew we had a fast car… George tuned it up towards the end there and we just had enough to stay in front of Broc. Thank you to the whole team.”

BRODIE KOSTECKI AND TODD HAZELWOOD WIN THE GREAT RACE!#RepcoSC #Supercars #Bathurst1000 pic.twitter.com/o9IMZDrz9P

— Supercars (@supercars) October 13, 2024

The final stanza of the race was an all-out sprint between Kostecki and Feeney who were the class of the field.

“We had a really good car for the middle stint when the sun was out, but as soon as the clouds came over we seemed to struggle a bit and lost a little bit of front,” said Kostecki.

“George [Commins, race engineer] tuned it up for the last one there and it was just enough to stay in front there. Broc was breathing down my neck the whole time and they were 31 shootout laps. That was just balls to the walls the whole time.

“It’s kind of funny around here you can bring your pace back a bit and actually get yourself into trouble. I just knew that if I did shootout laps every single lap I knew that I wouldn’t make a mistake.

“Just glad to get this one ticked off the bucket list and I can’t wait to celebrate with all the guys and girls tonight.”

Hazelwood’s first Bathurst 1000 win also marked his first triumph in Supercars.

“Unbelievable. I think I’m hallucinating. I’m just absolutely speechless. Bush, he’s an absolute legend. We’ve been mates since day one. To do this together with him, absolute rocketship of a car.

“It’s been a tough year, but man, when you win Bathurst it makes up for everything. Incredibly proud. There are so many people I want to thank.”

UNBELIEVABLE SCENES AT BATHURST!!#RepcoSC #Supercars #Bathurst1000 pic.twitter.com/tE0UHG15K3

— Supercars (@supercars) October 13, 2024

Behind the top three finishers came Cameron Waters. The #6 Tickford Racing driver was the top Ford, finishing 15 seconds adrift.

Waters’ race was turbulent. The Monster Energy-backed driver locked up at Hell Corner on Lap 23, dropping to 10th. Co-driver James Moffat had his own issues, short-cutting Brock’s Skyline on Lap 62.

Walkinshaw Andretti United pair Chaz Mostert and Lee Holdsworth rose from ninth to fifth while James Golding and David Russell climbed from 11th to sixth for PremiAir Nulon Racing.

Anton De Pasquale and Tony D’Alberto couldn’t repeat their 2023 podium feat, starting eighth and finishing seventh for Dick Johnson Racing.

Jack Le Brocq and Jayden Ojeda spent much of the race just off the podium in fourth but dropped back to eighth at the end of the race in the sister Erebus Motorsport entry.

MATT PAYNE FINDS THE WALL AT THE CUTTING 💥

Follow all the action of the @RepcoAustralia Bathurst 1000 on our Live Feed here 👉 https://t.co/qyu6AAgclo#RepcoSC #Supercars #Bathurst1000 pic.twitter.com/N0ySXGmgDK

— Supercars (@supercars) October 13, 2024

Grove Racing’s outgoing Richie Stanaway was ninth with Dale Wood. The team’s other entry ended at The Cutting when Matt Payne put the Ford Mustang he shared with Garth Tander in the wall. Matt Stone Racing’s Cameron Hill and Cameron Crick completed the top 10.

Cooper Murray and Craig Lowndes threatened for a top five finish until they received a drive-through penalty for a restart infringement. The Triple Eight Race Engineering wildcard finished 14th.

Results: Repco Supercars Championship Repco Bathurst 1000