It was a bit of what could have been today with power steering issues forcing Ryan Wood to retire and Chaz Mostert overcoming an early setback after finding oil on track that dropped him to the mid pack before climbing back up to P6.

Today was a milestone day for Chaz as he celebrated 400 Supercars starts, both he and the Team wanted to make it one to remember. He started the day off strong with an impressive lap in the Top 10 Shootout, scoring himself a second row start in P4.

On the other side of the garage, it was a tough qualifying session for Ryan, who lined up P17 for the 200km race.

Both drivers launched cleanly off the line, with Ryan making an aggressive start and gaining three positions in the opening laps. However, his charge came to an abrupt end on lap six when a power steering issue forced the Mobil 1 Truck Assist No. 2 into retirement.

Just one lap later, Chaz’s race also took an unfortunate turn when he encountered oil on the circuit, running wide and dropping from P4 to P15 in already challenging conditions.

The Mobil 1 Optus Racing No. 1 pitted on lap 27 for the first of its two compulsory stops. Armed with a tyre advantage over the cars around him, Chaz immediately began carving his way back through the field and was consistently the fastest driver on track.

By the end of his second stint, Mostert had climbed back to effectively P7, an incredible recovery from earlier on in the race, but there was plenty more work to do for a solid result.

The one of the final leaders to make his final stop, Chaz continued his attack right until the checkered flag, ultimately salvaging a P6 finish.

Chaz Mostert

“Well, that wasn’t the way I wanted my 400th race to go, we found oil on the track and dropped down the pack and that made it pretty difficult for myself from there.

“It was fun out there, the car pace was mega, the Team did an awesome job tuning the Mobil 1 Optus Racing No. 1 up overnight.

“A massive thanks to all of the fans who have turned up this weekend, it’s been pretty hot out there so we really appreciate all of your support.”

Ryan Wood

“Today wasn’t our day.

“The six laps I did get to race today were really fun, the car was hooked up and I’m disappointed to not have been able to finish the race as we could have been on for a good result.

We get another shot at it tomorrow, we will fix the car up tonight and come out swinging in the morning.”