Payne And Tander third at The Bend

Defending Bathurst Champions Brodie Kostecki and Todd Hazelwood should head into this year’s Great Race feeling confident. Because they just claimed victory in the Airtouch 500 endurance race at The Bend over the weekend.

Hazelwood’s kicked things off well putting the #38 Mustang ahead of pole sitter Jamie Whincup, a lead the car would never surrender.

Whincup then suffered a re-fuelling issue which saw his Camaro shared with Broc Feeney out of contention in the first enduro race held at The Bend.

The win is Ford’s first in a Supercars endurance race since the 2019 Bathurst 1000.

It is also Kostecki’s fourth straight win at The Bend, following his sprint race sweep in 2023.

Cam Waters and Mark Winterbottom, along with Matt Payne and Garth Tander, rounded out an all-Ford podium.

Feeney and Whincup ended up way down the field plagued by minor mistakes and the fuel delivery issue. 

Heading into the Repco Bathurst 1000, Feeney’s championship lead is down to 158 points over Payne. Reigning champion Will Brown is 188 points behind in third position.

Cam Waters remains in fourth place.

After the race, Kostecki reckoned the car was a little “nervous on entry to the corners.” It was his tenth career win.

He spoke highly of his codriver who “gave us a good margin to settle into the race.”

Will Brown and Scott Pye recovered from 16th to finish fourth, the highest placed Camaro. Matt Stone Racing veterans Nick Percat and Tim Slade vaulted from 11th to fifth.

Early leaders, Chaz Mostert and Fabian Coulthard, finished eighth after a four-stop strategy. Ryan Wood and Jayden Ojeda finished sixth, ahead of Cooper Murray and Jobe Stewart in seventh.

Thomas Randle and James Moffat, and Anton De Pasquale and Harri Jones rounded out the top ten.

There is now just one event to go before the Top 10 drivers begin the inaugural finals series on the Gold Coast. And that one event would be the Repco Bathurst 1000 held at Mount Panorama from 9-12 October.