SYDNEY (AP) — Brodie Kostecki led from pole position and for over six hours and 161 laps Sunday to win Australia’s premier motor race the Bathurst 1000 for the first time.
Kostecki and co-driver Todd Hazelwood became the first pole-sitters since 2021 to win the race, holding out Broc Feeney and Jamie Winchup by just over a second in one of the fastest ever editions of the race. Will Brown and Scott Pye were third as Chevrolets filled the first three placings.
Cam Waters and James Moffatt were the first Ford Mustang home in fourth.
Kostecki was runner-up in the race last year and led comfortably Sunday until the first intervention of the safety car when Matt Payne hit the wall on the 132nd lap.
Kostecki and Feeney pitted for gas and tires and when the race resumed, it was as a 27 lap sprint to the finish. There was less than a second between the leading cars as they traded fastest laps until Kostecki began to edge away near the end, giving Hazlewood his first Supercars win.
“I can’t believe it,” Kostecki said. Hazlewood “did a great job all weekend. I knew we had a fast car and we tuned it up well for the end there.”
___
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
