Nasty crash mars Gold Coast Supercars as Mostert salutes in first finals race

Two weeks after very publicly drowning his sorrows at Mt Panorama, veteran Chaz Mostert is the toast of Supercars after winning the competition’s inaugural finals race on the Gold Coast on Saturday.

Mostert was gutted when his Ford Mustang suffered an engine failure during an epic Bathurst 1000, and as he made his way back to the pits, a fan offered the disappointed Walkinshaw-Andretti driver a can of beer.

A renowned larrikin, Mostert had no hesitation in cracking it and taking a swig, in a moment that immediately went viral. After Saturday’s win, however, the 33-year-old has put himself in with a real chance of enjoying the last laugh by winning his first Supercars championship.

Mostert qualified in sixth position for the finals, some distance behind series leader Broc Feeney. But the top 10 drivers have all had their points re-set and now face an elimination tightrope walk to win the title.

Drivers will return to Main Beach on Sunday morning for the second 250km race on the Gold Coast, before heading to Sandown and Adelaide to complete the inaugural Supercars play-off series.

Ten finalists are in contention to win the championship. Seven will still be alive in the penultimate event, which will be reduced to four contenders in the Adelaide decider.

“It’s so early still to be talking about that [the championship],” Mostert said.

“We had a fast car again today. That’s great. We want to maximise that again tomorrow.

“Then we go to Sandown, and you’re talking about a completely different track surface … if we can make it to Adelaide, I’d probably feel confident we can have a fast car there.

“I’m still probably a little bit concerned about Sandown.”

Feeney said his Red Bull team “had a good day today” but admitted Mostert would take some catching over the rest of the finals series.

“We didn’t just get beat today,” Feeney said. “We got smoked ... Chaz was in a league of his own.”

Mostert was briefly overtaken on Saturday by Dave Reynolds, the runner-up two weeks ago at Mt Panorama. But he regained the lead with 12 laps to go and clung on for the victory.

The ultra-consistent Feeney finished second, with rookie Kai Allen placing third.

Young Kiwi Ryan Wood suffered heartache for the second consecutive race after a fuel leak caused him to withdraw early in the race, having qualified in pole position during the preceding top-10 shootout.

Wood was leading the Bathurst 1000 two weeks ago but his Walkinshaw-Andretti Mustang suffered mechanical failure with victory in sight.

There was a sense of déjà vu on Saturday when the 21-year-old started dropping down the field on lap seven. He was a picture of frustration as he returned to the pits, knowing he will need a special performance in Sunday’s second race to stay alive in the title fight.

Earlier, former Supercars series champion Brodie Kostecki was involved in a nasty crash in qualifying that resulted in four photographers being taken to hospital.

The Dick Johnson Ford star lost control of his Mustang as he powered into the opening chicane, which has been causing chaos for most drivers during the practice and qualifying sessions.

He ploughed almost head-first into a concrete barrier, wrapped in a layer of car tyres. A host of photographers were stationed behind the barrier and absorbed at least part of the impact.

Four were taken to hospital – two reportedly with ankle injuries, one with an elbow injury and one with a head injury. All were reported to be in stable condition.

Supercars organisers reacted immediately by issuing a directive banning photographers from using that vantage point.

Interviewed by Fox Sports, Kostecki expressed concern for the photographers.

“I am physically good but hope the people behind the barrier are OK, because there is some news that some were injured,” Kostecki said.

He explained that he “just clipped the tyre bundle and it went under the wheels and went straight in head first … a misjudgement by me, but you pay the price when you make a mistake here”.

Kostecki also crashed at the same point on the circuit during Friday’s practice session, but not as seriously. His crash on Saturday ended the qualifying session prematurely.

His mangled Mustang was ruled out of Saturday’s race and Dick Johnson Racing took the vehicle off-site for chassis repairs in a quest to get it back on track for Sunday’s second race.

Given the cut-throat nature of Supercars’ new elimination finals series, if Kostecki finishes outside the top seven on the Gold Coast, the 2023 series champion will bow out of the title race.

He admitted it was “not looking good” that his team could rebuild the mangled Mustang in time for Saturday’s main race.

Dick Johnson Racing said in a statement: “Brodie has been given the all-clear by the medical crew at the circuit, and now we will assess the damage with our hard-working crew ... we sincerely hope the photographers and spectators are OK, and we’ve been in constant contact with Supercars to follow up on their well-being.”

Defending Supercars champion Will Brown also crashed out during the top-10 shootout and his mechanical crew will be working overnight to get him on track Sunday.

Camaro drivers Cooper Murray and Jaxon Evans were other unfortunate victims of the chicane, colliding heavily in the early rounds.

The Herald’s visit to the Gold Coast 500 was funded by Supercars Australia.