Will Brown has defeated Chaz Mostert in a tense conclusion to the Thrifty Bathurst 500, with the Red Bull Ampol Racing recruit claiming the championship lead.
Brown, in his first Supercars event as a Triple Eight driver, jumped Mostert in the second round of stops, and held off the Walkinshaw Andretti United star in the run home.
The Queenslander claimed the points lead from teammate and Saturday winner Broc Feeney, who came home third after copping a penalty over a first-lap clash with James Golding.
Thomas Randle was an impressive fourth in the #55 Castrol Ford, with Tickford Racing teammate Cam Waters only 16th, a day after finishing 22nd.
Brown will arrive at the next round in Melbourne nine points ahead of Feeney, with Mostert 21 points behind in third.
“Yeah, it means a lot, first round with the new team. To get a win, to get a pole position this weekend, absolutely stoked,” 25-year-old Brown said.
“So, thanks to everyone at Red Bull Ampol Racing. I’m absolutely knackered. It was pretty hard out there.
“I had Chaz just pushing me along. I was thinking, can he p*ss off? But, he wouldn’t.
“I thought he is gonna have a lunge at me somewhere and he is a hard racer, so just trying to keep a bit ahead. But God, he is quick down the hill, early days.
“It’s a long year ahead. All these guys are driving great. So, we’ll see where we end up.”
Mostert (#25 Mobil 1 Optus Ford) rounded Feeney up off the line, with Golding (#31 PremiAir Nulon Chevrolet) moving ahead of the #88 Red Bull Ampol Camaro.
Behind them, a mid-pack clash sent Cameron Hill (#4 Tyrepower Chevrolet) into a spin before the field reached Hell Corner. Hill picked up significant damage and was forced into the lane, while James Courtney (#7 Snowy River Caravans Ford) was forced to take evasive action on the grass.
With Mostert streaking away, Feeney made a lunge on Golding at The Chase, only to send the #31 PremiAir Nulon Chevrolet down to eighth. On lap 5, Race Control notified that Feeney had been awarded a five-second penalty.
Brown caught Mostert and brought Feeney into play, before Mostert’s lead over Brown breached one second on lap 7.
Down the order, there was more pain for the rookies, with Ryan Wood (#2 Mobil 1 Truck Assist Ford) and Aaron Love (#3 CoolDrive Ford) both forced in after picking up damage in separate incidents.
Feeney followed Mostert in and served his penalty, with Triple Eight bringing Brown in on the following lap. After hounding the #25 Ford early on, the Triple Eight Camaros were seemingly unable to keep pace with Mostert, who was rapid across the top of the Mountain.
By the time Mostert cycled back to the lead on lap 18, the #25 Ford was nearly six seconds ahead of Brown, who was 1.3s ahead of Feeney. Randle was five seconds down, with David Reynolds (#20 TRADIE Beer Chevrolet), Matt Payne (#19 Penrite Ford), Jack Le Brocq (#9 TFH Hire Services Chevrolet), Golding and Nick Percat (#10 Bendix Chevrolet) completing the top 10.
Golding was first of the top 10 runners to come in for his second stop, and set about a rapid pace. All the while, Brown slashed Mostert’s lead from five seconds to 3.6s by lap 24, with Feeney still 1.4s adrift in third.
By the time Reynolds and Le Brocq came in on lap 25, Brown had cut Mostert’s lead to 3.1s. Randle, meanwhile, had fallen 15 seconds behind Feeney, and was followed into the lane by Payne on lap 26.
Triple Eight brought Feeney in on lap 28, with Brown just 2.3s behind Mostert. Mostert locked up at The Chase right before he was brought into the lane, with Brown following the WAU Mustang.
Mostert was compromised by the right-front, and Brown jumped the #25 Ford. On the rejoin, Brown led Mostert by less than a second, with Feeney 5.3s behind.
It set up a thrilling 10-lap run to the end between Brown and Mostert, with the pit cycle complete on lap 30. However, Mostert — try as he might — was unable to keep pace with Brown, who won by 1.5535s.
Randle, Golding, Reynolds, Payne, Le Brocq, Percat, and Will Davison (#17 Shell V-Power Ford) rounded out the top 10, with Wood the only driver not to be classified.
The 2024 Repco Supercars Championship will resume on the streets of Albert Park with the Melbourne SuperSprint on March 21-24.
