Brodie Kostecki has taken back the lead of the Repco Supercars Championship, securing victory in an action packed Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight.
In front of a huge crowd and plenty of fireworks at Sydney Motorsport Park, Kostecki took the chequered flag first after dominating throughout the 51 lap affair.
Kostecki’s teammate Will Brown still sits in second on the standings, after the Camaro pilot secured a provisional third place and a double podium for the Erebus team.
The battles were certainly heated throughout the race, with the biggest of them taking place on lap 49 between Brown, Chaz Mostert, Cameron Waters and Shane van Gisbergen.
The quartet fought hard in an enjoyable exchange, with Mostert ultimately securing second on track – a position he’d hold all the way through to the flag – while Waters would sit third heading into the final stages.
Brown and van Gisbergen enjoyed their own intense last lap battle, as van Gisbergen looked like taking the final spot on the podium after starting the night in 20th, before a five-second penalty for car 97 for a driving infringement in that final lap battle which would see him demoted from P3 to seventh.
Waters meanwhile received a five-second time penalty of his own for an unsafe release during the second round of pit stops. Waters would end the race in fifth once the penalty was applied and classifications finalised.
Earlier in the evening, Kostecki and Brown enjoyed the perfect start to the race – the pair jumping in to first and second respectively by the time the field arrived at turn one.
Pole-sitter Andre Heimgartner lost four spots on the opening lap – a sluggish start seeing him fall down the field. His night didn’t get any better, a tough outing and ultimately a 14th place finish despite his strong qualifying pace.
Across the field, a number of teams looked to split their race strategies, before a safety car was deployed about 35 laps into the race meant those initially on a one stop strategy could take a second stop without losing a significant amount of time before the final stages of the race unfolded.
Post-race, Kostecki was understandably thrilled to return to the winner’s circle.
“I can’t believe how fast the car was,” Kostecki said.
“There’s still a few things to work on but it was an unreal night and great to see so many people here at Sydney staying right to the finish.
“This Coca-Cola Camaro is just an absolute rocket so a big thank you to the whole crew.”
Supercars returns on Sunday with one 15 minute qualifying session and a shorter 36 lap race to round out the weekend, with lights out at 3.15pm AEST.