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 after which lowered to someday because of the impending arrival of Cyclone Vaianu on New Zealand’s North Island, Kostecki gained the opening race and Ryan Wooden the second for Walkinshaw TWG.
The latter end result was not with out its controversy, with Wooden’s team-mate Chaz Mostest taking the lead after he was delayed in his second pitstop. For some time the prospect of workforce orders was contemplated earlier than the present champion advised the workforce on the radio that “Woody is quicker”, made room and allowed the younger Kiwi by means of to his first win on house soil.
Then a charging Broc Feeney discovered a well past Mostert in a bodily battle, after the Triple Eight Ford driver was delayed in his personal pitstop when he was pressured to attend for the incoming Grove Racing Ford of Kai Alen.
“I’m so extremely happy with our workforce, what they’ve achieved with this lovely automotive,” stated Wooden after a 3.0363s win.
“To do it at house in entrance of so many family and friends is unimaginable as properly. The final two laps have been fairly emotional.
“I really feel like a little bit of an fool now. We had labored so onerous to maintain monitor place, however he managed that. Sorry to everybody in my workforce for listening to my whingeing!”
With the win, Toyota took victory in simply 9 races and ended a keep of two,884 days since a model apart from Ford or Common Motors gained a Supercars race.
“It’s particular for me,” stated Mostert, whose spouse is from New Zealand.
“I attempted my hardest to race Broc there however he was too quick. Woody was too quick, he drove an unbelievable race.”
Kostecki dominated the primary race, taking off from pole place and holding a problem from Feeney at arm’s size. However Feeney’s bid ended when his Triple Eight Ford misplaced engine energy on the midway level of the 37-lap race, dropping him to sixth.
Brodie Kostecki, Dick Johnson Racing
Photograph by: Edge Photographics
When Kostecki make his obligatory pitstop he solely simply made it out in entrance of Will Brown, who had pitted earlier, earlier than he rebuilt his lead, which ballooned to 16.1855s on the finish of the race.
Wooden took a powerful third forward of a recovering Feeney, Matt Payne (Grove Racing Ford) and James Golding (Blanchard Racing Group Ford).
For Feeney, Race 1 represented a misplaced end result. Within the second contest he was chasing the leaders till, when he made his first pitstop, he needed to sit and wait till Kai Allen’s Grove Racing Ford drove into the pit bay in entrance of his. Feeney dropped two locations with the delay, earlier than regaining floor, solely then to slip out of third after his second cease, permitting Brown previous.
“We had an actual quick automotive then however a number of little issues didn’t go our method,” Feeney stated.
“We struggled loads this morning however the workforce turned the automotive round and turned it right into a rocket ship. I didn’t assume we’d have the tempo to catch these guys however we had good tyre life.”
Brown took fourth within the second race from Matt Payne and Kostecki, who didn’t get another technique, that noticed him run a really lengthy first stint, to work for him.
It was a troublesome day for Chevrolet followers. Within the qualifying classes there have been no Camaros within the high 10 on the primary grid and one on the second. That driver, Anton De Pasquale, was the main Camaro finisher within the first race in eighth and tenth within the second.
The outcomes imply that within the championship standings Kostecki will go to the following spherical because the sequence lead on 657 factors. Feeney closed the hole to 19 and is on 638, from Payne (569) and Cam Waters (Tickford Racing, 544). Wooden has moved as much as fifth place on 523 forward of De Pasquale on 465.
With the cancellation of Sunday’s program, the scheduled Race 10 of the championship will now be undertaken subsequent Friday, when the Supercars make their first look at Ruapuna Motorsport Park, close to Christchurch. After the 120km race the maiden race weekend on the South Island will proceed with two races on Saturday and one, over 200km, on Sunday.
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