Melbourne - Kostecki shines in front of F1's elite

The Dick Johnson Racing driver secured the first two victories of the four races to be contested this weekend. Matt Payne, consistently strong, takes the lead in the Australian Supercars championship.

Published 06/03/2026 à 10:56

Comment on this article! ⁰

Melbourne - Kostecki shines in front of the F1 elite

©Supercars

Despite being unwell and physically diminished, Brodie Kostecki dug deep to secure two victories since the start of this Grand Prix, which served as the opening act of the Formula 1The 2023 champion is now the overwhelming favorite to win the Larry Perkins Trophy, which rewards the best driver during this somewhat unusual week of competition in the Supercars season. He won the first race decisively from pole position, finishing ahead of Matt Payne and his Mustang. Whole grained Racing, as well as that of Broc Feeney (Triple Eight Engineering). Ford's dominance is confirmed against the Chevrolet Camaro, which is still lacking performance.

Brodie Kostecki is therefore doubling down this Friday morning. He will start on the front row alongside Matt Payne, with the two behind them Toyota Ryan Wood and Chaz Mostert's Supras. The two Japanese coupes outpaced Broc Feeney, who qualified only fourth on the grid. At the green light, Payne managed to control Kostecki, who had a slight wheelspin at the start. He nevertheless maintained his position with the two TGW Supras close behind. On lap 4, Kostecki took the lead from Payne, who was unable to withstand the impeccable braking of the 2023 champion.

Feeney a bit messy

The first incident of the race involved Broc Feeney and Chaz Mostert a few laps later. The driver of the No. 88 car made contact twice with the 2025 champion's car. Feeney ultimately managed to finish in 4th place, while Mostert, whose steering was damaged in the incident, plummeted down the order to finish the race in 14th. Feeney had to settle for 7th. The best recovery came from Cameron Waters and his black Tickford Racing Mustang, who finished just off the podium after avoiding several collisions that occurred right in front of him. The other notable performance was from Ryan Wood, who gave Toyota its first podium finish, coming in behind Kostecki and Payne. Will Brown finished last after another difficult race, marked by contact and a 15-second penalty for the 2024 champion.

Matt Payne now leads the overall standings ahead of Feeney and Waters. Kostecki moves up to 4th place. The next race is tomorrow morning at 7:35 AM, just after Formula 1 qualifying.