The 2024 Bathurst 1000 was considerably of a sluggish burner with the pole-sitting Erebus Motorsport Chevrolet Camaro of reigning Supercars champion Brodie Kostecki and Todd Hazelwood main for the length.
It had appeared that the 1000 km distance was set to run below inexperienced flags for the length till Matt Payne misplaced management of his Grove Racing Ford Mustang at The Slicing, ensuing within the sole security automotive intervention and a 27-lap dash to the flag.
This put the Triple Eight Camaro of Broc Feeney and Jamie Whincup on the tail of the leaders, with the 2 lead automobiles rapidly gapping the sphere.
With neither Kostecki nor Feeney placing a wheel mistaken, it was the Erebus automotive that took the flag by 1.3496s.
“I can not consider it, this man right here [Hazelwood] did a stellar job all weekend,” mentioned Kostecki after giving Erebus its second 1000 win – the opposite triumph coming in 2017 with David Reynolds and Luke Youlden.
“We had a very good automotive for the center stint however as quickly because the clouds came to visit we misplaced somewhat pace. They have been 32 shootout laps [at the end].
The race will get below manner at Bathurst
Photograph by: Supercars
“You may deliver your tempo again somewhat bit and lose it somewhat bit.”
It was a deserving consequence for Kostecki, who stood apart for the opening two rounds of the championship and for Hazelwood, who stepped into the #1 Camaro on the Bathurst 500 and at Albert Park, and whose earlier finest lead to a Supercars race was third place.
“Unbelievable, I feel I’m hallucinating. I’m misplaced for phrases!” mentioned an emotional Hazelwood.
“’Bush’ [Kostecki] is an absolute legend. It has been a troublesome 12 months however once you win Bathurst, it makes up for the whole lot. No higher bloke to do it with, he’s a wizard across the Mountain.”
A lot of the race was an arm wrestle between Chevrolet’s two dominant squads, Erebus and T8. Kostecki, who began from pole place for the second 12 months in a row, managed the opening 28-lap stint, when he stretched away from Triple Eight’s Broc Feeney, then the third, when Feeney’s co-driver Jamie Whincup was within the blue Camaro for 2 consecutive 28-lap stints.
At one stage the 2 groups occupied the primary 5 positions, with Jack Le Broc and Jayden Ojeda operating fourth within the second Erebus Camaro, after which Craig Lowndes. The veteran drove cautious first and third stints in Triple Eight’s wildcard entry, which began from grid 18, earlier than handing over to co-driver Cooper Murray – who was later penalised for a breach of the security automotive process.
When Le Brocq misplaced time within the closing pitstop, dropping him from the highest 5, the race was right down to Kostecki, Feeney and Brown, main a pack of Ford Mustangs – Tickford’s Cameron Waters and James Moffat, Chaz Mostert and Lee Holdsworth (Walkinshaw Andretti United), and Richie Stanaway and Dale Wooden (Grove Racing).
The Payne/Tander automotive was the one retirement of the 2024 Bathurst 1000
Photograph by: Supercars
When the ultimate sprint got here, Brown’s pace was simply not there. He and co-driver Pye have been within the hunt for the rostrum however not far more, ultimately ending 13.6404s behind the winner.
Fourth got here the most effective of the Fords. Waters mounted a powerful restoration from his and Moffat’s issues, to carry off Mostert and 2023 winner Stanaway – who nonetheless doesn’t have a confirmed seat for 2025.
The dearth of Security Vehicles for greater than 125 laps meant that any small errors have been severely punished. Waters hung onto the leaders till a visit up an escape highway, dropping eight positions earlier than he recovered. Garth Tander did the same factor in considered one of Payne’s Ford, dropping him 5 locations.
Dick Johnson Racing’s Anton De Pasquale regarded like a contender to steer the Ford problem till he dropped round 30 seconds with a difficult brake change throughout a pitstop.
Andre Heimgartner, whose Brad Jones Racing crew managed to get solely 20 litres into the Chevrolet on the first gas cease, 100 wanting what was meant. The automotive regarded to have top-six pace however with no mid-race yellow flag intervals, was doomed to complete again in sixteenth place.
Because of his third place Brown, who introduced an 189-point result in Mount Panorama, now leads by 204 factors, with 2538 to the 2334 for Feeney, who strikes to second. Mostert is third on 2313 from Waters (2074), James Golding (1718) and Payne (1659).
The subsequent spherical of the Supercars Championship will likely be on the Gold Coast on 25-27 October for 2 250km races across the tight streets of Surfers Paradise.
Supercars Bathurst 1000 Outcomes
