From lights to flag, the race went Safety Car-free. However, the 37-lap distance was a dramatic one as drivers got to grips – or a lack thereof – with the super soft compound tyre.

The decisive moment of the race came with 16 laps to go when Mostert barged by pole position winner Brodie Kostecki and forced him off the track.

Kostecki never recovered and instead battled to keep his teammate Wil Davison at bay, but ultimately wound up third.

“It was a super tough tussle,” said Mostert.

“I had really good car pace for the start of the stint and the middle of the stint, but just kind of ran out of tyres a little bit.

“So we were probably a little bit aggressive on our strategy coming out of qualifying into the race.

“I knew I had to fight him really hard, especially after the pit stop.”

From second place, Mostert got the jump on Kostecki who found himself battling to keep a fast-starting Broc Feeney behind.

The Triple Eight Race Engineering driver looked like he might have usurped Kostecki at Turn 1, but Kostecki emerged out of Turn 2 in second.

At the end of Lap 1, it was Mostert, from Kostecki, Feeney, Will Brown, Will Davison, Matt Payne, Thomas Randle, Cameron Waters, Anton De Pasquale, and Richie Stanaway the top 10 runners. Randle and Stanaway were the fast starters, each up three places.

WE ARE RACING ONCE MORE IN TAUPŌ

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On Lap 2, Team 18 driver David Reynolds got into the back of Erebus Motorsport’s Cooper Murray at Turn 7. Murray spun, but further contact from Reynolds got the Supercars rookie pointed in the right direction. No penalties were given.

Brown began to hemorrhage time as the pit stops approached, and by Lap 14 he’d fallen from fourth to 10th in a matter of laps. At the end of that lap, Brown pitted for tyres.

Like Brown, Feeney began to suffer towards the end of his first stint and on Lap 16 lost third place to Davison out of Turn 10 and fourth place a lap later into Turn 1 to Payne.

The Dick Johnson Racing duo of Kostecki and Davison looked to be among the quickest and come Lap 18 there was less than a car length between Kostecki and Mostert.

KOSTECKI JUMPS FOR THE LEAD

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At Turn 5, Kostecki shoved his nose down the inside of Mostert who blocked, but couldn’t keep the #38 car behind.

The gap immediately blew out but the 1.5-second gap became nothing when Kostecki pitted and slapped the tyre barrier when he lost the rear of his car under brakes into the 90-degree left-hander at pit entry.

Mostert parked his car awkwardly in his pit bay, which cost him time with the right front tyre changer compromised. Fortunately, Tickford Racing let Mostert through their bay, reducing the deficit.

Kostecki headed Mostert but with 17 laps to go, the #25 Mustang barged its way by the #38 Ford at Turn 3 to retake the effective lead of the race.

Once Andre Heimgartner pitted, the field was cleansed. Mostert led Kostecki to the tune of half a second. Feeney rose to third with an undercut on Davison. Stanaway was an impressive fifth, albeit having only taken rear tyres during his pit stop, ahead of Brown, Randle, Payne, Wood, and Fullwood.

Kostecki returned serve with 16 laps to go, nudging the back of Mostert into Turn 1 before firing down the inside at Turn 4.

However, his lead was short-lived. Kostecki understeered off the road and opened the door for Mostert to get back by. Mostert made sure Kostecki couldn’t fight back, casting the #38 Mustang out onto the dirt at Turn 5.

MOSTERT TAKES THE LEAD BACK!

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That battle allowed Feeney to bridge some of the gap to the leading pair from seven seconds to less than four.

As his tyres faded and he complained of steering damage, Kostecki soon found himself mired in a battle with Feeney and Davison. Soon enough, Davison was up into second.

Feeney began to lose ground and Kostecki got back to third before Payne got by for fourth.

KOSTECKI AND MOSTERT TRADE BLOWS 🥊💥

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So dominant was Mostert that he wound up more than six seconds clear of Davison. Kosecki was another 2.7s back in third.

Payne and Feeney rounded out the top five. Randle was sixth, Brown seventh, Andre Heimgartner eighth, Ryan Wood ninth, and Kai Allen 10th.

Cameron Waters had a quiet afternoon down in 14th, which gave Brown the lead back in the championship by 12 points.

Action at the Taupo Super440 continues on Sunday with Qualifying, a Top 10 Shootout, and Race 10.

Results: Repco Supercars Championship ITM Taupo Super440, Race 9