Brodie Kostecki wins ‘fairytale’ Bathurst 1000 with Todd Hazelwood after bouncing back from difficult year
The Bathurst 1000 has been run and won by reigning Supercars champion Brodie Kostecki and his Erebus co-driver Todd Hazelwood.
Recap all the action below.
Chequered flag flies!
Brodie Kostecki and Todd Hazelwood are Bathurst 1000 champions!
“The politics, the drama, the trauma of the commencement of the 2024 season for him well and truly behind him,” Neil Crompton said.
“Brodie Kostecki has shaken off the awkward start to the year to earn the biggest win of his career. He is the king of the mountain!”
It’s redemption for Kostecki after finishing runner-up 12 months ago in a year he won the Supercars title.
But that feels like a lifetime ago.
Kostecki, unwell at the start of the weekend, was not even supposed to be here, sitting out the first two rounds this year and widely expected to never again race for Erebus.
Yet he returned for the third round and has battled for success, finishing on the podium just once. And here is - about to lift the Peter Brock Trophy.
“In an extraordinary set of circumstances to start the 2024 Supercars championship, he lands himself in this car at a time - with the great effort today by Todd Hazelwood to position this car absolutely, with just over four laps remaining, in a position to win Australia’s biggest race,” Mark Skaife said as the race came to a close.
“It’s a fairytale for Brodie Kostecki. He’s been very fast and very committed. We know how much effort he puts in. But to get all this together, the complexity of winning a race like this is extraordinary, isn’t it?
“You think about the team effort. The men and women behind the scenes there at Erebus, and the complete preparation and professional protocols that you have to put in place to get a result like this is one of the toughest tests in sport.”
Hazelwood hasn’t previously come close to a victory in his time at Bathurst, finishing in the top 10 just once.
But his decision to join the Supercars champions as a co-driver has paid off.
Today’s triumph was his first ever win in Supercars and just his second podium.
Crucial laps at the start of the year, filling in for Kostecki at the rare Bathurst opener, no doubt played its part today.
“Unbelievable. I think I’m hallucinating. I’m just absolutely speechless,” Hazelwood said.
“Bush (Kostecki), he’s an absolute legend. We’ve been mates since day one. To do this together with him, absolute rocket ship of a car, thanks to everyone, it’s been a tough year. When you win Bathurst it makes up for everything.”
Bathurst top 10
1. Brodie Kostecki/Todd Hazelwood (Erebus Motorsport)
2. Broc Feeney/Jamie Whincup (Triple Eight Race Engineering)
3. Will Brown/Scott Pye (Triple Eight)
4. Cam Waters/James Moffat (Tickford Racing)
5. Chaz Mostert/Lee Holdsworth (Walkinshaw Andretti United)
6. James Golding/David Russell (PremiAir Nulon Racing)
7. Anton De Pasquale/Tony D’Alberto (Dick Johnson Racing)
8. Jack Le Brocq/Jayden Ojeda (Erebus)
9. Richie Stanaway/Dale Wood (Grove Racing)
10. Cam Hill/Cam Crick (Matt Stone Racing)
Triple Eight in the mix
Whincup says he is hurting after his double stint.
“When you’re not a main driver at the end of it you feel like you’ve been bashed, I’m sore all over,” he says.
The Triple Eight boss says he recommended some changes that could be rolled back if Feeney isn’t happy.
“Hopefully I’ve helped the car and made it quicker but time will tell,” Whincup says.
Asked about the long run to lap 94 without a safety car, he says he’d be more than happy for an entirely green race.
“Who knows but I hope so,” he says.
“I’m a motorsport enthusiast so I’d rather go green all the way, no artificials. But something’s going to come up.”
Word of warning
Nick Percat has copped a mechanical black flag after his No.10 Camaro’s door opened out on track.
“That’s one of those annoying things that can happen. Matt Stone will be cursing that one,” Crompton says.
Percat pitted and the door flung open one more time when he stopped into his box.
Skaife reckons the door simply never latched after their last pit stop, saving MSR from having to tape it shut.
But replays have since showed it may have popped open after Percat rode a kerb.
“They’d be desperately in need now of a safety car to try and get that time loss back from being in pit lane unexpectedly,” Crompton says.
Skaife says what we’re all thinking: “This whole race is desperately in need of a safety car right now.”
Crompton replies: “True that.”
Team effort
Another driver change for the No.1
Kostecki out, Hazelwood in.
They held a 20-second lead over the No.88, which has also pitted with Feeney taking over from Whincup.
It’s time for Feeney to make up ground now before Kostecki jumps in again later.
We’re on for a race record
Brake change for the No.19 Mustang
Matt Payne is in from a top-10 spot and rejoins 16th with Garth Tander at the wheel.
“Pretty good stop,” Skaife says.
Championship implications
We’re at the halfway point now, and we’ve still had zero safety cars.
So let’s take a look at how the leaderboard as it stands would affect the title race.
Mostert would be the big loser out of this result, with Holdsworth and the No.25 down in 10th - well behind championship leader Brown (third) and Feeney (second, with Whincup at the wheel).
Mostert would drop down to third in the standings and nearly a full 300 points behind Brown as a result, with just 600 on offer for the rest of the season.
Bumps and bruises
The No.118 wildcard is back out there with Matt Chahda at the wheel... and they’re back having some hairy moments around other drivers.
Moffat had to pull out quickly to avoid rear-ending Chahda, who lifted at the worst possible time, and then Holdsworth made contact as he passed Chahda into the corner.
“What is going on there?” Skaife says.
As replays rolled, Crompton realised the Moffat-Chahda incident “looked bad” from all angles.
Then Skaife argued Holdsworth moved over on Chahda “on purpose” in frustration.
A driver could then be heard raging over the radio: “That’s an absolute disgrace.”
We should’ve seen it coming
It’s been a rough year for Brodie Kostecki.
Having sat out the first two rounds of the season, his championship defence was over before he could even race.
He’s since had just one podium and only three more top-10 finishes.
The No.1 Camaro didn’t even reach the chequered flag at Sandown.
But what better way to put all that to bed than with a top showing at Bathurst?
He is firing out front, now 10 seconds clear of Whincup.
Moffat’s near miss
Last year Moffat crashed at the Dipper.
And this year he’s had a lucky escape after taking the escape road at Skyline.
The No.6 Mustang still had a lot of pace heading down towards Forrest’s Elbow but he managed to keep it out of the wall.
