What an absolute domination from Chaz on the streets of Surfers Paradise! Today’s race win secures Chaz a spot in the Supercars Semi Finals and also takes the Team to 200 race wins, a day to remember.
It appears we brought the Melbourne weather with us to the Gold Coast this weekend, although Chaz and Ryan aren’t complaining. Both cars rolled out of the truck right on pace with the drivers feeling comfortable in their cars from the get go.
Friday saw two practice sessions into qualifying where both drivers put together solid laps in wet conditions with Chaz provisionally sitting in P5 and Ryan in P6, securing their spot in the Top 10 shootout.
Ryan was fifth to go for the shootout this morning, he was dialled in as soon as he left the lane, setting a purple first sector, pushing the limits but unfortunately received a kerb hop which meant he wouldn’t set a lap time.
Chaz was up next, he didn’t leave a single millimetre out on track, he did leave some of his front bar though! Chaz blitzed the rest of the field who had run and put an entire second on everyone, securing himself a front row start in P2.
Race 31
It was a torrential downpour as the cars lined up for the first of two 250km races. To help dry up the track, the field did the first three laps under safety car before it peeled into the lane.
With strong pace early, Chaz took the lead by the end of the first green lap, whilst Ryan dropped a position down to P11.
The fastest out on track, Chaz built a 10 second gap to DePasquale in P2 whilst Ryan kept it clean in traffic with minimal vision ahead.
The Mobil 1 Truck Assist Racing No. 2 came into the lane on lap 23 for four tyres.
After lapping the rear of the field, and getting caught in unnecessary traffic, Chaz came into the lane on lap 28 for four tyres. Due to its large margin in the lead, the Mobil 1 Optus Racing No. 1 took a large drink of fuel for a shorter stop later on in the race.
Ultimately, lacking the car pace, Ryan was in the absolute thick of it, having to defend cars around him and dropped down to P21 from P11 by the half way point of the race.
Coming into the lane for his final stop early, the crew did a change to the front of car to help improve speed, grip and drivability for Ryan.
Chaz continued to build his lead, setting fastest lap after fastest lap. He had to keep his head down and keep it cool whilst still battling with cars who were a lap down.
Coming into the lane on lap 67 for his final stop, Chaz re-joined the track with a 28 second lead with 18 laps remaining.
The changes made to Ryan’s No. 2 car in the pit stop worked well, which saw Ryan gain on the cars ahead and saw him work his way up to P14 for his run home to the flag.
Continuing his domination, Chaz crossed the line in the lead and won the race. With the finals rule: win and you’re in, Chaz secured himself a spot into the Supercars Semi-Finals.
Ryan now sits 60 points below the cut-off for the finals, the fight is only just beginning, we will make sure we come out swinging tomorrow!
Chaz Mostert
“I can’t quite believe it, I just felt so comfortable in the car the whole race and to bring home a win for the crew, and to be locked into the semi finals, is only a small repayment to the hard work they’ve put in since Bathurst.
“200 race wins for this team is unbelievable, and to be able to contribute to that stat is pretty cool!
“I will sleep like a baby tonight but our focus now shifts onto making sure we can lock Woody into the semi finals tomorrow.”
Ryan Wood
“A tough day for us today which puts the pressure on us tomorrow but the fight isn’t over.
“A massive congrats to Chazzie and the Team on the win and 200 race wins, he did a mega job today and it’s awesome to pay off our crew after the last few weeks with a win today.”