Waters Holds Off Kostecki Charge to Claim Townsville Supercars Opener

Cam Waters led a Ford Mustang procession to victory in the opening race of the Supercars trilogy on the Reid Park street circuit in Townsville, Queensland.

Waters and Dick Johnson Racing’s Brodie Kostecki entered the final lap of the 35-lap contest nose-to-tail, but Kostecki — who had been slicing through the field in the closing stages — fell just short of snatching the win.

Kostecki started from pole for the fifth time this season but lost ground at the start, with Waters and Grove Racing’s Matt Payne sweeping past immediately. Kostecki quickly rediscovered his pace, however, settling into second behind Waters before the pit-stop cycle commenced.

Waters pitted on lap 18 while Kostecki stayed out for an additional six laps. The net result saw Waters extend his advantage, though it was Payne who ran second when Kostecki rejoined.

The DJR Mustang, sporting a special yellow livery for the weekend, closed rapidly once Kostecki dispatched Payne, but Waters prevailed by a mere 0.200 seconds. “Brodie got a bad one [start] but I was pretty keen to get to Turn 2 first,” Waters said. “I was a little bit shocked to get P1. I just tried to manage that whole last stint; I knew he was behind me and I was just managing that lap. But I am glad there was not one more lap. It’s nice to be at the pointy end.”

Cameron Waters

Photo by: Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images

Kostecki revealed the decision to delay his stop was his own call, triggered by watching Waters enter pit lane.

“[It was] a call from me,” he said. “I thought [when] Cam had pitted, I did not want to pit behind Cam. We are looking pretty good for tomorrow. I thought I had a big dive down the last corner, but Cam is a pretty smart racer.”

After securing his 11th podium of the season, Payne was delighted, particularly given a vibration issue that afflicted his car early in the race.

“I picked up a bit of a vibration early on,” he said. “It didn’t get any worse and I managed to finish. We need a little bit more [speed]. I was really hoping he [Kostecki] had a lap or two more [to pressure Waters] — it would have been a good battle. Cool strategy, it turned out to be really close. I knew starting up the front we had a good chance of converting it into some good points.”

Payne’s team-mate Kai Allen finished fourth after ceding the position to him following their respective pit stops, while Chaz Mostert rounded out the top five.

The Walkinshaw Andretti United Supra had suffered a minor engine issue during qualifying, but it proved the quickest of the Toyotas on race day. Mostert jumped to second on the opening lap before dropping back through the field.

Cameron Waters

Photo by: Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images

Thomas Randle claimed sixth for Tickford Racing — an especially impressive result given he lost half his practice session to a technical problem that sidelined him. With a place in the all-important championship top ten in the balance, Randle drove a shrewd race and stayed out of trouble for all 35 laps.

If that was a strong drive, the recoveries from Triple Eight Race Engineering were equally notable. Both drivers had endured difficult Fridays: Broc Feeney qualified 16th and Will Brown 19th, marking the first time in three years that neither of the team’s cars featured inside the top 15 on the grid.

Brown’s Mustang had a wheel come loose late in qualifying, while Feeney simply lacked his trademark one-lap pace. Once the race started, however, Brown put those woes behind him to charge through to seventh, reminding the field why he is regarded as one of the category’s premier overtakers.

Feeney recovered to tenth, at one point running wide at a corner and watching Brown dive past two cars — including Feeney’s — in a single move.

Feeney arrived at the weekend with a 15-point championship lead, but the results have handed Payne the series lead and Grove Racing the teams’ points advantage — along with prime pit-lane position — gained at the previous round in Darwin.

Two further 200-kilometre races, one each on Saturday and Sunday, will complete Supercars’ mid-winter northern swing.

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