Reigning Supercars champion Brodie Kostecki has capitalised on pole position to hold onto an early lead in the Bathurst 1000.
A year on from fumbling the grid’s top spot at Mount Panorama, Kostecki held his nerve against numerous fierce passing attempts from second-rower Broc Feeney to lead for the opening 28 laps before handing over to co-driver Todd Hazelwood in Sunday’s 161-lap race.
Kostecki, who won a maiden championship last year, has yet to break through for a Bathurst 1000 win from his previous five attempts.
He finished runner-up with then-co-driver David Russell in 2023, having been upstaged by Shane van Gisbergen’s experience and class.
Meanwhile, Tickford star Cam Waters, sharing the front row, could not get the jump on the Erebus driver after his wheels spun out.
His afternoon got worse when he suffered a major lockup in lap 23 and was forced to go down the escape road at Hell Corner, dropping down to 10th position.
Fourth in the championship, Waters first slid down to fourth at the start, while Red Bull’s Feeney momentarily gave up his second place when reigning Bathurst champion Richie Stanway forced him on the outside at The Cutting.
Feeney was able to retake second position after braking late to pull off the same manoeuvre on Stanaway at Griffin’s Bend in lap nine and held onto the spot before his co-driver, four-time Bathurst champion Jamie Whincup, went behind the wheel.
Waters staged a drag race in lap 18 to overtake Stanaway for third at Conrod Straight, getting ahead thanks to a clever bump from behind by championship leader Will Brown.
Brown was able to get ahead of Stanaway for fourth, while Triple Eight wildcard Craig Lowndes was in 12th in his 31st consecutive attempt at the endurance race.
Veteran driver James Courtney’s attempt for a maiden Bathurst win began with a nightmare gearbox issue, with the one-time Supercars champion struggling to find pace in his Blanchard Racing Ford Mustang.
He dropped to 25th out of 26 cars in the opening 10 laps, falling behind by as much as 10 seconds to Tim Slade.
David Reynolds also endured a challenging start, dropping to dead last with a tyre flat spot issue before wildcard entry Matt Chadha gave up ground with two visits into the sandtrap.
