Brown overcomes Mostert challenge for Bathurst victory

Will Brown overcame a strong challenge from Walkinshaw Andretti United’s Chaz Mostert to win the second and final race of the Bathurst 500.

Mostert had comfortably led over the first two stints but was jumped by the Red Bull entry in pit lane on Lap 29, with Brown hitting the front and slowly pulling clear over the final circuits for his first victory of the 2024 season.

Saturday’s race winner, Broc Feeney, completed the podium, overcoming an early five-second penalty for Lap 1 contact with James Golding.

As was the case a day prior, the front three pulled well clear of the field to comfortably secure the podium places, with fourth-placed Thomas Randle crossing the line some 20 seconds behind Feeney.

A bold strategy call from Penrite Racing to box Matt Payne early paid dividends for the team, with the Kiwi leaping into the top ten for seventh.

His teammate Richie Stanaway battled hard with DJR’s Will Davison over the final laps for the final spot in the top ten, with the #17 prevailing.

Andre Haimgartner came home in 17th, while Jaxon Evans was 21st.

Ryan Wood was the race’s sole DNF, caught up in a Lap 1 incident for the second day running through no fault of his own.

As he had done on Saturday, Mostert got away well from the front row and leapt pole-sitter Broc Feeney into the opening corner. Golding, starting fourth, followed the Mustang through to slot into second, relegating Feeney to third ahead of Brown.

Cameron Hill was tagger in the mid-field pack off the line and spun to the left, t-boning the side of Wood’s Mustang as the Kiwi ran up against the pit wall.

Hill was forced to limp for a circuit to return to pit lane, while Wood remained running but with damage.

Feeney closed onto the back of Golding, heading down Conrod Straight on the opening circuit, but locked up at The Chase as he put his nose up the inside, sending the fast-starting Camaro off the track to rejoin at the corner exit in eighth.

Feeney also lost out from the contact, with Brown sneaking through to second. He would receive a five-second penalty for the incident shortly after.

Payne was amongst the first to box on Lap 5 as soon as the pit window opened, and he dropped to the rear of the field but with clear air. Wood followed his compatriot in, with WAU taking his car to the garage due to damage on the Lap 1 incident and further contact following elsewhere.

Mostert stopped from the lead on Lap 12, returning ahead of the two Red Bull entries by over five seconds, with Feeney serving his penalty.

Payne jumped up to sixth once the first round of stops was complete.

The front three continued to pull clear over Randle, who remained fourth, over the middle stint and held a 17.9-second advantage once the second round of pit stops began.

Brown had eaten into Mostert’s advantage just before the leader stopped and would emerge in the net lead when returning to the track on Lap 30, with the Mustang right behind.

Mostert’s stop was compromised with difficulties changing the right front tyre, and the team were forced to put on a spare used option.

Feeney took on a larger fuel load in his final stop and lost ground on the lead duo.

With fresher tyres, Brown slowly pulled clear over the final laps, taking the chequered flag 1.5 seconds ahead of the Walkinshaw Andretti United Mustang.

Feeney did well to close in towards the front but ran out of laps to truly challenge for the positions.

Stanaway and Davison exchanged positions over the final two laps, with the Shell V-Power Mustang prevailing for a top-ten finish.

The victory gives Brown the championship lead from his teammate, with Stanaway and Payne featuring in the top ten.

Supercars return to action with the Melbourne SuperSprint over the weekend of March 21-24, with the event running in support of the Australian Grand Prix.

Bathurst 500 Race 2 Provisional Results

Header Image: Supercars