Mostert controlled the lion’s share of proceedings in Saturday’s race at the Penrite Oil Sandown 500, clinching victory in the #25 Ford Mustang after 81 laps.

The Mobil 1 Optus Racing driver’s win looked like it was under threat in the closing laps when Will Brown’s recovery mission neared its climax.

Inside a few laps to go, just two seconds covered first, second, and third. However, Brown’s war over second with Mostert’s teammate Ryan Wood allowed Mostert to stretch his legs to a near-four-second win.

Brown prevailed over Wood in the end while Feeney finished fourth and the third-best Finals Series contender.

“I owe Woody a beer tonight, he saved my bacon out there,” said Mostert.

“I just struggled with a bit of rear tyre life, but just so glad to hang on.

“It was awesome sharing the front-row, Woody would have been a hard man to beat if he didn’t have to slow up for the old fella today.

“Like I said, I owe him, it’s a real team win. We’ll celebrate it hard after the weekend.”

MOSTERT LEADS INTO TURN 1💨#RepcoSC #Supercars pic.twitter.com/BSE0CfFCmy

— Supercars (@supercars) November 15, 2025

At the start, Mostert got the holeshot into Turn 1 over Wood. Behind them, Kai Allen threatened to take third, but remained fifth behind Kostecki and De Pasquale.

By the start of Lap 10, Mostert had a two-second lead back to third-placed Kostecki. Mostert’s lead over Wood, meanwhile, was 1.5 seconds.

Brown continued to march forward towards the top 10, and on Lap 12 made a forceful pass on Erebus Motorsport’s Cooper Murray at Turn 4 to take 11th.

Payne was the first driver to blink at the end of Lap 14, pitting out of fifth place having not been able to usurp De Pasquale. At the same time, Broc Feeney displaced Allen for fifth into Turn 1 to start Lap 15.

On Lap 18, Wood pitted out of second with a 1.7-second deficit to Mostert.

Team 18’s David Reynolds appeared to be struggling with rear grip, and lost seventh to Brown on Lap 22 at Dandenong Road. By that point, Brown had made up eight places – and six on merit.

Feeney pitted on Lap 23 and Mostert followed suit a lap later. The undercut from Wood paid dividends, putting the Kiwi into the effective lead of the race.

Once the pit stops shook out on Lap 31, Wood led Mostert to the tune of 2.3 seconds. Payne was up three places to third, Feeney up three places to fourth, and Kostecki down one to fifth.

The other Finals Series drivers were Brown in 10th, Waters in 13th, and Randle in 21st.

It wasn’t long before Mostert was on Wood’s tail, and took the lead with ease into Turn 1 with a pass on Lap 34.

Chaz Mostert takes the lead back from Ryan Wood!#RepcoSC #Supercars pic.twitter.com/fDoxRJWFbT

— Supercars (@supercars) November 15, 2025

Brown, as the driver with the newest tyres having pitted on Lap 28, continued to charge forward. He displaced Bryce Fullwood for eighth on Lap 40, Anton De Pasquale for seventh on Lap 42, and Allen for sixth on Lap 45.

While Triple Eight crept further up the field, Mostert and Wood controlled proceedings. First and second were split by 2.8 seconds, with Wood a further 3.2 seconds clear of Feeney with 35 laps to go.

The second round of pit stops began in earnest with a little over 30 laps to go. Payne was the first of the top five runners to pit with 33 laps left. Having been among the first into the pits, he took on more fuel than the rest.

Feeney pitted on Lap 48, followed by De Pasquale. Kostecki pitted on Lap 50 and returned to the race just ahead of the #88 Triple Eight Camaro. Approaching Turn 1, the #38 locked up and relinquished the spot to Feeney after running wide.

Wood pitted on Lap 51 and Mostert pitted out of the lead on Lap 52, the #25 Mustang returning to the race with the effective lead.

Brown, Waters, and Randle ran long once again. Brown pitted on Lap 55, Waters on Lap 57, and Randle, on Lap 58.

That set up a battle for fourth between Kostecki, Payne, and Brown. The #1 got by Payne with relative ease into Turn 1 with 23 laps to go and had Kostecki a lap later at the same spot.

Once Andre Heimgartner pitted, the order was cleansed. Mostert was first and Wood just over a second adrift.

Feeney was third, and three seconds off the lead. However, Brown was the most impressive performer in fourth and just under eight seconds behind.

Brown continued to reap the rewards of his late pit stop and fresher tyres. With 13 laps to go, he got to the back of Feeney and took third place away into Turn 1.

With 10 laps remaining, Brown’s deficit to Mostert was a meager two seconds. Helping Mostert’s cause, however, was the block of Wood in between.

Wood played the perfect rear-gunner for Mostert. As they warred over second, Mostert stretched his legs to a 4.5-second lead.

Come four laps to go, Brown finally got the pass completed on Wood with an aggressive move into Turn 4.

BROWN GETS WOODY AT TURN 4 🤯#RepcoSC #Supercars pic.twitter.com/PzOpnqOFUW

— Supercars (@supercars) November 15, 2025

By then, Mostert was several seconds clear, and after 81 laps took the chequered flag first.

Brown was second, and with it he vaulted from fifth to second in the standings. Wood was third while Feeney dropped to third in the standings.

Kostecki completed the top five ahead of Payne, who dropped to fourth in the standings. Allen was seventh, De Pasquale eighth, Fullwood ninth, and James Golding the last of the top 10 runners.

It was a horror day for Tickford Racing and its championship hopes. Cam Waters was only 12th from ninth on the grid while Thomas Randle was 16th from 22nd.

Waters and Randle occupy sixth and seventh in the standings behind Allen in fifth.

The Finals Series standings after Sandown 500 opener

Results: Repco Supercars Championship Penrite Oil Sandown 500, Race 1