Brodie's Eyes Focused On Bathurst Redemption...
Shell V-Power Racing Team's standout driver, Brodie Kostecki, has moved beyond his unexpected performance at The Bend, which he described as an "outlier."
Kostecki and Todd Hazelwood are heading to Bathurst eager to recover, after struggling from pole position to finish 15th in the AirTouch 500 at The Bend.
The Kostecki/Hazelwood Mustang was highly favored for the Ryco Enduro Cup but approaches Bathurst at a disadvantage. Nevertheless, Kostecki — who boasts more victories than anyone else in 2026 — insists that the #17’s poor performance at The Bend was an exception. There was a lot of anticipation and excitement.
"Ultimately, I'm just focused on reaching Sunday first, and it would be fantastic to try and win the Peter Brock Trophy again with my good friend Toddy," Kostecki stated.
"We've had excellent car speed recently, and the team has been performing well.
"The Bend was somewhat of an anomaly for us, but we'll regroup and push forward."
The Dick Johnson Racing team attributed a tyre batch issue to Hazelwood’s difficulties at The Bend, which caused the #17 Ford to fall from pole to 20th — 40 seconds behind the leader — in just 20 laps. Ultimately, a pit speed penalty and overheating dashed the #17’s chances. "We both know that both [DJR] cars started on wet tyres with the same tyre pressures, yet there was a significant pace difference," Kostecki explained.
"Eventually, we switched to a different set of wets, and the car performed well, so there's still much to analyze. We aim to be fully prepared for the biggest race of the season." Kostecki is aiming for a record fourth consecutive Bathurst pole, which would surpass the achievements of Allan Moffat (1970-72) and Peter Brock (1977-79).
Track activities at Mount Panorama begin on Thursday, October 8.
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