Kostecki claims Christchurch Supercars win despite Allen’s advance

Despite a slow pit stop and a tyre disadvantage, Kostecki survived a spirited attack from Allen to win the second 37-lap race by six-tenths of a second.

It levelled the ledger after Allen’s first Supercars race win on Friday.

Ryan Wood scored his second straight podium for Walkinshaw TWG Racing with third place, though that was something of a gift after Grove Racing’s Matt Payne lost a wheel following his pit stop.

Triple Eight Race Engineering duo Will Brown and Broc Feeney completed the top five.

“Got a ripper start again, so I’ve been dialled in on that this weekend,” said Kostecki.

“We changed a lot on the car. Stoked to get the win obviously.

“We had a little pit stop fumble but was able to just use the clean air to my advantage there towards the end and Kai did everything he could.

“He was up in my bumper and once his front tyres got hot it was game over.”

Race 11 is underway in Christchurch, and again, there’s drama on the first laps!!

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At the start, Kostecki got the holeshot while Allen surged from fourth to second.

Payne immediately went on the defensive but lost out to Wood entering Turn 1 before Feeney tried to slip up the inside of Payne and made contact.

Aaron Cameron couldn’t maximise his third place qualifying effort, haemorrhaging positions hand over fist to be eighth at the end of Lap 1.

Payne recovered some ground at the start of Lap 2, passing Feeney for fourth.

Heimgartner was among the biggest losers on Lap 2, dropping eight places from where he began to 17th – punctuated by a hip-and-shoulder from fellow Toyota driver Chaz Mostert at Turn 3.

There was drama on Lap 4 when Cameron Hill found himself three-wide on the outside of David Reynolds and Jobe Stewart at the Turn 4 hairpin.

Contact between Reynolds and Stewart sent the latter into Hill, who came out the other side worst off with damage to his steering.

Hill briefly took the lead of the race as he short-cut Turn 4 and returned at the final corner, much to the amusement of the trackside fans, before pitting.

Reynolds was given a 15-second stop-and-go penalty for the clash.

“There are a couple of young guys out there that don’t know how to overtake,” said Hill.

“I just got punted out of the way by Rylan (Gray) and Zach (Bates) and then at the hairpin I just got absolutely smashed into and got broken steering.

“Pretty disappointing. A lot of desperate stuff out there.”

Moments after Hill pitted, his Brad Jones Racing teammate Heimgartner came to the lane with steering damage to his Supra. Both Hill and Heimgartner returned to the race several laps down.

At the end of lap 1, Kostecki led Allen by half a second with Wood and Payne not far behind. Feeney was nearly two seconds back in fifth with teammate Brown in sixth. Cameron Waters, Aaron Cameron, James Golding, and Jayden Ojeda completed the top 10.

On Lap 8, Wood went wide at Turn 3 and opened the door for Payne to pass at Turn 4.

Kostecki nearly gave the lead away on Lap 9 with a moment at Turn 2 when he bowled a wide, which reduced the lead down to just a couple of car lengths.

Team 18’s Anton De Pasquale pitted on Lap 10 with Matt Stone Racing’s Jack Le Brocq in tow.

Ojeda was the first of the top 10 runners to pit from ninth on Lap 11 and was undercut by De Pasquale who had been 13th before his pit stop.

This pit stop could decide the race! Kostecki has a slow two-tyre stop, and Allen takes four!

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On Lap 15, Kostecki pitted with Allen right on his rear bumper. The pit stop was slow on the #17 only for rears, while the #26 took four tyres.

Wood went one lap longer and pitted for rears, returning to the race behind Allen in an effective third place

Payne, meanwhile, assumed the race lead and went long on his first set of tyres – the longest of anyone.

*insert Austin Powers meme*

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There were wild scenes when James Golding made a meal of the pit entry and parked his car in the tyre barrier.

Brad Jones Racing driver Macauley Jones came upon the parked Blanchard Racing Team Mustang and only narrowly avoided a collision in his Toyota.

Allen’s tyre advantage began to pay dividends with less than 20 laps to go, though passing proved difficult.

Finally, Payne pitted with 13 laps remaining for two rear tyres. The team were slow to get the right rear on, and there were immediate concerns about whether it was fastened.

Payne returned just behind the two race leaders but slowed out of the Carousel before the right rear wheel parted company between Turn 9 and 10 – dashing his podium hopes

The wheel drifted through the grass and eventually came to a rest approaching Turn 4.

A critical chance at an overcut goes begging for Matt Payne, who loses a wheel after his pit stop!!

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With a few laps remaining, Declan Fraser spun his PremiAir Camaro trying to pass Chaz Mostert for 13th.

Despite Allen’s best attempts, he couldn’t quite usurp Kostecki for the win. All told, Kostecki was 0.5980s clear of Allen. Wood, meanwhile, was 8.6113s in arrears of the lead.

De Pasquale survived a spirited attack from Waters to score sixth. Ojeda was an impressive eighth ahead of Aaron Cameron and Zach Bates.

Results: Repco Supercars Championship ITM Christchurch Super440, Race 2