Brodie Kostecki secured pole position for the AirTouch 500 at The Bend after a stunning performance in the top-10 shootout at the South Australian track. Driving the Dick Johnson Racing Ford Mustang GT, Kostecki stopped the clock at 1m16.3756s, beating Grove Racing heavyweight Matt Payne by 0.0736 seconds.
Brodie Kostecki Claims Pole Position for The Bend 500 Shootout
Kostecki qualified fifth in the preceding session with a 1m16.4106s lap and improved his personal best in the shootout, finishing as the only driver in the session to improve session-on-session. Payne looked on course for the top spot after setting the fastest opening sector of 24.0848s and the fastest second sector of 24.5571s, but Kostecki turned the lap around in the final sector. His 27.6834s was the fastest third sector of the shootout and 0.1239 seconds quicker than Payne’s, overcoming an earlier deficit.
“Super excited. I just want to thank everyone at the Shell V-Power Racing Team. This #17 Ford Mustang was on song then,
” Kostecki said, according to Speedcafe. “Big thank you to everyone that’s here supporting us and also back home at the workshop. What an awesome way to start our enduro campaign.
”
Front Row and Tickford Lockout Details
Kostecki will share the front row on Sunday with Grove Racing’s Matt Payne, who finished second in the shootout with a time of 1m16.4492s. Ford locked out the first two rows of the grid. Tickford Racing teammates Cameron Waters and Thomas Randle claimed third and fourth positions respectively. Waters recorded a 1m16.6509s lap alongside Mark Winterbottom, while Randle posted a 1m16.6641s lap with Reuben Goodall.
Provisional pole sitter Anton De Pasquale finished fifth fastest with a 1m16.7263s lap for Team 18, lamenting a lack of grip after being unable to replicate his earlier form in the shootout. De Pasquale will share the third row with Payne’s Grove Racing teammate Kai Allen, who qualified sixth with a 1m16.7830s lap.
Shootout Results and Field Breakdown
The top-10 shootout field featured a competitive mix of Chevrolet and Ford entries across multiple teams. Broc Feeney qualified seventh for Triple Eight Race Engineering with a time of 1m16.7929s, ahead of Matt Stone Racing’s Zach Bates in eighth at 1m16.9905s. Jobe Stewart of Erebus Motorsport took ninth with a 1m17.0517s lap, and Jayden Ojeda rounded out the top ten for PremiAir Racing at 1m17.0733s. Defending champion Chaz Mostert missed the shootout entirely and is set to start 11th.
Kostecki will share the #17 Ford Mustang with long-time co-driver Todd Hazelwood for the upcoming endurance race. Hazelwood described the South Australian circuit as a home event due to his family’s former farm being located approximately 100km from the venue.
“It’s always cool to be here in front of the home state,
” Hazelwood said, according to Auto Action. “Very much racing in my backyard.
”
Race Day Schedule and Championship Context
The Bend 500 gets underway at 1:45pm ACST on Sunday, with the 26-strong field returning to the track for the 500km race. Kostecki enters the opening endurance race of the Supercars season holding seven race wins and six poles on the year, looking to claim back-to-back wins at the event after winning the inaugural South Australian endurance race last year alongside Hazelwood.
* Pole Position: Brodie Kostecki (Dick Johnson Racing, Ford Mustang GT) – 1:16.3756 * Second Place: Matthew Payne (Grove Racing, Ford Mustang GT) – 1:16.4492 * Third Place: Cameron Waters (Tickford Racing, Ford Mustang GT) – 1:16.6509 * Fourth Place: Thomas Randle (Tickford Racing, Ford Mustang GT) – 1:16.6641 * Fifth Place: Anton De Pasquale (Team 18, Chev Camaro ZL1) – 1:16.7263
