Mostert takes drought-breaking win at Perth SuperSprint

After Walkinshaw Andretti United scored a front row lockout for Race 9 of the season at Wanneroo, Mostert fell behind team-mate Ryan Wood when the start lights went out but reclaimed the ascendancy on Lap 14 and led thereafter, at least in effective terms.

He drove the #25 Mobil 1 Optus Mustang to a 4.9134s victory after 55 laps around Wanneroo Raceway, making for WAU’s first win as a Ford team – and the first for Ford at all in 2024 – while championship leader Will Brown finished second in the #87 Red Bull Ampol Racing Camaro.

The battle for the final podium place became a big dice between Wood and Tickford Racing’s Cam Waters, which was resolved in favour of the latter with a final-lap pass, while Broc Feeney finished fifth in the second of the Triple Eight Race Engineering entries.

With Brown also scoring the five bonus points for the fastest lap of the race, he extends his championship lead over Feeney to 103 points, while WAU is up to second in the teams’ championship at 592 points behind Triple Eight.

Mostert was on pole position but it was Wood in the #2 Mobil 1 Truck Assist Mustang who led the field up the hill for the first time after making a slightly superior getaway and hanging tough on the outside of Turn 1.

Waters (#6 Monster Energy Mustang) held third behind the WAU Mustangs, from the Triple Eight Camaros of Brown and Feeney.

Brodie Kostecki was off the road due to contact with Matt Payne in a three-wide run to the first corner of which Nick Percat was on the inside, making for an even more rotten start for Erebus Motorsport considering Jack Le Brocq’s race began in pit lane after a battery issue on the grid.

Richie Stanaway had already lost several positions when his #26 Penrite Mustang coughed exiting Turn 7 on Lap 2 and he was shunted into the wall on drivers’ left by an unfortunate Aaron Love (#3 CoolDrive Mustang).

Stanaway managed to drive back to pit lane where the issue was diagnosed as a fuel pump problem.

Cameron Hill (#4 Supaglass Camaro) passed James Courtney (#7 Snowy River Caravans Mustang) for sixth on Lap 7 and then Payne (#19 Penrite Mustang) got by the 2010 champion for seventh on Lap 9.

Up the front, Mostert took the lead on Lap 14 at Turn 7 when he went down the inside of Wood, who made life easy for his team-mate as Waters lurked half a second behind them.

Brown was also creeping closer to the top three as Mostert used his clear air to eke out his margin over Wood.

Car #25’s lead over Car #2 was a full second on Lap 23, with Waters 1.5s further back and under pressure from Brown, who had about four seconds’ gap over team-mate Feeney in fifth.

Courtney, who had not long reclaimed seventh from Payne, was first of the top 10 to pit on Lap 25, for working side tyres only.

Brown pitted from fourth on Lap 26 for four tyres before Wood was in from second, at more than two seconds in arrears of Mostert, for working side tyres only.

Feeney took service on Lap 28, with fresh rubber going onto all corners of #88, and resumed behind Courtney, before Mostert pitted from the lead for sides only.

That left Waters at the head of the field until he peeled off for four fresh tyres, rejoining between Brown and Feeney – who had by then cleared Courtney – in what represented consolidation of the undercut for the championship leader in Car #87.

Once Andre Heimgartner (#8 R&J Batteries Camaro) stopped on Lap 35, the cycle was almost done and Mostert led by nearly three second from Wood, who was being caught by Brown.

Kostecki sat fourth but was yet to pit, from Waters, Feeney, Courtney, Percat (#10 Bendix Camaro), and Hill.

Mostert’s lead was 4.1s on Lap 39 as Wood came under attack from Brown.

On Lap 40, Brown got a run on the #2 Mustang off ‘Kolb Corner’ (Turn 6) and made the pass as they crested the back straight, where Wood had a wild moment as he briefly had two wheels well onto the grass.

At that point, the deficit to Mostert was five seconds, and the two-time Bathurst 1000 winner maintained that gap for the next several laps.

Brown closed to within five seconds of Car #25 with four laps to go but there was never a serious threat to Mostert, who is now a race winner in a Dick Johnson Racing Ford, Tickford Fords, WAU Holdens, and a WAU Ford.

Behind them, Waters passed Wood for third at Turn 7 on Lap 53 but the New Zealander drove back down his inside at the other end of the main straight.

On the very last lap, Waters got a run on Wood up the back straight and overtook the #2 Mustang but was forced to cover the inside at the bottom of the hill and ran wide at Turn 7 then back over the kerb.

He crossed the stripe eight seconds behind Brown but 0.3364s ahead of Wood.

Courtney finished sixth, from Percat, Payne, Anton De Pasquale (#11 Shell V-Power Mustang), and Thomas Randle (#55 Castrol Mustang).

Le Brocq (#9 Bic Camaro) ended up 20th, Kostecki (#1 Erebus Motorsport Camaro) 22nd after pitting on Lap 53, Will Davison (#17 Shell V-Power Mustang) eight laps down in 23rd after a throttle position sensor drama, and Stanaway 11 laps down in 24th.

The next session for the Supercars Championship field is Practice 3, tomorrow from 09:40 local time/11:40 AEST.

Results: Race 9, Bosch Power Tools Perth SuperSprint

Fastest lap (bonus): Will Brown, 0:55.8155s, Lap 36

Drivers’ championship

Teams’ championship