Chaz Mostert and Lee Holdsworth overcame a delaminated tyre, rogue echidna and six safety cars to claim a stunning Bathurst 1000 victory. Re-live all action from Mount Panorama.
Chaz Mostert defied the memory of the Mount Panorama crash that almost killed him, a blown tyre and a rampaging Shane van Gisbergen to become a two-time Bathurst champion.
In a legend-making moment that came just six years after he narrowly survived a horrifying 50G crash, Mostert erased the memory of his darkest day with the drive of his life.
Overcoming six lead erasing safety cars – one of them caused by a track invading echidna – the Walkinshaw Andretti United blasted his way into V8 folklore with an unstoppable drive.
“I am now a two-time champion and it feels awesome,” Mostert said.
“And it is full credit to my team because we had the fastest car all weekend.”
Also announcing himself and his team as a reborn force, Mostert overcame a series of setbacks headlined by a blown tyre to win another Bathurst 1000 classic.
Mostert had forced half the field off the lead lap when the blown tyre cost him 11 places.
“It was a pretty tough race,” Molstert said.
“I thought it was going to be another bad day when I blew that tyre. I had to change my driving style after I stopped because I was worried about blowing another one. I tried to protect them by not attacking the kerbs and that wasn’t easy to do when I was still trying to extract pace from the car.”
Strapped into a WAU rocketship, Mostert was forced to deal with four late safety cars when the race became an all out war.
“I didn’t mind all the safety cars because my car was really fast,” Mostert said.
“It felt great all day and I was able to give it full beans on the restarts.”
“It was pretty tough when I had van Gisbergen breathing down my neck,” Mostert said.
The former Ford driver also conquered his mental demons by bravely conquering the track that almost ended his career.
Mostert suffered a broken femur, wrist and knee injuries in a horror 2015 crash, which registered 50G.
“I started hearing all these funny noises in my head when I got ten laps to go," Mostert said.
"I just had to ignore them and I managed to stay in front.”
Flawlessly backing up Mostert with inch perfect stints, WAU co-driver Lee Holdsworth finally fulfilled his lifelong dream of becoming a Bathurst champion.
Holdsworth was undisputedly the best performing co-drive on the grid in a performance which suggests he should still be driving full-time.
“It has been a dream this week,” Holdsworth said.
“It isn’t all going to sink in for a long time. It was just a perfect week. Everything went to plan and we rolled out with such a quick car. This team is so amazing. This has been a long time coming for me and I am just so stoked to get it. It is going to be a hell of a celebration.”
The emphatic victory announced the return of WAU as a force with the sleeping giant awakening to win another Bathurst crown.
EDDIE THE ECHIDNA A BATHURST FIRST
After 48 Bathurst 1000 campaigns, Mount Panorama legend Dick Johnson thought he had seen it all.
And then an echidna burrowed through a crack in a concrete wall, waddled onto the track, and stopped Australia’s greatest car race.
In literally a show-stopping Bathurst 1000 moment that grabbed global attention, Supercars drivers were forced to swerve at high speed to avoid hitting “Eddie” the echidna when the spike-laden creature attempted to cross the race-track.
“I have never even seen an echidna in Bathurst let alone on the race-track,” Johnson said.
“That is certainly one to add the long list of freak racing stopping oddities.”
Johnson knows a thing or two about track intruders after a stray rock famously cost him what would have been his first Bathurst win in 1980.
“I have seen plenty of strange things on the track over the years,” Johnson said.
“I have seen kangaroos, plastic bags, stray tyres and of course that bloody rock. I really thought I had seen it all but I should have known better given that Bathurst is a race that throws up everything.”
In a Bathurst that had been incident free since a lap two safety car, the echidna forced officials to stop the race on lap 105.
Spotted five laps before, race stewards were hoping the mammal would safely remove itself from the race track but were forced to intervene when it waddled its way onto the road.
With the safety car deployed and a rescue crew on route, the echidna then decided to leave on its own accord after somehow managing to cross the road without being hit by the cars that were hurtling past at nearly 200km/h.
The stoppage ignited what had been a dull race when crashes and chaos followed the safety car restart.
“Maybe eddie the echidna wasn’t enjoying the race,” Johnson said.
“He might have decided to do the fans a favour and liven it all up.”
In another first for the race, an albino wallaby also made a surprise appearance near the track.
RE-LIVE ALL THE ACTION IN OUR BLOG BELOW
CHAZ MOSTERT ON HIS COMEBACK DRIVE
"A pretty tough race. When we did that tyre, I thought it would be a tough slog. Credit to the guys, this car has been speedy all weekend," he said.
"We started pole and we won the race. Every time you start on pole, you never think you will win it. Credit to this car. Credit to the team.
"I left it all out there."
Lee Holdsworth is near speechless after watching Mostert cross the finish line.
"I don't even know what to say, mate. Unbelievable!
Unbelievable! The team are just amazing."
Chaz Mostert and Lee Holdsworth are Bathurst winners!
And incredible race, a remarkable finish. And Chaz Mostert… just a terrific drive!
Mostert got to enjoy a victory lap, of sorts, after a stunning race. And for Holdsworth, it's a first Bathurst win after 17 years on the circuit.
You feel for Shane van Gisbergen – who could've forced a grandstand finish, but for a shockingly timed tyre issue.
One lap remaining. 6.2kms to go.
The crowd is willing Mostert home after what has been a mighty drive.
Two laps to go, and this one is all but in the books.
What an incredible comeback from Mostert and Lee Holdsworth, who looked to have their race hopes shattered by that tyre drama earlier today.
But they drove aggressive, and proved too dangerous in the fastest car on the track.
It will be Holden's 35th win in the Bathurst 1000. And what a memorable one at that.
4 laps to go.
It's safety first now for Chaz Mostert – he owns a 5 second lead and he just needs to get home safely here.
Cam Waters will push him for the next four laps, and Brodie Kostecki is holding onto a podium spot in third.
Could Whincup – a further second back – have one piece of magic to sneak his way into the top three?
Shane van Gisbergen's hopes of a podium finish have gone up in smoke!
He's going to need to pit, but he's limping there. He's slipped to ninth as he battles an issue with his right front which will bury the one-two battle up front.
A delaminated tyre – it was ripped to pieces after the pit – the cause of van Gisbergen's pain. He drops from second to 18th. That's brutal.
7 laps to go…
Chaz Mostert is determined to not give us a grandstand finish. The times he's hitting are just ridiculous. Van Gisbergen and Waters are also pulling out insane numbers, but neither can come close to touching Mostert whose lead continues to build.
He's leading by 4.599s.
Want to know what it's like behind the wheel in the Bathurst 1000?
This gives you a bit of an insight. And it's frightening.
What SVG's view looks like as he chases down @chazmozzie #Bathurst1000 pic.twitter.com/9Kw1AUZLhp
— 7Sport (@7Sport) December 5, 2021
Is there another twist in this battle?
Chaz Mostert is absolutely gunning for the finish line. He leads Shane van Gisbergen by 2.628s. Cameron Waters is a further three and a half seconds back in third.
The Jamie Whincup fairytale looks like it won't conclude with another Bathurst victory. He's stuck back in fifth.
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