Supercars: Brodie Kostecki Camaro finishes historic day on top in Newcastle

At one of the most historic days for Supercars, Coca-Cola Chevrolet Camaro driver Brodie Kostecki has pipped two-time defending Champion Shane van Gisbergen and Ford’s Chaz Mostert for Friday honors at the Repco Supercars Championship opener and inaugural event of the Gen3 era, the Thrifty Newcastle 500.

Brodie Kostecki – 2023 Thrifty Newcastle 500, Event 1 of the Repco Supercars Championship, Newcastle Street Circuit, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. 10 Mar, 2023.

On Supercars first day on track in Newcastle since 2019, Kostecki’s 1:11.4068s was the benchmark of Practice 3, albeit by just 0.0557s over van Gisbergen’s Red Bull Camaro.

Mostert fired his #25 Mobil 1 Optus Mustang into third on the first day on track for his former famous Holden team, and was just 0.0760s behind Kostecki’s #99 Coca-Cola Camaro.

Walkinshaw Andretti United’s Chaz Mostert

For the third straight session, the top 10 was a split of five Camaros and five Mustangs, renewing the manufacturer rivalry amongst fans on the eve of the first-ever race of the Gen3 vehicles.

Earlier today Andre Heimgartner was the quickest in the opening practice session of the year, with van Gisbergen topping the time sheets in P2.

The top 10 drivers were split by just 0.5067s, with the top 24 covered by 0.9961s.

Kostecki spent much of Friday’s final practice session towards the front in what was a mixed session for Erebus Motorsport.

Teammate Will Brown, who ended up 12th, gently nudged the Turn 8 barriers midway through the session.

Van Gisbergen had another interrupted session due to a reported gearbox selection issue. The reigning champion, who won a record 21 races last year, topped the earlier Practice 2 on Friday.

The top five in P3 was rounded out by Chevrolet’s Nulon Racing teammates Tim Slade and James Golding.

The Newcastle circuit runs along the ocean

The R&J Batteries Chevrolet Camaro of Andre Heimgartner opened proceedings with a 1:12.1413s, having topped the morning session.

The Ford Mustang of Nick Percat was sixth, three positions behind Walkinshaw Andretti United teammate Mostert, with fellow Blue Oval driver Will Davison seventh.

Scott Pye in the Hino Camaro, Cam Waters’ Monster Mustang and Anton De Pasquale’s Shell Ford rounded out the top 10 in the final practice session of the event.

Cars will return to the track on Saturday for ARMOR ALL Qualifying at 11:15am local time.

The very first Top Ten Shootout of the Gen3 era will commence at 12:35pm, which will set the grid for Race 1 at 3:20pm.

Friday Practice Results

POS	NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	TIME	GAP	LAPS
1	99	B. Kostecki	Penrite Racing – Erebus	1:11.407	+0.000	13
2	97	Van Gisbergen	Red Bull Holden Racing Team	1:11.463	+0.056	26
3	25	Mostert	WAU Racing Pty Ltd	1:11.483	+0.076	15
4	400	Slade	PremiAir Subway Racing	1:11.565	+0.158	20
5	31	J. Golding	PremiAir Subway Racing	1:11.690	+0.283	19
6	2	Percat	WAU Racing Pty Ltd	1:11.728	+0.321	20
7	17	Davison	Shell V-Power Racing Team	1:11.768	+0.361	18
8	20	S. Pye	Team 18	1:11.776	+0.369	23
9	6	C. Waters	Tickford Racing 1	1:11.805	+0.398	15
10	11	A. de Pasquale	Shell V-Power Racing Team	1:11.914	+0.507	18
11	35	C. Hill	Matt Stone Racing	1:11.923	+0.516	13
12	9	W. Brown	Penrite Racing – Erebus	1:11.938	+0.532	18
13	8	Heimgartner	Brad Jones Racing	1:11.943	+0.536	19
14	34	J. Le Brocq	Matt Stone Racing	1:11.948	+0.541	19
15	19	M. Payne	Penrite Racing	1:11.978	+0.571	21
16	88	B. Feeney	Red Bull Holden Racing Team	1:12.027	+0.621	25
17	14	B. Fullwood	Brad Jones Racing	1:12.047	+0.640	20
18	18	Winterbottom	Team 18	1:12.075	+0.668	16
19	5	Courtney	Tickford Racing 1	1:12.093	+0.686	15
20	55	T. Randle	Tickford Racing 2	1:12.121	+0.714	19
21	26	Reynolds	Penrite Racing	1:12.206	+0.799	19
22	3	T. Hazelwood	CoolDrive Racing	1:12.358	+0.951	17
23	96	M. Jones	Brad Jones Racing (2)	1:12.369	+0.962	20
24	56	D. Fraser	Tickford Racing 2	1:12.403	+0.996	16
25	4	J. Smith	Brad Jones Racing (2)	1:12.694	+1.287	19