WAU announced a ‘multi-year’ deal for Mostert in late 2023, while he and teammate Ryan Wood were both named as the squad’s 2026 drivers upon the reveal of its Toyota deal last September.
That hasn’t stopped the rumour mill suggesting Mostert is being hunted by GM as part of its multi-faceted fightback following Triple Eight’s shock decision to defect to Ford.
Current Triple Eight drivers Will Brown and Broc Feeney are known to have been sounded out by GM in the wake of the bombshell, but both are locked in at the Red Bull Ampol outfit.
Cam Waters was too a poaching target but is understood to have pledged his ongoing allegiance to Tickford in a deal that will allow him the freedom to explore US options if they arise.
That has centred attention on Mostert, who is known to be highly rated by Roland Dane – a key player in advising GM on its post-Triple Eight strategy.
However, if GM wants Mostert, it appears it will have to wait until 2027.
Asked on the latest Drivers Only Podcast whether he and teammate Wood are locked in for the Toyota switch, Mostert gave a short reply before quickly changing the subject.
“We’re there next year, so we’ll see how that unfolds,” he said.
Mostert joined WAU in 2020 following six full-time seasons at Tickford Racing hoping the then Holden squad would provide the platform required to win a Supercars Championship.
Although scoring a second Bathurst crown among a smattering of race wins, inconsistency has seen him remain a nearly-man, finishing in the top five each season without lifting the crown.
The period has included a shock switch from Holden to Ford in 2023 and now the impending move to Toyota, which represents both opportunity and risk for the squad’s competitiveness.
While Supercars is undoubtedly better placed to welcome new marques than in previous eras, little remains known about the development progress of the Supra.
Mostert spoke enthusiastically about Toyota’s Supercars entry, declaring it “pretty cool for Australian motorsport” and welcoming the addition of four-car squad Brad Jones Racing.
However, he said he has “no idea” about the current status of the project, for which WAU has given little public detail beyond a target to have its first Supra up and running – complete with Toyota V8 engine – early in the third quarter of the year.
“It’s the funniest thing, at the workshop it’s like an ‘Area 51’ kind of thing what’s going on there,” said Mostert of how the Toyota work has been sectioned off within WAU’s Melbourne race base.
“Walkinshaw I feel has always been so respectful with any relationships they’ve had between sponsors or manufacturers in the past and it’s a big respect thing to Ford for us this year to make sure we still do the job for that and not just focus on what we’re doing for next year.
“I think the resources with what Walkinshaw Andretti United are doing, they’ve been lucky enough to have some really smart people in there that have got really great design backgrounds and are really focusing on that project for next year.
“Then guys like [race engineers] Sammy [Scaffidi] and Rich [Harris] that are really taking the lead foot on the setup stuff for performance this year on the Ford. We’ve separated our resources a little bit.”
Discussion about this post