Matt Payne and Chaz Mostert claim victories in New Zealand
Matt Payne and Chaz Mostert claimed victories in the two opening races of the Supercars Championship weekend at Taupo Motorsport Park in New Zealand.
The first race saw Grove Racing driver Payne starting from pole and claiming the lead into Turn 1, a lead he kept throughout the race.
There was plenty of action behind the Ford Mustang driver meanwhile, with a first incident occurring on the first lap between Cameron Hill and Cooper Murray which saw the latter spinning off track.
Hill was handed a 15-second penalty for the incident, a first of several penalties to be handed out during the race.
Andretti United driver Mostert was another victim of the action as Thomas Randle squabbled with Anton De Pasquale for eighth, hitting Mostert in the process, sending the Ford driver spinning off track.
Randle was handed a 15-second penalty for the incident.
The safety car was issued on lap ten as Macauley Jones suffered a technical issue with his Chevrolet Camaro, something that saw most of the teams scrambling for their pit stops.
As the race resumed, Kostecki tapped Randle into a spin, a move which saw Kostecki getting a 15-second penalty.
Payne cruised home to win by four seconds ahead of Tickford Racing driver Cameron Waters while Walkinshaw Andretti United’s Ryan Wood claimed the final podium spot.
De Pasquale was able to recover to finish fourth ahead of reigning champion Will Brown while Jack Le Brocq rounded off the top six.
Kostecki started the second race from pole position but was immediately beaten by Mostert into Turn 1.
But the best start of all was made by Triple Eight driver Broc Feeney from third on the grid, challenging the leading duo. But Kostecki managed to fend Feeney off to keep second place.
Kostecki closed the gap on Mostert for the lead as the race went on, making the move for first place on lap 18.
There was then drama during the pit stop for the leading duo as Kostecki slapped the tyre barrier when entering the pits and Mostert stopped at an awkward angle by his crew, with both losing valuable time.
Kostecki emerged from the stop still ahead of Mostert, only for the Walkinshaw Andretti United driver to snatch the lead with 17 laps left of the race.
Kostecki tried to get back past a lap later, with the duo making contact in the process, only for Mostert to repass and nudging his rival wide onto the marbles.
Kostecki soon found himself under pressure from his Dick Johnson Racing team-mate Will Davison who managed to get past up into second place during the closing stages of the race.
Mostert won the race by just over six seconds over Davison while Kostecki was third, nine seconds adrift.
Payne came home in fourth for Grove Racing while Feeney and Randle rounded off the top six.
The third and final race of the weekend is scheduled for 12:50 local time/05:05 CEST on Sunday.
