Supercars Top-Ten Wrap-up
After two rounds of the 2023 Supercars season, the championship picture is taking shape, find out how the top-ten drivers fared at the Melbourne SuperSprint.
After a stellar weekend from Coca-Cola Racing by Erebus, they also lead the early constructors standings by 191 points over Red Bull Ampol Racing, so it’s no surprise to see their two Camaro chargers in the top-five.
T8 also has both its drivers inside the ten, with both SVG and Feeney each taking wins over the weekend.
After a difficult start to the season so far, DJR has neither of its drivers inside the top-ten, although Anton De Pasquale’s #11 Mustang did show better handling and pace at Albert Park after the worrying form both Mustang’s showed at Newcastle.
It was a difficult weekend all up for the Gen3 Mustang drivers, with all the podium steps being entirely occupied by the Camaro’s on the super quick Albert Park track.
Going into Perth, which won’t have as high an average speed as Albert Park (180 kph), it’s a shorter circuit, with an average speed of 164 kph in the older cars, which may bring the Mustangs back into contention with it not being as big an aero track as in Melbourne.
1: Brodie Kostecki – 514
The #99 Camaro charger had a career best weekend at the Melbourne SuperSprint, taking his maiden win in Race 2, before going back-to-back in Race 3, pulling ahead of the carnage in both outings.
He also took out Race 3 with a busted splitter.
His podium in Race 4 from P14, not ensured he swept the podiums at the AGP, but he also took out the Larry Perkins Trophy over SVG, and snuck over Mostert to take the series lead for the first time in his career.
“I’m not really that sort of person that looks months or weeks down the track,” Kostecki said over the Cool Down Lap Podcast.
“I take each race as it comes. I went into this race (Race 4) knowing that I started 14th, and I’ve got a job to do moving forward.
“I made a mistake in qualifying, so I had to capitalise on it.
“We played the strategy out well, and it makes it easy too when you have a fast car.”
Kostecki took out both the Larry Perkins Trophy and the round win at the 2023 Melbourne SuperSprint, and now leads the Supercars championship. Image: EDGE Photography
2: Chaz Mostert – 482
The bright WAU personality finds himself in P2 after a tough weekend at Albert Park. He managed to get on the front row for the finale (Race 4) but seemed to shoot his tyres out early as he was swamped by the Camaro’s, finishing in P14.
It wasn’t all gloomy for the #25 pilot, as he was the best performer of the Mustang drivers, taking a P5 and P4 in the first two races, as well as P5 in the chaotic penultimate outing.
Having led the championship going into the weekend, Mostert returned to Perth to try and wrest the lead back.
Team Principal Bruce Stewart is hoping Perth will provide a better showing.
“It clearly wasn’t the weekend we had hoped and planned for, but we continue to learn a lot about the new Ford Mustang,” Stewart said.
“That means both the set-up needed for speed in qualifying and to race strong at the front.
“We now look forward to going to Perth, another very different track with super-high degradation of the tyres.
“We’re pushing forward with the Mustang and looking to move back to the lead in the drivers’ championship with Chaz.”
Mostert finished the round in fourth to be second in the Supercars standings, and was the highest placed of the Gen3 Mustang drivers at the AGP. Image: EDGE Photography
3: Shane van Gisbergen – 428
Last year’s champion is perfectly placed to try and take the lead for the first time this year, with the return to longer Sprint races (3 x 42 laps) guaranteed to bring SVG back into contention, even if he doesn’t qualify high.
T8’s race strategy last year had SVG stay out for long stints in the Sprints, and as the master of managing tyre life, should have an advantage on the high-deg Perth circuit on the Softs.
The weekend started rough for the #97 Camaro racer, with a big spin in the opening practice session on the hards. But he stormed to a Race 1 win and took P2 in Race 2, another P2 in the next, before coming in behind Kostecki for fourth place finish in the finale.
“A massive congratulations to Brodie and the team for winning the Larry Perkins Trophy,” SVG said.
“We really wanted to defend that because it’s such a special trophy, but I think they’re worthy winners.
“Of course, well done to Broc, Marty [Short, #88 race engineer] and the team for an awesome job and for getting another win.
“It was a really good points weekend for us, and I think we closed the championship gap in every race, so I’m stoked.”
Shane Van Gisbergen bounced back from a Practice 1 incident to take victory in the opener, his 77th Supercars victory. Image: EDGE Photographics
4: Andre Heimgartner – 386
It took the Brad Jones Racing team and the #8 Kiwi driver until Race 3 of the AGP to unlock the pace that they required.
Heimgartner salvaged his weekend with a P2 podium in the final race, as well as a P5 in the penultimate, which nudged him just above Will Brown in the standings.
“Started out not too bad, fastest in Practice 2. And then yeah, it just went downhill from there,” Heimgartner said.
“So I really struggled in those subsequent sessions. Luckily this weekend was so long.
“And by the time you’re done with the first race and all of the qualifying you’re now at Friday night, so I got the opportunity to reset.
“We looked at some stuff — Bryce and their side made some good gains. So we just basically bolted that in for yesterday (Race 3) and today (Race 4) and produced some really good results.
“So we’re very happy. And as a team, we performed very well with Macauley in seventh. So overall a strong day for us.”
The BJR kiwi turned his weekend around in the final two races, taking a podium in the AGP finale. Image: EDGE Photography
5: Will Brown – 383
Brown openly admitted that he threw away a great chance of a win in the finale after binning it trying to overtake Mostert, which was the correct move to attempt, it just didn’t stick when he touched the grass.
It was a great weekend of realists though, and he qualified consistently well throughout.
Brown took 2 podiums in the end, and would’ve really challenged Feeney in the last had his move stuck.
“What a weekend it was here at the Australian Grand Prix. I got two podiums, but I absolutely threw it away in that last one,” he said.
“I am so sorry to everyone at Coca-Cola Racing and all of our fans. That was completely my fault, I just stuffed up and will learn from it and move on to Perth.”
Brown will consider himself unlucky not to grab a race win, but was a stand out performer at the Supercars Melbourne SuperSprint. Image: EDGE Photography
6: Cameron Waters – 369
Waters was thereabouts in the first two qualifying sessions, but didn’t threaten the podiums at any stage.
After grabbing P7 in the opener, he then got caught out under the yellow in Race 2 after pitting early on Lap 4, dropping down 12 spots to end up P19.
His weekend finished with two P10’s after qualifying in P20 and P15, salvaging some points and remaining as the only Tickford driver inside the top ten in the pointscore.
For Tickford However, it was Thomas Randle that topped the standings for the AGP round.
The Mildura born racer had a pretty consistent round in Perth last year, frequenting the top-ten and getting a podium, and will be hoping he can return to form in his stongest asset…qualifying on the front row. He’ll also be keen to atone for the penalty that cost him the race win in Race 1 of the 2022 Perth outing.
After a strong second practice on the super softs, the Supercars #6 Tickford racer struggled for pace over the four short form races. Image: EDGE Photography
7: Broc Feeney – 368
After having his podium taken away in Newcastle, Feeney sits in seventh with a bullet, as the #88 Red Bull driver came away from Albert Park with a dream F1 weekend victory in the finale after playing the early pit strategy.
He also became the sports youngest ever pole getter and left the weekend with two podiums after also taking a P4 in the opener.
“When we knew we could pit on the first lap and it was going to be a rolling start, it made more sense to elect that strategy,” Feeney said.
“We had great car speed and managed to get the fastest lap. It was a much cruiser race than my first win in Adelaide, but I still had to work for it.
“I’ve dreamt of standing on top of an F1 podium since I was a little kid, and hearing the national anthem was a very cool moment.”
Broc Feeney celebrates his maiden pole at Albert Park in Q4, which he then converted into his second career Supercars victory. Image: EDGE Photographics
8: David Reynolds – 325
Reynolds description of his weekend in Melbourne was simply just “torturous”.
The Penrite #26 Mustang driver could only get into the top-ten in qualifying just once, and finished in P19 and P23 of the opening races.
He pushed up 10 spots in Race 3, before riding the luck of the pit stops in the finale to sneak in with P8, moving up 16 places.
After a pole and a podium at the Newcastle 500, it was far from the weekend he would have hope for.
“I’ve had one of the most tortured weekends of my life,” Reynolds told the Cool Down Lap podcast.
“Someone doesn’t like me up there — but he liked me today (Sunday – Race 4), which is kind of weird.
“I started dead last and finished eighth — I passed maybe five cars on track, but the rest was done in the pit stop.”
Reynolds endured a tough four days at Albert Park, taking just the one top-ten. Image: EDGE Photographics
9: Jack Le Brocq – 325
It’s been a pretty good start to the year for the MSR #34 Camaro, and asides from putting his Chev into the wall in Race 2 – which required an overnight effort in the garage to get him into Saturdays back-to-back qualifying – he’s finished in the top-ten in five of the six races in 2023.
He qualified in the top-ten twice over the weekend, and finished with a race high P5 in the final, after taking a P6 in the lead up.
That P5 in the finale was only the fourth time an MSR racer has cracked the top-five, and the 30-year-old is delighted to be inside the top-ten in the pointscore heading into Perth.
“A top five result is awesome for the team,” Le Brocq said.
“We had a pretty strong weekend and obviously after a little mishap it’s always nice to rebound like we have.
“To also get back in the top 10 of the championship is awesome. Every race we’ve finished we’ve been in the top 10 now.
Le Brocq delivered a strong weekend for MSR, and finished the weekend with two top-tens after a strong Q1 and Q4. Image: EDGE Photographics
10: Bryce Fullwood – 275
Although the results don’t necessarily show it, Fullwood had a career best weekend in Melbourne, and was in contention for podiums more so than his finishes of P11, P7, P12, and P18 reflect.
On Saturday and Sunday he was running in provisional P3 and P4, but he took on a 15s penalty in each of those races for unsafe releases in the pits.
The BJR #14 Camaro started on the second row for the second time in his career for Race 3, finding the pace with the wet Dunlops to start in P3, his highest ever grid start.
He then swapped to the Super Soft slicks for Q4, where he put himself into P5, just +0.438 off from Feeney’s 1:47.768 benchmark.
The 24 year-old finds himself just inside the top-ten in his fourth full season – his second with BJR. It’s also the first time heading into a Round 3 clash that he finds himself in that position.
“Coming into this weekend, if someone said this is what your weekend looks like but you can’t convert the races, I still would’ve taken it,” Fullwood said.
“It would’ve been really cool to keep the name there after we earned it on track. But a massive positive out of the weekend is we earned it, we didn’t fluke it.
“We led the race, and raced with some pretty cool dudes up the front.”
It was an impressive weekend for Fullwood, and he was unlucky not to get a podium on the Saturday and Sunday. Image: EDGE Photographics
The next round of an intriguing season with the new Gen3 Camaro’s and Mustang’s heads for the Perth Super Sprint on April 28-30.
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