Brown reels in Mostert for first Triple Eight win

WILL Brown is Triple Eight’s newest winner after running down Chaz Mostert to claim Race 2 of the Thrifty Bathurst 500.

A blistering start long had Mostert in the box seat to chalk up his first Gen3 victory and Walkinshaw Andretti United’s first as a Ford squad.

But a strong end to Brown’s middle stint set up a decisive final visit to the lane, to complete a rare feat whereby Triple Eight swept every Supercars session of the event.

Triple Eight’s one weakness from this weekend – starts – had earlier reared its head once more as Mostert blasted into the lead with James Golding on his tail; Broc Feeney and Brown each losing ground to suddenly be third and fourth.

Further back there was drama as Richie Stanaway was sandwiched between Ryan Wood and Cameron Hill, with the latter two copping significant damage before even making it to the first corner.

Hill was back in the garage at the end of the lap and Wood soon followed suit, eventually retiring the #2 Mobil 1 Truck Assist Mustang.

Golding lost out when Feeney attempted a pass at the Chase, the #31 Nulon Camaro forced into the weeds and tumbling down the order to eighth.

CHAOS 😱#RepcoSC #Supercars pic.twitter.com/8zvq1b0vT1

— Supercars (@supercars) February 25, 2024

Grove Racing again opted for an undercut strategy with Matt Payne, who was the only contender in at the end of Lap 5.

On the very next lap, Aaron Love’s horror solo debut worsened, bumping the Reid Park wall with the left-rear of his CoolDrive Mustang, necessitating a lengthy stop for repairs.

Bad news came for Feeney as the first round of stops approached, with the #88 driver handed a five-second penalty for the Golding incident.

With Feeney appearing the quicker of the Triple Eight duo, that gave Mostert some breathing room and he put the hammer down in the middle stint to open up a six-second buffer over Brown.

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Feeney remained on Brown’s tail, and once Mark Winterbottom completed his Lap 17 pitstop, the order from fourth to 10th read Thomas Randle, David Reynolds, Payne, Jack Le Brocq, Golding, Nick Percat and Bryce Fullwood.

Will Davison lost ground in that phase of the race, having run fifth in the opening stanza.

With a slight fuel advantage to take into the second stops, Brown gradually began reeling in Mostert, getting the gap back under four seconds, as the front three checked out.

Golding was first to complete his final compulsory pitstop on Lap 22, and used clear air to his advantage, lighting up the timing screens and gaining track positions to the tune of three spots.

By the time the lead pair pitted together on Lap 29 of 40, Brown had closed to two seconds behind Mostert.

That was a worry for Mostert, whose Walkinshaw Andretti United crew had difficulty changing the front-right tyre, and Brown snuck out just ahead.

MASSIVE MOMENT 😱#RepcoSC #Supercars pic.twitter.com/5KnuFXSwNX

— Supercars (@supercars) February 25, 2024

Mostert set about pressuring Brown, with Feeney now a distant third, but the Ford driver was unable to regain the ascendancy in an uneventful run to the chequered flag.

That was a double win for Brown, also elevating him past Feeney and Mostert into the outright championship lead.

That means Brown will have the orange numbers on his car next month at Albert Park for the first time since the 2023 Sydney SuperNight – the last round before his impending defection from Erebus Motorsport to Triple Eight was announced.

Behind the dominant trio, Randle gave Tickford Racing reason to smile with fourth place, ahead of Golding, Reynolds, Payne, Le Brocq, Percat and Davison, who vigorously staved off Stanaway.

Dick Johnson Racing again struggled in race trim, with Anton De Pasquale fading to 15th.

Cam Waters was even further back in 16th, his Sunday involving a costly qualifying error and an early-race adventure at the Chase.

There were 23 finishers in total, as Love and Hill limped home to bank points.

RESULTS: Race 2, 2024 Thrifty Bathurst 500