Supercars Championship: 2026 Darwin Triple Crown Race 19 Report
- Tayla Purves
- Jun 21
- 5 min read
Cameron Waters drove the time to beat once again during this morning's Top Ten Shootout, qualifying on a 1:06.2530. Behind him was Matthew Payne, with just a 0.0612-second gap between the two. On the second row, Anton De Pasquale qualified ahead of current championship leader Broc Feeney, pairing the two on the grid for a Sunday afternoon start in Australia's Northern Territory.
News broke this morning that Brodie Kostecki remained unwell, progressively getting worse overnight, meaning he had to step down from Race 19 in Darwin today. His condition was impacted by a lingering virus and dehydration after his car's drink system failed during Race 18's extreme cockpit heat. In his place, Todd Hazelwood will take the Race start in the No.17 Mustang while Kostecki recovers.
Another substitute had to be actioned in the paddock after Qualifying this morning, this time with Thomas Randle going downhill with his condition after yesterday's cool-suit failure. In his place, retired racing veteran Mark Winterbottom will drive the No.55 Mustang, starting from the pitlane. Race 19 will be another compulsory two-stop Race over 70 Laps, with the stops consisting of refuelling as well.
As it happened
Race 19 began with Waters and Payne battling it out, Payne on the outside as the No.6 Mustang took the lead.
Behind the front row, the pack remained in formation, the midfield quickly finding their track positions, while Winterbottom trailed behind to catch the back of the field.
Hazelwood and Declan Fraser came together on Lap 4, sending Fraser spinning backwards and losing six positions. Stewards will likely investigate during or after the Race.
Macauley Jones suffered a similar fate in the No.777 Camaro, though his escape was easier due to a shortcut across the grass before rejoining.
On Lap 8, Winterbottom's radio buzzed to life with warnings of a potential fluid leak from the cars ahead of Jackson Walls, Jobe Stewart and Cooper Murray.
Early pit stops consisted of Jayden Ojeda and Hazelwood covering their first compulsory stops earlier than the field, effectively opening the pit window.
Lap 14 saw yesterday's Race winner, Kai Allen, take his first compulsory stop, with his team completing its quickest-ever pit stop.
On Lap 15, Payne covered the rear bumper of Waters, heating up their rivalry with plenty of racing laps to go.
On Lap 16, Payne made a move on Waters to take the lead of the Race. The move was a late manoeuvre on the inside of the No.6 Mustang, taking Waters by surprise.
Pivotal Race strategies opened up on Lap 18 when Waters pitted, rejoining behind De Pasquale. Payne followed suit on Lap 20, rejoining right in front of Waters, though the No.19 Mustang lost track position to the No.6 and No.18 machines.
An interesting team-mate battle erupted on Lap 22 at Turn 6 between James Golding and Aaron Cameron, the pair switching positions consistently over two turns.
On Lap 25, Allen came under fire as Chaz Mostert effortlessly overtook the young gun, while drama unfolded for Zach Bates in the No.10 Camaro, though he went on to quickly rejoin and resume his battle.
On Lap 27, Waters, Payne and Fraser were racing door-to-door. It was a close call as the No.6 and No.19 cars used the No.777 as leverage against one another. Meanwhile, Winterbottom struck an issue during his pit stop when his starter motor failed to engage. He got away after restarting, rejoining the Race a Lap down.
On Lap 29, many battles on track surfaced, including one between Allen and Will Brown, with the No.888 Camaro coming close to the rear of the Mustang before Brown made a stunning overtake.
For Brown, the next battle came on Lap 32, his machine creeping to the rear of the No.1 Camaro of Mostert. Brown showed he was on a mission, taking an awkward overtake between Turn 13 and Turn 14 with minimal contact.
On Lap 35, the battle between Waters and Payne came to life again, with Payne finally getting back in front of the No.6 car. Over the radio, Waters was asked to fuel-save while keeping the gap to Feeney behind.
On Lap 42, David Reynolds took to the rear of André Heimgartner after previously readdressing prior contact to reduce any possible penalty as a result.
On Lap 45, previous Race leader De Pasquale came in for his second compulsory stop, joining four backmarkers. Stewart had an issue in the pitlane, as did Jack Le Brocq, with a wheel gun becoming difficult to complete a tyre change. Le Brocq quickly caught up to the rear of Ryan Wood, putting pressure on the No.2 Camaro. Further drama found Mostert, his No.1 Camaro stalling in the pitlane, though he got going quickly after losing some time.
Lap 48 saw Waters taking his second stop, coming out ahead of Feeney, with the No.6 Mustang coming under fire on cold tyres. Aggressive contact was seen for an overtake, and Feeney immediately gave the position back, with both lucky not to have any damage or race-ending repercussions.
With 20 Laps to go, Rylan Gray and Bates found one another again at the back of the pack, with Bates taking the position with a small bit of rubbing and bumping. The move went under stewards' investigation, and Bates copped a five-second time penalty for the contact.
On Lap 53, Payne's radio came to life mid-overtake on the No.3 Mustang, with the team asking him to fuel-save to ensure a smooth end to the Race. Lap 55 saw all second stops completed by the field as the Race neared its end, with 13 Laps remaining until the Triple Crown was awarded.
On Lap 57, Walls took a small spin onto the grass, flicking dirt up and causing uncertainty for others, though Walls rejoined with ease. Hazelwood on Lap 59 highlighted some clutch issues, sparking worries surrounding the possibility that the car might not make it to the end of the Race.
Lap 65 saw Payne struggling on his tyres as De Pasquale pushed forward with a 1.285-second gap, with no DNFs or safety cars over the duration of the Race so far. On Lap 66, Mostert slowed down drastically, smoke pooling behind his No.1 Camaro, before the reigning champion stopped on the grass at Turn 4 due to a suspected engine issue.
A safety car made its way out with three Laps to go, raising tensions as the field bunched together once again. On Lap 67, the No.1 Camaro was moved out of the way as the field was led by the safety car, setting them up to cross the finish line as is.
De Pasquale won Race 19 in the No.18 Camaro. The Triple Crown was awarded to Waters by 18 points ahead of Payne and Allen.
In 2027, it has been confirmed that the Supercars Championship will return to Hidden Valley Raceway under lights for the first time. The Supercars field resumes racing for Round 7 in Townsville on 10th July 2026.
The full results
Anton De Pasquale 1:23.662
Matthew Payne +1.430
Cameron Waters +2.063
Will Brown +2.921
Broc Feeney +3.584
Kai Allen +4.640
Ryan Wood +6.698
Jack Le Brocq +7.777
Cameron Hill +8.193
David Reynolds +9.314
André Heimgartner +10.401
Todd Hazelwood +11.357
Jayden Ojeda +11.729
James Golding +12.782
Macauley Jones +13.528
Aaron Cameron +14.209
Rylan Gray +14.666
Declan Fraser +15.161
Jobe Stewart +15.476
Cooper Murray +15.894
Zach Bates +16.994
Mark Winterbottom +1 Lap
Jackson Walls +1 Lap
Chaz Mostert DNF
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