Mustangs gallop in the wild west (of Australia)
AUSTRALIAN SUPERCARS WANNEROO (AUS) 18-19 MAY ROUND 4/12
After eight races of Chevrolet dominance, Ford has finally broken through to take its first two wins in the 2024 Supercars Championship at Wanneroo Raceway in Western Australia.
It was Chaz Mostert and then Cameron Waters who ended the drought to register victories in the two races. Walkinshaw Andretti United racer Mostert won the Saturday race after taking pole position, and Waters replicated those achievements the next day in the Tickford Mustang, but only after a pitlane penalty demoted Mostert, who had finished ahead of him on the road, to second place. The WAU crew had released Mostert into the path of Waters’s team-mate Thomas Randle, who was forced to hit the brakes. Mostert later put his hand up and explained that he had been slow away from the stop.
It may have been Ford’s weekend, but once again Will Brown showed that he is the most consistent of the Chevrolet drivers by taking a second and then a third in his Triple Eight Camaro, in spite of a fivesecond penalty due to an on-track clash involving the unlucky Randle. His teammate Broc Feeney had a more difficult weekend, claiming fifth and seventh.
WAU showed consistent speed. Apart from Mostert, rookie Ryan Wood equalled his best result of the season with fourth on Saturday after leading the race early, and he was eighth on Sunday.
Will Davison was best of the rest with fourth place in his Dick Johnson Racing Ford on Sunday after a throttle problem on Saturday. Brodie Kostecki had a terrible weekend in front of his home fans, spearing off on the opening lap on Saturday, although he showed some speed when he qualified sixth on Sunday before retiring with overheating.
The results mean Brown extends his points lead over Feeney to 136, with Mostert maintaining third. Waters has partially turned around a tough start to the season to move to fourth place. Waters and Brown next face their NASCAR Cup debuts at Sonoma.