Mostert leads Kostecki at midway
The inaugural AirTouch 500 at The Bend has reached the halfway mark with Chaz Mostert leading Todd Hazelwood.
Mostert has used the undercut to perfection to gain nine spots and lead the way alongside Fabian Coulthard after 51 all-green laps around The Bend.
After a stunning opening stint from Todd Hazelwood, Kostecki is the early favourite in the #38 DJR Mustang.
Cam Waters and Mark Winterbottom have been steady in the Monster Mustang to be third, while Nick Percat and Will Brown are the leading Camaros in fifth and sixth, respectively.
Meanwhile, Jamie Whincup has had a tough time with fuel dramas and an off-track excursion seeing the #88 drop to 15th.
Whincup led from pole before being reeled in by Hazelwood, who put in the co-driver stint of the day.
“The #38 Shell V-Power Mustang was a dream to drive and looked as good out there as how it felt,” Hazelwood said.
“I just tried to be super smooth and looking after the tyre.
“I was quietly confident we had a really good race car.
“I learnt from Sandown last year and took my time (against Whinup) not going too aggressive too early.
“Just tried to wear him down and get the job done.
“My start was horrible. You could tell I have been doing Trans Am rolling starts for a few years!”
Whincup got a good launch, but was not able to break away from McLeod, who stayed within a second across the early laps.
The big winner of the launch off the line was Moffat, who shot from fifth to third with a brave run down the inside of the track.
His great getaway saw him squeeze past Hazelwood and Winterbottom in the run down to Turn 1.
Ojeda slipped from ninth to 15th after running wide at the Turn 6 hairpin, having copped a hit from the #8.
The big victim from a mostly clean lap was Nash Morris as he suffered a flat tyre after some rubbing against the likes of Smith, which led to Hughes covering the field in dust on corner exit.
As the field settled into a rhythm, Hazelwood was flying.
The #38 DJR Mustang was easily the fastest of the frontrunners, and he passed Tickford teammates Winterbottom and Moffat in consecutive laps.
He completed his charge to second by Lap 5 by picking off McLeod with a well-executed dive at Turn 1.
This left the teammates to lock horns, and Winterbottom snared third from Moffat with a big dive at the penultimate corner.
Moffat was not afraid to let his feelings be known by describing it as a “rude” move from “Frosty.”
The #55 was soon knocked out of the top five by Murray, who was the only main driver in the top 19 and made good use of it by rising from eighth to fifth.
He returned to the top four thanks to a mistake by McLeod.
Having fought hard at the front of the field, the MSR youngster unfortunately cracked under the pressure and slid off at the never-ending right-hander.
The trip through the paddock was costly as the #4 slumped from third to 14th.
He was far from the only one to make the same mistake with Lowndes and Crick following him.
The MSR Wildcard was in the action early as Crick also clashed with Fraser and punted the #8 off at the hairpin.
By Lap 10 Hazelwood had slashed Whincup’s lead and it took him five laps to make a move.
Cam McLeod and Jamie Whincup lead the field into Turn 1. Image: Peter Norton
In his first drive with DJR, he only needed one as he snared the lead with a smooth dive down the inside at Turn 1.
Whincup did not offer much of a fight as the #38 Mustang built a 2.6s advantage.
Coulthard was the first of the leading group to stop in the #25 on Lap 16, and the undercut made significant track position, merging in effective second between Hazelwood and Winterbottom.
The leaders’ pit cycle was not for another nine laps and Whincup was the big loser.
Triple Eight struggled to engage the fuel coupling and lost a massive 20s.
Instead of being at the front, the #88 found itself 11 spots behind Hazelwood.
Due to the fuel issues, Whincup’s second stint only lasted 11 laps before he returned to the lane, and the early stop left him last.
Meanwhile, it was all smooth sailing for DJR with Hazelwood staying in the car and being 2s clear of nearest rivals Winterbottom and Tander as Fords filled the top seven spots.
The last to pit was Pye on Lap 29, and he rejoined right in front of McLeod and Whincup, who were in a battle pack that also included Jones.
Rookie Stewart found himself as the leading Camaro and made a good move on Wood for seventh.
This soon became fifth when Moffat joined the Turn 8 club and dropped from fourth to ninth following the mowing.
The main-game stars jumped in from Lap 39 onwards, with Mostert the first and instantly setting the fastest lap of the race.
Hazelwood had built a 7s lead over Winterbottom before his impressive stint came to an end on Lap 48.
The Monster Mustang switched from “Frosty” to Waters two laps earlier, while Kostecki still emerged in front.
However, the undercut was massive for Mostert as he used the fresh rubber to open a 4s advantage over Kostecki, Waters and Payne.
Percat emerged as the leading Camaro, while Pye had put in hard yards to give the #1 to Brown in eighth.
Meanwhile, Whincup’s tough time hit a new low with an off-track excursion at Turn 8, pushing him down to 17th.
With the main-game drivers on show, the intensity is about to lift.
Lap 53 leaderboard
Practice 2: 1: Jamie Whincup 1:50.5875 2: Todd Hazelwood +0.2082 3: Dale Wood +0.3248
Practice 3: 1: Will Brown 1:48.9957 2: Broc Feeney +0.3210 3: Thomas Randle +0.3837
Practice 4: 1 James Moffat 1:50.7387 2 Lee Holdsworth +0.1864 3 Rylan Gray +0.2128
Practice 5: 1 Ryan Wood 1:49.2867 2 Brodie Kostecki +0.0272 3 Broc Feeney +0.0584
Qualifying: 1 Brodie Kostecki 1:49.3947 2 Broc Feeney +0.0081 3 Cameron Waters +0.0628
Top 10 Shootout: 1 Broc Feeney 1:48.6548 2 Cameron Hill +0.1023 3 Brodie Kostecki +0.1286
Warm Up: Sunday 9.30-9.50
Race 26: Sunday 13.45-17.18 102 laps
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