Le Brocq wins, damage for Kostecki in Darwin Supercars Race 15

Jack Le Brocq has delivered Truck Assist Racing’s first victory, while Repco Supercars Championship leader Brodie Kostecki finished last with damage in Race 15 at the Betr Darwin Triple Crown.

It had already been a historic day for Matt Stone Racing when Le Brocq earned its first ever pole in the top flight, before he doubled his career race win tally by effectively leading all 35 laps around Hidden Valley Raceway.

Brad Jones Racing’s Andre Heimgartner finished on the podium for the second time in a matter of hours, this time driving the #8 R&J Batteries Camaro to second position.

Race 14 winner Broc Feeney took third and his Red Bull Ampol Racing team-mate Shane van Gisbergen was credited with fourth due to a penalty for Erebus Motorsport’s Will Brown.

He ended up sixth in the classification, behind Tickford Racing’s Cameron Waters in the first of the Fords, but one position ahead of the man who he nudged in order to earn the slap from stewards, Team 18’s Mark Winterbottom.

Rounding out the top 10 were Dick Johnson Racing’s Will Davison, Walkinshaw Andretti United’s Chaz Mostert from 25th on the starting grid, and the Blanchard Racing Team’s Todd Hazelwood.

Kostecki had to pit at the end of the opening lap due to mechanical damage and was classified last in the 26-car field.

His lead over team-mate Brown in the drivers’ championship is down to 59 points, with Feeney 32 further back and van Gisbergen fourth, from Mostert and Heimgartner.

Le Brocq and Heimgartner had made an even start from the front row but the former had the inside line courtesy of his pole position and the latter slotted into second spot as they rounded the first corner.

Winterbottom (#18 DeWalt Camaro), Feeney (#88 Camaro), Brown (#9 Coca-Cola Camaro), Davison (#17 Shell V-Power Mustang), Waters (#6 Monster Energy Mustang), and van Gisbergen (#97 Camaro) followed.

Just behind, there was big drama for Kostecki when his #99 Coca-Cola Camaro incurred steering damage, apparently due to contact with Anton De Pasquale (#11 Shell V-Power Mustang) at the Turn 6 hairpin, forcing him into the pits.

Race Control advised no further action would be taken, while Kostecki resumed three laps down after repairs in the Erebus garage.

In the meantime, Brown had dived past Davison for fifth at Turn 14 on Lap 2, while Feeney’s attack on Winterbottom on Lap 4 was resisted by the previous afternoon’s race winner.

With 10 laps in the books, Le Brocq’s advantage over Heimgartner at the head of the field was 1.2s, while Hazelwood (#3 CoolDrive Mustang) pitted from ninth on Lap 13 and hence Thomas Randle (#55 Castrol Mustang) inherited the spot.

Van Gisbergen passed Waters for seventh on Lap 15 at Turn 5, before Feeney pitted from about a second behind Winterbottom on Lap 16 and was followed into the lane by Brown.

They took rears, as did Le Brocq, Heimgartner, and Winterbottom when they were all pitted in response just one lap later.

The top two held effective position while Winterbottom merged behind Feeney before also ceding a spot to Brown when he was given a tap at Turn 1, which would draw a five-second penalty for the Erebus pilot for a driving infringement.

Van Gisbergen had assumed the lead due to the stops and there was some drama when he pitted on Lap 19.

The Triple Eight Race Engineering crew changed three tyres on Car #97, which the New Zealander stalled at the drop.

When van Gisbergen’s wildcard team-mate Zane Goddard (#888 Supercheap Auto Camaro) peeled off on Lap 23, the cycle was done.

Le Brocq led by 2.1s while Heimgartner was second at 2.8s ahead of Feeney, with Brown fourth from Winterbottom and Davison, the latter of whom had also taken three tyres.

Van Gisbergen was seventh, from Hazelwood, Waters, and David Reynolds (#26 Penrite Mustang), while Kostecki was still circulating in 26th position.

Waters, also with a three-tyre stop, quickly cleared Hazelwood before van Gisbergen overtook Davison for sixth position on Lap 28.

Two laps later, van Gisbergen went underneath Winterbottom for fifth at Turn 5, then Waters got by Davison for seventh on Lap 31.

Heimgartner was almost three seconds behind Le Brocq before the tide started to turn, but it was still 1.3499s which separated them at the finish line.

After Winterbottom’s feat in Race 13, Le Brocq and MSR made for two first-time winning teams in as many days, and Car #34 also scored the fastest lap bonus points.

Bryce Fullwood (#14 Middy’s Camaro) ended up 11th on the afternoon on his home track and De Pasquale 17th.

The next event is the NTI Townsville 500 on July 7-9.

Full race results here.

Drivers’ championship

Teams’ championship