Supercars Drama Unfolds in Christchurch
Brodie Kostecki and Chaz Mostert were seen as unhappy figures in the Supercars paddock on Sunday after a tense incident occurred during the final Christchurch race. The two champions had a heated exchange in pit lane, with the reigning champion receiving a 30-second penalty and taking responsibility for the incident.
Broc Feeney was awarded the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy following Ryan Wood’s heartbreaking retirement. The young Kiwi’s Supra stopped abruptly with seven laps remaining, marking a difficult end to his race.
Kostecki found himself in a sudden position to challenge for the trophy, with only Mostert standing in his way. The DJR driver attempted to overtake Mostert on the inside, leading to a collision that sent Kostecki flying onto the infield grass.
Kostecki appeared visibly upset about the incident but gave a reserved interview regarding his perspective. He mentioned his struggles with a particular corner and being caught in the dust. “That’s how it goes,” he said. “The officials have made their call on the penalty, and that’s about it.”
He described how he managed to get up the inside of Mostert, suggesting that Mostert may not have seen him coming. “I think he saw that I was coming pretty late and tried to turn in, but I was already up a fair way,” Kostecki explained. “So that put me up onto the grass there, and I didn’t run him off the road on exit or anything, I gave him a car [width].”
Despite the incident, Kostecki expressed relief that no other cars were involved and that nothing serious happened. “That’s the way it goes sometimes, sometimes you’re the bug, and sometimes you’re the windscreen.”
Mostert received a 30-second penalty from the stewards and voiced his disappointment with Toyota’s performance throughout the weekend. “First of all, not the outcome I wanted from that,” he said. “Brodie was pretty adventurous down there at (turn) two and bowled me wide, so I let him know I was pretty upset, but that wasn’t my intention for sure.”
The two drivers met in pit lane, where they discussed the incident but did not reach an agreement. “I spoke to Brodie,” Mostert said. “I said I was sorry about the outcome, for sure, but I don’t know… It didn’t really sound like we got anywhere.”
Although he didn’t win any races on New Zealand soil, Feeney’s consistency earned him the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy and the top spot in the championship standings heading into Tasmania. The Triple Eight driver expressed sympathy for Wood’s situation, acknowledging the difficulty of missing out on a victory due to circumstances beyond his control.
Feeney seemed to have moved past the tension from last year’s Adelaide Grand Final. “There’s highs and lows. Sometimes you need things to go your way,” he said. “Obviously it’s not good seeing a competitor sitting on the side when they did a lot of good things over the last couple of weeks.”
Wood approached Feeney after the race, and the two shook hands. “I’ve been in that situation. Seeing him pulled up on the side… we’ve obviously had our differences over the past six months, but he’s put together a great couple of weeks,” Feeney added. “Look, I’ve obviously had plenty of bad luck go my way. I lost the big trophy last year in kind of similar circumstances, so obviously gutted for him.”
