Supercars Championship: Dunlop Sydney 500 Race 2 Report
- Tayla Purves
- 6 hours ago
- 5 min read
Written by Tayla Purves
Credit: FUCHS Lubricants Australasia | FaceBook
The grid was set this afternoon with a top ten shootout, putting Anton De Pasquale in the No.18 DeWalt Chevrolet straight to the top with a 1:28.018 with Brodie Kostecki in the No.17 Shell V Power Mustang right next door.
Behind the two top spots were Matt Payne in the No.19 Penrite Racing Mustang and Ryan Wood in the No.2 Mobil 1 Toyota Supra making for an exciting race two.
Conditions were tricky throughout qualifying with the wet-dry weather threatening the drivers as they pushed the limits through each turn of Sydney Motorsport Park.
Check out how the race unfolded below.
The results
Anton De Pasquale - 1:30.366
Brodie Kostecki +0.363
Matt Payne +7.308
Cam Waters +20.328
David Reynolds +21.931
Broc Feeney +28.352
Ryan Wood +29.811
Kai Allen +29.874
Jack Le Brocq +31.366
James Golding +31.644
Chaz Mostert +34.762
Cameron Hill +36.983
Declan Fraser +36.983
Thomas Randle +37.778
Will Brown +42.112
Aaron Cameron +42.112
Jobe Stewart +47.013
Zach Bates +47.671
Cooper Murray +51.359
Jackson Walls +1 lap
Rylan Grey +54.282
Jayden Ojeda +1 lap
Macauley Jones +3 laps
André Heimgartner DNF
As it happened
Going in to turn one on lap one, it was go time between Brodie Kostecki and Anton De Pasquale with the rest of the field behind eagerly chasing down the front of the pack, some flicking up dirt and finding themselves briefly off track .
Kostecki got a bit close and personal, bumping the back of the No.18 Chevrolet of De Pasquale while Broc Feeney in the No.88 battled to make back his positions lost on the start.
A brief moment of contact on lap 3 between Zach Bates and Cameron Hill on the exit of turn five, which was quickly followed by Macauley Jones and Cooper Murray with a rough smack to the rear.
Radio communication struggles were apparent for Bates in the No.10 Matt Stone Racing Chevrolet early in the 52-lap race.
Lap 10 saw an awkward moment for the No.8 Toyota Supra, a trail of oil behind on the track bringing out the Shannons safety car, as André Heimgartner walked away from his machinery - levelling up the race while pit stop chatter began up and down pit lane.
Contact was made in the pit lane between James Golding in the No.7 Cool Drive Mustang and Feeney's Red Bull Ampol Racing Mustang, showcased a grey area of an unsafe release, but no early mention of a stewards investigation.
Jayden Ojeda's right rear wheel has come loose in the pit lane, leaving him stranded in his No.31 PremiAir Racing Chevrolet.
Jones' No.95 Toyota Supra found its way into the garage, mechanics madly working to repair the car and send it back out.
On lap 14, the safety car ended, allowing the field to go racing once again - it was hectic as a three-way battle broke out between De Pasquale, Payne, and Aaron Cameron.
Stewards imposed an unsafe release penalty a short time after the safety car fiasco, giving Feeney a 15-second penalty.
Jones rejoins the race after having his front splitter and brake duct replaced, one lap after the race restart
A push and shove moment appeared for Chaz Mostert and Kai Allen, hitting one another as, Mostert escorting Allen to the edge of the track. David Reynolds took this opportunity to push his way through, coming door to door with Allen.
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Jack Lebrocq in the No.4 Sherrin Rentals Racing Chevrolet was showing aggression as he pushed his nose into the back of Chaz Mostert in the No.1 Mobil 1 Toyota Supra on lap 24.
An investigation was declared for car No.888, Will Brown's Red Bull Ampol Racing Mustang, has been declared for an alleged error of rotating wheels while in the air during re-fuelling.
Further post race investigations were announced for car No.17 and No.55 for a pit lane infringement, with just 100km's to go in the race.
On lap 28, race control announced a 15-second time penalty dished out to car No.888 for wheel spinning while re-fuelling, meaning both Red Bull Ampol Racing Mustang's had time penalties hanging above their end of race.
Race radio broke out on broadcast between engineer Andrew Edwards and Brown; Edwards carefully reiterating the time penalty received that cannot be served under a safety car.
On lap 31, Brown took his 15-second time penalty, finding him in 21st position, which was followed by a majority of the field taking their second pit stop of the race.
The second half of the race, on lap 36, saw Reynolds in car No.20 fighting against Cameron in car No.3, sticking his nose down the side of the Liqui Moly Mustang, pushing a bit of an overlap to get the move done.
Stewards imposed a penalty, on lap 37, to car No.55 for excessive track limits, putting Thomas Randle behind by 5-seconds.
Kostecki seemed to have been on a long-run, keeping the same set of soft tyres for 26-laps.
Lap 38 saw more action between car No.3 and car No.2 with Wood behind the wheel, roughng it up as they each fought for track position behind the top four. A train of two further eager cars, with car No.6 and car No.26, coming in hot on their tails - Waters divebombing his way past Allen.
Waters is known for his decisiveness and impatience when making moves on the track, making up three positions made within a lap and a half, with just twelve laps remaining.
On lap 41, Kai Allen followed in Waters' footsteps, gaining a side draft from Cameron's Mustang, helping him charge ahead.
Kostecki was another notable contender, who was out of reach for the podium, but on lap 41, he had made serious time since his slow pitstop, putting him +3.802 behind Payne in car No.19 in second.
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The final few laps of race 2 at the Dunlop Sydney 500 saw the top three drivers close their times, with Kostecki finding additional pace as the race came to a close.
On lap 45, Kostecki caught the back of Payne, both of them fighting out for the second step on the podium - Kostecki had advantage with his newer tyres, enabling the move to pass a bit smoother.
A side draft showed effective for Kostecki, as he then moved on to chasing down De Pasquale, only +3.542 behind with six laps to go.
Stewards imposed a 5-second time penalty on lap 47 to Cooper Murray in car No.99 for excessive track limits.
Mid pack kept their fight alive and well towards the end of the race, moves being made and some just hanging in there waiting for the chequered flag.
Lap 48 saw Payne come onto the radio to complain about his rear tyres, with the issue of no grip appearing to be an issue. Three tenths of a second was closed down by Kostecki onto De Pasquale, bringing the two contenders closer.
Lap 51 had fans on the edge of their seat as Kostecki in car No.17 was +1.015 behind De Pasquale, closing the gap.
On the same lap, Feeney and Wood had their rivarly fuelled up, each pushing and shoving one another, Feeney's elbows out as he shoved Wood out wide and overtook.
The last lap showcased an insanely close battle, Kostecki finding himself close to the back of the No.18 Chevrolet; De Pasquale held his nerve, with Kostecki behind by only +0.363 as they went past the chequered flag.
To finish off the podium, Payne came in third behind. Sydney 500's Race 2 showcased Team 18's first win since Darwin 2023.
The grid go racing one last time in Sydney tomorrow afternoon 4:05pm local time, with qualifying earlier in the afternoon at 12:10pm local time (AEDT).
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