Supercars News: Kostecki and Hazelwood claim big win at The Bend

Defending Bathurst 1000 champions Brodie Kostecki and Todd Hazelwood head into this year’s Great Race on a high after dominating the Airtouch 500 at The Bend in South Australia. The Shell V-Power Racing duo delivered a commanding performance in their #38 Ford Mustang, securing their second consecutive endurance race victory and Ford’s first Supercars endurance win since the 2019 Bathurst 1000.

Hazelwood set the tone with a near-flawless opening stint, overtaking pole-sitter Jamie Whincup on Lap 15 to take the lead. Despite a slow start that saw him drop from third to fifth, Hazelwood quickly recovered, passing Cam McLeod, James Moffat, and Mark Winterbottom before dispatching Whincup with a clinical move into Turn 1. From there, the #38 Mustang never relinquished the lead in a race that ran green from start to finish.

Kostecki took over mid-race and faced intense pressure from Cameron Waters, with the gap often under a second. A slightly edgy car in the third stint prompted a setup tweak, allowing Kostecki to manage the challenge and cross the finish line 3.018 seconds ahead of Waters and Mark Winterbottom. Matt Payne and Garth Tander completed an all-Ford podium in third, 7.651 seconds back.

“It was a bit nervous on corner entry,” Kostecki said, referring to the car rather than himself. “Todd did an awesome job, giving us a great margin to settle in. We tuned the car up, and I managed the gap to Cam. I’m super stoked for everyone at Shell V-Power Racing.” The victory marked Kostecki’s fourth straight win at The Bend, following his 2023 sprint race sweep, and his 10th career win.

Whincup and championship leader Broc Feeney, starting from pole, were derailed by a refueling issue at their first pit stop, dropping them out of contention. The Triple Eight Camaro struggled with fuel delivery and required an additional stop, finishing a distant 19th. Feeney’s championship lead over Matt Payne shrank to 158 points, with reigning champion Will Brown 188 points back in third. Cameron Waters, Chaz Mostert, and Kostecki have all secured spots in the Repco Supercars Finals Series.

Will Brown and Scott Pye led the Camaros, charging from 16th to fourth. Nick Percat and Tim Slade climbed from 11th to fifth for Matt Stone Racing, while Ryan Wood and Jayden Ojeda recovered from a tough start to take sixth. Erebus’s Cooper Murray and Jobe Stewart impressed with a seventh-place finish, despite Stewart facing primary drivers in his opening stint. Chaz Mostert and Fabian Coulthard, early leaders with a four-stop strategy, settled for eighth, followed by Thomas Randle and James Moffat, and Anton De Pasquale and Harri Jones in the top 10.

Andre Heimgartner and Declan Fraser had a disastrous race, finishing 27th after a faulty clutch and steering damage from early contact with Cameron Crick. Heimgartner, previously eighth in the standings, dropped to 11th, jeoparding his Finals Series hopes.

With the Repco Bathurst 1000 next on the calendar—the final event before the inaugural Finals Series on the Gold Coast—Kostecki and Hazelwood’s commanding performance signals they’ll be a force to reckon with in their quest to defend their title.

Race Results: Airtouch 500 at The Bend – 102 Laps