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)
100 laps to go
Kostecki leads by just under five seconds from Whincup.
Driver changes underway
Brodie Kostecki is back in the No.1, and Will Brown has jumped back into his Camaro too.
Scott Pye said the No.87 is in “no man’s land” while saving fuel.
“Long old stint, I was just cruising around,” he said after handing over to Brown.
Jack LeBrocq, Anton De Pasquale, Matt Payne and Will Davison are among the other full-timers driving again.
Jamie Whincup has stayed in the No.88 Camaro.
Wildcard in the wars
Brad Vaughan, who took over from Matt Chahda a few laps ago, turned in on Chaz Mostert at Forrest’s Elbow while being lapped.
The Camaro lost its entire front and is now parked up in the garage to see if it can be repaired.
Wildcard finds the gravel
Matt Chahda has had a spin.
He’s now 26th and last, with Reynolds moving up to 25th as he tries to hang on with that flat spot.
Up front Stanaway is still holding off Waters, and Kostecki is simply stretching his legs out front.
“It’s just a Sunday drive,” Erebus told Riana Crehan in the garage.
Chahda has just had another off, this time missing his brake marker at turn one and going deep.
He kept out of the wall, luckily, and Crompton is wondering whether these two are a sign something is wrong with the car.
Heartbreak as driver’s home burns down
Neil Crompton has just delivered a devastating update on Brad Jones Racing co-driver Declan Fraser during his grid walk just minutes before the start of the Bathurst 1000.
The 24-year-old, driving with Andre Heimgartner, will race today despite learning his house burnt down on Saturday.
“When (Heimgartner) was out there doing his Top-10 Shootout, (Fraser’s) house burnt down,” Crompton says.
“The clothes that he’s got, in other words that racesuit and the rest of his gear, is all he’s got.
“That’s a pretty tough deal when you’re going into a Bathurst 1000.”
Crompton added later: “All of his trophies are gone, he’s asked how we might be able to be in a position to buy or replicate them. He hasn’t even got clothes.”
Tap the link below to read more on the fire.
