Kostecki and Wood share victories

Toyota took its first Supercars win and Brodie Kostecki maintained his championship lead on an action-packed and dramatic day of Supercars racing at Taupo Motorsport Park.

In a program first modified and then reduced to one day due to the impending arrival of Cyclone Vaianu on New Zealand’s North Island, Kostecki won the opening race and Ryan Wood the second for Walkinshaw TWG.

The latter result was not without its controversy, with Wood’s team-mate Chaz Mostest taking the lead after he was delayed in his second pitstop. For a while the prospect of team orders was contemplated before the current champion told the team on the radio that “Woody is faster”, made room and allowed the young Kiwi through to his first win on home soil.

Then a charging Broc Feeney found a way past Mostert in a physical battle, after the Triple Eight Ford driver was delayed in his own pitstop when he was forced to wait for the incoming Grove Racing Ford of Kai Alen.

“I am so incredibly proud of our team, what they have done with this beautiful car,” said Wood after a 3.0363s win.

“To do it at home in front of so many friends and family is incredible as well. The last two laps were pretty emotional.

“I feel like a bit of an idiot now. We had worked so hard to keep track position, but he managed that. Sorry to everyone in my team for listening to my whingeing!”

With the win, Toyota took victory in just nine races and ended a stay of 2,884 days since a brand other than Ford or General Motors won a Supercars race.

“It’s special for me,” said Mostert, whose wife is from New Zealand.

“I tried my hardest to race Broc there but he was too fast. Woody was too fast, he drove an unbelievable race.”

Kostecki dominated the first race, taking off from pole position and holding a challenge from Feeney at arm’s length. But Feeney’s bid ended when his Triple Eight Ford lost engine power at the halfway point of the 37-lap race, dropping him to sixth.

When Kostecki make his mandatory pitstop he only just made it out in front of Will Brown, who had pitted earlier, before he rebuilt his lead, which ballooned to 16.1855s at the end of the race.

Wood took a strong third ahead of a recovering Feeney, Matt Payne (Grove Racing Ford) and James Golding (Blanchard Racing Team Ford).

For Feeney, Race 1 represented a lost result. In the second contest he was chasing the leaders until, when he made his first pitstop, he had to sit and wait until Kai Allen’s Grove Racing Ford drove into the pit bay in front of his. Feeney dropped two places with the delay, before regaining ground, only then to slide out of third after his second stop, allowing Brown past.

“We had a real fast car then but a few little things didn’t go our way,” Feeney said.

“We struggled a lot this morning but the team turned the car around and turned it into a rocket ship. I didn’t think we would have the pace to catch these guys but we had good tyre life.”

Brown took fourth in the second race from Matt Payne and Kostecki, who did not get an alternative strategy, that saw him run a very long first stint, to work for him.

It was a difficult day for Chevrolet fans. In the qualifying sessions there were no Camaros in the top 10 on the first grid and one on the second. That driver, Anton De Pasquale, was the leading Camaro finisher in the first race in eighth and 10th in the second.

The results mean that in the championship standings Kostecki will go to the next round as the series lead on 657 points. Feeney closed the gap to 19 and is on 638, from Payne (569) and Cam Waters (Tickford Racing, 544). Wood has moved up to fifth place on 523 ahead of De Pasquale on 465.

With the cancellation of Sunday’s program, the scheduled Race 10 of the championship will now be undertaken next Friday, when the Supercars make their first appearance at Ruapuna Motorsport Park, near Christchurch. After the 120km race the maiden race weekend on the South Island will continue with two races on Saturday and one, over 200km, on Sunday.

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– The Autosport.com Team