Supercars 2024: Ford star Chaz Mostert has put title rivals on notice after taking out Sydney win
Chaz Mostert has sent a message to title rivals and the rest of the Supercars competition after notching up his third win of the season in Sydney, moving into second in the championship standings.
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It’s game on in the Supercars championship fight.
Ford star Chaz Mostert turned up the heat on his title rivals after completing back-to-back wins at the Sydney SuperNight on Sunday.
Backing up from his victory under lights on Saturday at Sydney Motorsport Park, Mostert fired a warning to championship leader Will Brown that he will be coming for him in the second half of the Supercars season.
In another commanding drive, the Walkinshaw Andretti United ace took his third win for the year to move into second place in the championship and eat even more into Brown’s lead at the top of the standings.
After hunting down Kiwi young gun Matt Payne on Saturday night, Mostert again produced some impressive late-race passing as his two pit-stop strategy got the job done against a group of challengers punting on one.
Mostert finished more than seven seconds ahead of second placed Cam Waters (Tickford Racing) and Brown (Triple Eight), who were both on one-stop strategies for the race.
Mostert’s victory gave Ford its fourth straight victory after the Blue Oval also swept the last round in Townsville and he thanked his team for delivering him a “special” car.
“It’s just a credit to the whole Walkinshaw Andretti United crew, we rolled out a pretty good car and we kept chipping away at it,” Mostert said.
“Qualy we were there or thereabouts this weekend, but the race car was something pretty special around here.
“Today the car was even better again …. I’m just glad to bring it home for the whole team, it’s been a massive effort.
“Just super proud of everyone involved at Walkinshaw Andretti United. I only do this so I can get champagne and trophies and shoeys.”
The dual Bathurst 1000 champion, who celebrated his win with a series of epic burnouts, has now closed to within 105 points of Brown.
But Mostert said there was still a “lot to pay out” in the championship.
“We are just doing what we’re doing as a team at the moment and that is being aggressive and trying to work on our weaknesses and keep our strengths,” Mostert said.
“This weekend was a lot of fun … from Saturday to Sunday for us we just went from strength to strength and that’s really rewarding.
“That’s probably more rewarding than thinking about the championship at the moment.
“We’ll just keep that mentality … there is still a lot to play out this year.”
Mostert had earlier missed out on pole position by just 0.0007sec in the top-10 shootout to Will Davison, who managed to hold off the WAU star through the first two turns in a thrilling tussle off the start line.
But Davison could only keep a surging Mostert at bay for so long and was overtaken for the lead at turn five on the opening lap.
Mostert and Davison both pitted for their first stop on lap 13, settling on a two-stop strategy, but it soon emerged a group of drivers including Waters and Brown were backing a one-stop play.
Mostert re-joined the field in eighth place after he pitted for his second stop on lap 32, but it didn’t take him long to pick off the drivers in front.
Eight laps later he had mowed down everyone ahead of him, passing Waters for the lead with 11 laps to go.
“It’s very good to get back on the horse today and get a podium,” said Waters, who missed out on the podium on Saturday night after starting the race on pole.
“We knew our car wasn’t fast enough (Saturday night) and our car was a lot better today in the race, tyre life was probably its strength, but nowhere near quick enough compared to Chazzy.
“Today was just about consolidating and getting a podium and a bag of points.”
Brown finished the weekend with a sixth and a podium and was happy to emerge from the round with a bank of points.
While Brown said it was hard not to look at the driver standings, he stressed there was still a long way to go in the title race.
“That’s what we had to do this weekend (bank points). Obviously Chaz was so fast and obviously he is doing a fantastic job in the championship,” Brown said.
“We need to bank points when we are not as strong. So Townsville was disappointing in the second race, but we banked points in the first race coming back.
“I felt like we did the same today, so overall I was pretty happy to get a podium today.
“It’s hard not to look at it (the championship) … but it is still a long way to go, we’ve got Sandown and we’ve got Bathurst and you add co-drivers into that and you add long races.
Chaz makes it two from two in Sydney!#RepcoSC#Supercarspic.twitter.com/VMuyBW80kq
— Supercars (@supercars) July 21, 2024
“I think you’ve just got to be in it when it comes to Sandown and Bathurst, so Broc is still there, Chaz is still there, obviously Cam is a little way back, but it is still very open going into the back half of the year.”
Payne backed up from his Saturday night podium to finish fourth, while DJR’s Anton De Pasquale and Davison finished fifth and sixth.
Losing his spot in the championship standings to Mostert, it was a tough day for Feeney, who finished 11th.
The Supercars field now has almost a month-long mid-season break before the next round at Symmons Plains for the Tasmania SuperSprint.
Davison winds clock back to grab pole position by 0.0007 seconds
Dick Johnson Racing veteran Will Davison has seized his first pole position in two years after edging out Chaz Mostert by a ridiculously narrow margin to put his Ford at the front of the grid for Sunday’s final leg of the Sydney SuperNight.
After finishing just off the podium in Saturday night’s first race at Sydney Motorsport Park, Davison took his first pole of the Gen 3 era - and his first since Pukekohe in 2022 - with a sizzling top-10 shootout lap ahead of Sunday’s 51-lap race.
In a painfully tight shootout margin, Davison’s 1:29.918 lap was just 0.0007sec faster than Saturday race winner Mostert’s time.
It was another all Ford front row with Davison and Mostert (Walkinshaw Andretti United) as Nick Percat (Matt Stone Racing), Cam Waters (Tickford Racing) and DJR’s Anton De Pasquale rounded out the top-five.
Davison, who was fourth on Saturday, will now be targeting his first race win since that same race in Pukekohe two years ago.
“They are all tight margins these days,” Davison said.
“I was really proud of that one, I just haven’t been nailing my shootout laps. I obviously wanted to be quick then, but I just wanted to get the most out of myself like I felt I did in qualifying.
“I was proud of that effort and the car came in beautiful, so I’ve really got to thank all the team.
“Haven’t had a pole since ‘22, my first in Gen3 and I won’t lie, it feels really good, the timing is really good for me.”
0.0007. That's the margin for Pole on Sunday in Sydney 🤯
— Supercars (@supercars) July 21, 2024
Will Davison takes his first @BoostAus Pole since Pukekohe, 2022! #RepcoSC#Supercarspic.twitter.com/oyy7i9SbBz
Triple Eight’s championship leader Will Brown, PremiAir Racing duo Tim Slade and James Golding, WAU rookie Ryan Wood and Team 18’s David Reynolds complete the top 10.
Two drivers that finished on the podium in Saturday night’s race - Grove Racing young gun Matt Payne and Tickford’s Thomas Randle - both missed the top-10 shootout.
Payne will start from 11th and Randle from 18th.
Triple Eight young gun Broc Feeney, who now has Mostert breathing down his neck in the championship standings, also missed the top 10 and will start 16th.
MOSTERT’S NIGHT OUT
Chaz Mostert stepped up his Supercars championship fight after claiming his second victory of the year to continue a mid-season hot streak for Ford in a dominant night for the Blue Oval under lights at the Sydney SuperNight.
Backing up from a pair of podiums at the Townsville 500, Mostert edged closer to the Triple Eight’s series front runners Will Brown and Broc Feeney after putting Ford on the top of the podium for the fifth time in seven races.
The Walkinshaw Andretti United star led home an all-Ford podium to finish ahead of Matt Payne, who he hunted down at the end of the race after the Kiwi young gun punted on a one-stop strategy with the bulk of the field on two.
Thomas Randle - who had earlier narrowly missed out on pole position to his teammate Cam Waters in a front row lockout for Tickford Racing - grabbed third place, while Dick Johnson Racing pair Will Davison and Anton De Pasquale completed the Ford top-five.
Mostert had stolen the lead in the 51-lap race after he undercut Randle on their first pit stop on lap 17, just a handful of laps after an attacking pass on Waters.
But the WAU star had to chase down last-start winner Payne following his second pit stop, making up a 12-second gap and getting past the Grove Racing driver with four laps to spare.
The result strengthened Mostert’s title chase, closing the gap on series leader Brown and second-placed Feeney in the championship standings as the Triple Eight pair both finished outside the top five.
The two-time Bathurst 1000 champion made up 48 points on Brown and now trails by just 126 points, and is only 30 points behind Feeney.
Crossing the finish line against the backdrop of fireworks, Mostert thanked his team for delivering him a “super fast” car.
“It’s a real slog around here for 50-odd laps, but the car was really good,” Mostert said.
“We probably had a few different strengths and weaknesses with the guys around me in the first couple of stints, so the guys have worked pretty hard this weekend.
“I was thinking when they told me Matty Payne was right up the right, ‘I know the pace the car can do, but I just hope that his (tyre) deg is a little bit (worse) than the pace he was doing’.
“He was probably the man of the match today looking after his tyres, but our team was the man of the match for having a super fast car today.
“We had to work for it at the start in those stints and build gaps, but it was a lot of fun.”
The WAU cars have looked strong since rolling out of the truck in Sydney with Mostert’s rookie teammate Ryan Wood setting the pace in Friday practice.
Mostert’s chief title rivals Brown and Feeney both finished off the pace in sixth and ninth respectively, but the WAU star said he was not yet thinking about the championship.
A dual winner of the biggest race of the year at Mount Panorama, Mostert is still chasing his first Supercars title.
“I just want to get some champagne and that trophy and celebrate with the team and we’ll worry about that stuff later,” Mostert said.
Payne admitted his team had initially set out to do a two-stop strategy, but changed plans once they assessed his car’s pace.
He thanked his team for backing themselves with the bold call, saying they had some “balls”.
“We set out to do a two (stop) and then once we saw our pace drop in the first stint, we knew we just needed to keep going,” Payne said.
“They came over the radio and said we’re thinking about one and I said, ‘Damn, you’ve got some balls’, but I was along for the ride.
“I trusted them the whole way and they did a fantastic job. If we were on a two-stop, we would not have finished this high up. So credit due, the team did an awesome job today.
“I was really proud of them to back themselves and make that decision.
“I saw his blue lights and I could see the gap on my dash coming down so I knew that it was going to be touch and go from the start of the stint and I knew he was going to get me with about three or four laps to go … but I knew out battle was with Thomas at the end there.”
Randle was chasing the first win of his Supercars career after his impressive performance in the top-10 shootout and getting the jump on Waters off the start line.
“I think second was the ultimate we could have got tonight, but still great to get a podium for the team,” Randle said.
“I sucked here last year, so awesome to repay the whole team.”
WATERS EARNS FIFTH POLE
Cam Waters has continued his hot qualifying pace to secure pole position for Saturday night’s opening race at the Sydney SuperNight in a front row lockout for Tickford Racing.
Waters edged out his teammate Thomas Randle by just 0.01sec to claim his fifth pole position for the year - the most of any driver in the Supercars field - in a blistering top-10 shootout lap.
Topping a quartet of Fords in the shootout, Waters put his Monster Mustang in prime position to attack his third race win of the year with his 1:29.86 lap.
The Tickford ace, who won the opening leg of the Townsville 500 last round, and Randle will start ahead of fellow Fords Chaz Mostert (Walkinshaw Andretti United) and Anton De Pasquale (Dick Johnson Racing).
Triple Eight young gun Broc Feeney will start from fifth, while Will Davison (DJR), Nick Percat (Matt Stone Racing), series leader Will Brown (Triple Eight), David Reynolds (Team 18) and last-start winner Matt Payne (Grove Racing) completed the top 10.
Waters was now hoping he could convert from pole in the 51-lap race under lights at Sydney Motorsport Park.
“The car is so nice to drive, it is super pacey on a green tyre,” Waters said.
“Tom did an awesome job as well, that lap was pretty hard to beat as well.
“It’s awesome to have both Tickford cars up there.
“The boys and girls at Tickford have done an amazing job to give me a fast car that allows me to go and do my job and maximise it. It’s awesome to get another Boost pole, I’m going after it this year.
“Hopefully in the race we’ve got good tyre life like we did in Townsville and we can convert.”
The sixth car out in the shootout, Randle had appeared to be on track for his second career pole with the fastest lap against his name, but knew his teammate would be hunting him down.
“If anyone was going to get me, I knew it was going to be Cam,” Randle said.
“That was bloody tight, there was nothing in it.
“He was stronger than me in the middle sector and I had him on the last sector, but 0.01, I was pissed off, but I’m happy.
“I wish that I had the pole, but Tickford front row lockout, it’s awesome for the team.”
Grove young gun Payne fell to the back of the top-10 after running off the track as he pushed hard on the second last corner of his shootout lap.
ROOKIE MAKING HIS MARK
New Zealand rookie Ryan Wood underlined his rising star when he upstaged the series frontrunners to shine in the first session under lights at the Sydney SuperNight on Friday.
As his fellow Kiwi and mentor Greg Murphy watched on from the Walkinshaw Andretti United garage, Wood was the pacesetter in the opening 90-minute practice session at Sydney Motorsport Park.
The 20-year-old topped the field with his 1:30.58 lap late in the session to put two WAU Fords in the top three with his teammate Chaz Mostert third fastest.
In his 150th round in Supercars, Matt Stone Racing veteran Nick Percat was second in the session just weeks after signing a new long-term deal with the Camaro squad.
But it was Wood’s effort which commanded attention just half a year into his debut season.
“It was obviously pretty cool, the cars were pretty dialled in from lap one of that session,” Wood said after practice.
“I’m feeling pretty confident going into (Saturday), it’s a nice way to end tonight, we have been hanging around for a while to drive the race cars and it’s nice to come out pretty strong.
“To be honest my eyes took about 20 minutes to adjust fully (to the dark) and then I did my race run and started to really figure out what it took and the concentration is pretty high.
“But really happy and we’ll press on for the rest of the weekend.
“We did a few things in that session and the car felt really strong over a race run and went out there and pushed pretty hard out of the gate.
“I think it is my first time in the top-10 in a practice session, which is nice to go to sleep and know that I’ve got a bit of space under my belt.”
Mostert will be hoping he can build on his Friday form to continue his pursuit of the series leading Triple Eight pair Will Brown and Broc Feeney in the championship race.
The two-time Bathurst winner, who claimed a pair of podiums last round in Townsville, was encouraged by his practice pace.
“That was so long, I feel like I have just done a race run,” said Mostert, who sits third in the Supercars standings.
“We have got a lot of data to go through, we did a lot of small stuff that made the car feel quite big around here.
“It’s nice to be at the pointy end, the young Kiwi is obviously super quick, but it’s super tight and a lot of guys probably didn’t get their run at the end, just cold temps really struggled to get the tyres in.
“Racing under lights is always cool. Tomorrow night is going to be exciting.”
After his worst result of the year last start in Townsville, championship leader Will Brown was fourth fastest in practice as Percat’s MSR teammate Cam Hill rounded out the top five.
Brown finished last in the Townsville second leg after he was unable to recover from an opening lap tangle with David Reynolds.
He holds a 78-point lead in the Supercars championship over his teammate Feeney, who was 10th in practice.
Last-start winner Matt Payne (Grove Racing) was 15th after struggling with a mechanical issue early in the session.
Percat said his team had delivered him a strong car for the start of his milestone round.
“Credit to the MSR boys, they went over this car top to bottom trying to find a little bit of speed from Townsville and we found that and we fixed it and it’s back to feeling really good,” Percat said.
“Around here it is all (about) the car and the balance …. as long as it has a good balance here you will be at the front.”
The Supercars field will race the first of two 51-lap races under lights at Sydney Motorsport Park on Saturday night.
‘Get off my a**e’: Kiwi flicks switch to chase title dream
He is the super-chilled Kiwi who used to spurn workouts, but Ford young gun Matt Payne has “got off his arse” to become a training convert in his quest to propel himself to the top in the Supercars championship.
A last-start winner at the Townsville 500 earlier this month, Payne is one of the brightest young talents on the Supercars grid and has pushed himself into the top five of this year’s championship battle in his sophomore campaign for Grove Racing.
The 21-year-old underlined his credentials as rising star with an impressive maiden victory on the streets of Adelaide at the end of last season and has backed up with three podiums this year.
But Payne is not content with his fifth place in the standings and wants to be challenging the championship frontrunners.
If he can’t run them down this year, Payne is confident he can be in the title mix in 2025.
“I was really pushing for that this year, but it sort of slumped over a little bit when we weren’t fast for a couple of rounds,” Payne said ahead of this weekend’s Sydney SuperNight.
“So I think being where we are now is not too bad, I would like to stay with the front four and maybe jump a couple of them if I can if they don’t have very good results.
“But definitely next year and the years to come, we’ll be looking for that No.1.”
Payne wasted no time locking in his long-term future at Grove with a contract extension just a week after his first Supercars win last year.
He said he was confident in the growth of the Ford squad and that it could be one of the “top teams” for years to come.
“It was going really well last year and we were working really well together and the team’s got a really bright future and they’re working towards that longer program,” Payne said.
“So I was very confident in signing an extension to know that they’re going to keep pushing for the future and they’re going to be one of the top teams in this category for the future years to come.
“We’ve already got a couple of wins under our belt, we just need to make sure we’re a lot more consistent on weekends.
“We just need to try and work out what’s required for each track to go fast and I think when we execute the right way, there’s no reason why we can’t be winning consistently.”
Off track, Payne is now leaving nothing to chance.
Until recently, Payne admitted he had not been much of a fan of training beyond his work in the simulator, but is now investing the time in preparing his body to race.
He credited his sister, Emma, a triathlete in New Zealand, as being a major influence in his bid to get himself in the “best shape” he can be.
“If you’d asked me probably a year ago, I probably would have said that (I wasn’t keen on training),” Payne said.
“But I’ve taken a bit of a turnaround in the last sort of three months and I’ve actually been training really hard and I’ve actually been really enjoying it.
“It’s been a bit of a switch, which is nice. I know being fit physically and mentally is an important part about the sport, so I don’t want to leave anything on the table.
“It’s obviously something we have to keep up, so it’s been good doing it the last few months and I think I’ll definitely carry on and try and be in the best shape I can be.
“(My sister) is super fit, she used to be a PT and she has been a big influence on me. She trains all the time and is very athletic and it is a bit of an inspiration for me to look at her and see what she is doing and get off my arse and do it myself.”
One of five New Zealand drivers in this year’s Supercars field, Payne has had plenty of Kiwi inspiration on his journey to Supercars, idolising Greg Murphy and, more recently, he was buoyed by the success of Scott McLaughlin and Shane van Gisbergen.
“Those guys were all pretty inspirational for me,” Payne said.
Payne is already looking ahead to the endurance season when he will partner five-time Bathurst 1000 champion Garth Tander.
“It’s very cool to be doing it with Garth this year, he’s obviously very experienced,” Payne said.
“It’s gonna be awesome. I think he’s gonna do very well and he always knows what to do in certain situations.”
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