Mostert sealed a first Supercars title in spectacular, yet controversial, fashion in Adelaide as the first-ever Supercars Finals series came to a close.
His success was sealed by an impressive run through the Finals that included three wins and another three second places across the seven races.
The flip side to Mostert’s triumph was heartbreak for Broc Feeney, who would have comfortably won the championship under the traditional first past the post points format.
While the outcome has inevitably sparked debate over the Finals format, Walkinshaw Andretti United co-owner Ryan Walkinshaw doesn’t feel the result was unfair.
He says WAU simply played the Finals game better than anybody else, making it a deserving title.
“We dominated the Finals at the end of the day,” he told Speedcafe.
“You can be the best performing AFL team, win every single match all the way through the season, and if you lose by one point in the Grand Final, you’ve lost the championship. That’s how sport works.
“We focused on what the Finals season was. We put all of our eggs into it.
“We sacrificed so many other rounds, and people were writing us off as having a bad season, but in the background, we always knew what we were doing.
“We were focusing on using those rounds as testing so we could try and make sure that we had the best set-ups we could possibly come up with the last three rounds.
“And that’s the reason why Chaz was so dominant.”
An important part of WAU’s success was Mostert’s teammate Ryan Wood, who after being knocked out of contention on the Gold Coast played a clear rear gunner role.
That included holding up a rapid Will Brown at Sandown to help Mostert win the race that sealed his Grand Final berth.
Wood was also a critical part of the Grand Final storyline with a first-lap clash with Feeney in Sunday’s season finale that earned him a 15-second penalty.
That added to the controversial nature of the title outcome, although realistically Feeney’s hopes were always going to be harpooned by the engine issue that hampered his Sunday race.
“He’s been an absolute gun all season,” said Walkinshaw of Wood.
“The way that he’s been a wingman for Chaz, he got us here. He saved us at Sandown and he has been a massive help in the background.
“He’s an absolute star. And I hope that next year it’s Woody holding that trophy, because he deserves it too.”
Mostert’s title is the first for the famed squad since 2002 when it was the Holden Racing Team.
It is also the first under Walkinshaw’s guidance, marking an emotional milestone given the success his father Tom Walkinshaw enjoyed with the team.
“It’s taken me way too long to have that trophy in my hands,” said Walkinshaw. “But we finally got there.
“There’s been loads of ups and downs, from the Holden Racing Team, to reinventing ourselves as WAU, building ourselves back up and being competitive and fighting in and around the space of a championship with Chaz for four years and never quite having enough.
“Having my mum here, my brother here, my girlfriend here to share this moment is really, really special. My mum’s obviously been through all of this since the passing of my father, she loves this team inside and out, and for her to be here and be part of this is really special.
“I’m just so proud of the whole team. Everyone deserves it. They all work so bloody hard, and they all want this so much. I mean, we’ve come close, but never really close enough. This was our year, thankfully.”
Mostert joined WAU from Tickford Racing in 2020 as the team looked to re-establish itself as a powerhouse.
To having now delivered on the promises made to the superstar driver is something important to Walkinshaw.
“Chaz took a risk leaving Tickford to come to us, and loads of people called him stupid at the time, because our performance was pretty mid,” he said.
“We showed him what our plan was, we showed him what we wanted to do. He believed in us and we believed in him.
“We developed a team around him, and now it’s his and Woody’s team, but he’s been such a big driving force for building the culture up to where we are today.
“This has just got his fingerprints all over it. Chaz deserves this.
“There’s no more loved driver in pit lane than Chaz. And I’ve got absolutely no doubt that every single fan out there that wasn’t wearing a Red Bull top was cheering for Chaz [on Sunday].”
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