Not the weekend we were after here at Bathurst.

It was a challenging start to the weekend for the Car 2 crew, with Ryan Wood suffering a 42g impact on Friday morning that ruled him out of qualifying that afternoon. The crew put in an incredible effort, stripping the car back to a bare chassis and meticulously rebuilding it to ensure every nut and bolt was back in place ahead of Saturday morning practice.

The damage meant the Mobil 1 Truck Assist Racing No. 2 would start the race from the rear of the field. But with the team knowing anything is possible from the back of the grid, spirits remained high heading into race day.

On the other side of the garage, the Mobil 1 Optus Racing No. 1 also had some work to do after a challenging qualifying session saw Chaz set the 16th fastest time. The focus shifted to improving race pace, with Chaz and Fabian growing more confident in the car as the weekend progressed.

Race 30

Wood/Evans: 24th
Mostert/Coulthard: DNF

Fabian Coulthard and Jaxon Evans were behind the wheel for the start of the 1000km race, with both cars having clean opening laps and gaining three positions. With a long race ahead, settling into the rhythm early was key.

As the race progressed, soaring track temperatures brought tyre degradation and blistering into play, with the whole fielding working hard to manage their tyres in the hot challenging conditions.

By lap 50, Chaz was sitting in P17 with Ryan sitting in P21. The Mobil 1 Optus Racing No. 1 was showing strong pace, with Chaz setting the fastest lap on track at that point before quickly gaining another position to move up to P16.

At the halfway mark, Chaz and Fabian were sitting in P14, working their way through the field. Ryan and Jaxon were running in P20, still battling tyre degradation.

The longer fuel stops provided valuable opportunities for both crews to make adjustments, working to improve the balance of the cars, help with tyre degradation and give the drivers more confidence for the second half of the race.

The second half of the race saw the field settle into position, with large gaps between cars limiting passing opportunities.

On lap 140, Car 2 sustained significant damage in an incident, bringing Ryan into the lane for repairs. The crew worked quickly to get the car back on track, allowing Ryan to finish the race and secure his place in the Top 10 Finals.

With a few laps to go, Chaz had an incident at the dipper which saw him parked on the side of the track, unable to finish the race. Thankfully, Chaz is okay.

While the results weren’t what we were hoping for this weekend, we can take plenty of positives away, with both Chaz and Ryan securing their places in the Top 10 Finals.

Chaz Mostert

“Just six laps from home and unfortunately binned the car at the elbow, just locked the rears a little bit, you use that kind of balance of the car to rotate the car in but late in the afternoon and I got a bit too narrow.

“The hit was pretty big but I was lucky to hit the tyres not the concrete wall. I’m gutted for our whole team, sponsors and fan support.

“As much as I am gutted, we will regroup and get ready for Round 1 of the finals in a couple of weeks’ time.”

Fabian Coulthard

“Obviously not the end result we were after but the main thing is that Chaz is okay and he will be there to fight in the Gold Coast in a couple of weeks’ time.

“We had a really good lead up, I thought, but at the end of the day a top 10 was all we could really fight for today.

“A massive thanks to our entire crew who have worked so hard all week, it would have been nice to reward them with a better result but unfortunately this one got away.”

Ryan Wood

“First of all, a big credit to the guys and girls in the team, a massive effort to just get us out there, we knew it was going to be an uphill battle and it sure was today.

“Unfortunately, when you start last your odds are stacked against you and we just didn’t have the speed to really make any headways.

“In the end when you are pushing hard, you can get unstuck pretty quickly around here and that’s what happened for me.

“Just a big sorry to the crew and I’m really glad Chazzie is okay cause I know how it feels down there.”

Jaxon Evans

“Today really is the highs and lows of motorsport. The Sunday after The Bend was the highest of highs for the team and Sunday here at Bathurst is the polar opposite.

“The positive thing is that Chazzie is okay after his incident, it’s never great when these things happen.

“A massive thanks to the entire team for getting the car repaired and rolling straight after the accident on Friday but it’s a tough place going racing here. But at the end of the day, it’s been a pleasure driving the car with Woody and sharing the last few weeks with the Team.”