rodie Kostecki is the new King of the Mountain after an uncharacteristically uneventful Bathurst 1000 race.
Having taken pole position after Saturday’s Top 10 Shootout, Kostecki, who will leave Erebus at the end of the season after a much-publicised spat and accusations of a toxic work environment, combined with Todd Hazelwood to maintain top spot throughout the 161 laps, finishing 1.349 seconds ahead of runner-up Broc Feeney.
The reigning Supercars champion is the first driver since Chaz Mostert in 2021 to win from pole.
Feeney and his co-driver Jamie Whincup were second-fastest, ahead of Red Bull teammates Will Brown and Scott Pye in third.
In beautiful conditions on Mount Panorama, the race set several records, with just one safety car required and only one of 26 drivers failing to finish – Matt Payne’s late crash the only casualty.
Due to the lack of incidents, Kostecki and Hazelwood’s winning time of 5:58.03 is the fastest Bathurst 1000 finish ever.
“I just can’t believe it. I’m in awe at the moment,” Kostecki said.
“Broc was breathing down my neck the whole time. It was just balls to the walls the whole time.
“It’s kind of funny around here. If you bring your pace back a little bit, you can actually get yourself into trouble.
“I just knew that if I just did shootout laps every single lap, I knew I wouldn’t make a mistake.
“It’s redemption from last year, for sure.”
A year on from fumbling the grid’s top spot at Mount Panorama, Kostecki held his nerve on Sunday against numerous fierce passing attempts from second-rower Feeney to lead for the opening 28 laps, before handing over to co-driver Todd Hazelwood.
He looked certain to be crowned the King of the Mountain with little challenge, until a Matt Payne crash resulted in the only safety car and a full course reset after almost five hours.
With the entire grid boasting fresh tyres and 28 laps to go, the West Australian proved his mettle by fending off Feeney in a sprint showdown to the finish line.
He won by just 1.35 seconds.
Such was Feeney’s pace that the 21-year-old took the fastest lap of the race, with a time of two minutes 7.861 seconds.
“I drove my heart out out there. I didn’t leave anything on the table,” Feeney said.
“These guys next to me, Brodie and Todd, absolutely killed it today – they were faultless.
“We’ll be back one day. We’ll get up on the top step.”
It is a career-first Bathurst 1000 win from six attempts for Kostecki and from eight attempts for Hazelwood.
The win is also Kostecki’s first of the season after a messy off-season legal dispute with Erebus disrupted his title defence.
He missed the first two rounds this season as a result of the dispute.
Departing for Dick Johnson Racing next year, he gifts Erebus their second Bathurst 1000 win since David Reynold’s 2017 triumph.
Feeney and Whincup did find some redemption in their second-place result after their last attempt at the mountain ended in tears.
The pair experienced gearbox issues in lap 137 when they were placed second before finishing 23rd last year.
It is the best Bathurst finish for Feeney from five attempts, but Whincup’s attempt to break his 12-year-long Bathurst drought fell just short.
The podium finish helped Feeney knock off Chaz Mostert for second in the standings, behind Brown by 204 points.
Mostert finished fifth, while fourth-placed Cam Waters was fourth fastest.
BATHURST 1000 RESULTS
1. Brodie Kostecki/Todd Hazelwood (Erebus Motorsport)
2. Broc Feeney/Jamie Whincup (Triple Eight Race Engineering)
3. Will Brown/Scott Pye (Triple Eight)
4. Cam Waters/James Moffat (Tickford Racing)
5. Chaz Mostert/Lee Holdsworth (Walkinshaw Andretti United)
6. James Golding/David Russell (PremiAir Nulon Racing)
7. Anton De Pasquale/Tony D’Alberto (Dick Johnson Racing)
8. Jack Le Brocq/Jayden Ojeda (Erebus)
9. Richie Stanaway/Dale Wood (Grove Racing)
10. Cam Hill/Cam Crick (Matt Stone Racing)
© AAP