Kostecki sweeps The Bend, SVG stop under investigation

Erebus Motorsport’s Brodie Kostecki has completed a sweep of The Bend SuperSprint while his nearest Supercars Championship rival, Shane van Gisbergen, could yet be penalised for a pit stop infringement.

Kostecki emerged from the first corner with the lead of Race 22 and, although Cameron Waters tried to make him fight for it, the #99 Coca-Cola Camaro effectively led the remainder of the 20-lap encounter.

Waters finished 0.9468s back in the #6 Monster Energy Mustang, with Thomas Randle making it a double podium for Tickford Racing in the #55 Castrol Mustang.

Walkinshaw Andretti United’s Nick Percat (#2 Mobil 1 NTI Mustang) claimed fourth while van Gisbergen is fifth for now, although the #97 Red Bull Ampol Racing entry is subject to a post-race investigation.

As it stands, Kostecki’s championship lead is out to 137 points, with van Gisbergen still second on the table.

UPDATE: Teams’ championship points penalty, fine for Triple Eight Race Engineering

Both of the other title contenders, though, had offs during the race.

Broc Feeney (#88 Red Bull Ampol Camaro) finished last after late contact with David Reynolds, while Will Brown (#9 Coca-Cola Camaro) ended up 13th.

Back at the start, Percat bolted from the outside of the second row and nosed into the lead before filing in behind pole-sitter Kostecki.

Randle emerged third from the opening corners but team-mate Waters jammed his #6 Mustang down the inside at the Turn 6 hairpin and completed the pass as they arrived at the complex of right-handers which follows.

Matt Payne (#19 Penrite Mustang) took up fifth, from Anton De Pasquale (#11 Shell V-Power Mustang), Will Davison (#17 Shell V-Power Mustang), van Gisbergen (#97 Camaro), Bryce Fullwood (#14 Middy’s Camaro), and James Courtney (#5 Snowy River Caravans Mustang).

Waters overtook Percat for second place as they ran up the main straight at the end of Lap 2, at which point Kostecki was a full second to the good.

The Tickford driver brought the gap back under 0.7s in the laps which followed before it drifted back beyond one second on Lap 7.

Meanwhile, Payne and De Pasquale pitted on Lap 5, the former losing several seconds with a cross-threaded wheel nut, before Randle passed Percat for third place into Turn 7 on Lap 6.

Brown had risen from 13th on the starting grid to an effective 10th when he ran off at the threesome of right-handers on Lap 6.

Percat pitted from fourth on Lap 8 and Randle peeled off from third on Lap 9, with the latter resuming ahead of the former.

Van Gisbergen was into the lane from third, but effectively still eighth, on Lap 10 and appeared to be dropped with the rattle gun still on the right-rear wheel.

Waters had drifted to 2.1s behind Kostecki when he stopped for fresh rears on Lap 12, and Motorsport protected the lead by calling Kostecki in for likewise on Lap 13.

Mark Winterbottom (#18 DeWalt Camaro) ran all the way until Lap 15, at which time Kostecki resumed the lead by a margin of 1.7s over Waters, then Randle, Percat, van Gisbergen, Davison, De Pasquale, Courtney, and Fullwood in ninth.

Feeney was 10th after a wild moment of his own when he was forced to the edge of the track, and somewhat beyond, as he passed Chaz Mostert (#25 Mobil 1 Optus Mustang) at the end of Lap 12.

Mostert, who then jumped into the air when they made contact at Turn 2, sat 12th with a bad sportsmanship flag against his name over the movement on the straight.

Waters closed the gap to Kostecki in the final laps but was not a serious threat to Car #99, although he did take the fastest lap bonus points.

Randle finished another six seconds further back in third, from Percat and van Gisbergen.

Davison took sixth, ahead of De Pasquale and Courtney, with Mostert classified ninth and Jack Le Brocq (#34 Truck Assist Camaro) 10th.

Feeney had been running ninth until he was bumped off the road by Reynolds (#26 Penrite Mustang) at Turn 18 on the penultimate lap.

Reynolds inherited ninth position but would be issued a 15-second penalty just after the chequered flag, relegating him to 20th.

Brown got home in 13th while Feeney finished dead last in the 25-car field.

Teams will now move on to pre-enduro testing, before the return of the Penrite Oil Sandown 500 on September 15-17.

Complete Race 22 results here.

Drivers’ championship

Teams’ championship Updated