Brodie Kostecki made a triumphant return to the top step of the podium in Race 20 of the 2025 Supercars Championship, claiming victory in the opening 100km sprint of the Townsville 500 triple-header weekend.
The Dick Johnson Racing driver led from lights to flag on a dry Reid Park circuit, overcoming early pressure from Cam Waters and ultimately crossing the line with a 4.3-second margin.
For Kiwi fans, all eyes were on Matt Payne, who started strongly from fourth on the grid and held position across much of the 35-lap contest. The Grove Racing pilot kept the leading pack and briefly looked in contention for a podium before Anton De Pasquale edged clear in the closing laps.
Payne came home a solid fourth, continuing his strong form this season.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the New Zealand contingent. Ryan Wood and Richie Stanaway were caught in tight midfield battles early, while Jaxon Evans’ tough run of form continued with a lap-one incident that saw significant damage to the front of his #12 Camaro.
After limping back to pit lane, Evans spent most of the race in the garage before rejoining briefly for system checks, ultimately finishing 24th and 25 laps down.
Wood lost ground early from his P10 starting spot and gambled on strategy by being the first to take his compulsory pit stop on Lap 10. Only the rear tyres were changed, a move that initially elevated him up the order but came back to bite late in the race as grip fell away. After running as high as fourth, he slipped to 12th by the flag.
Stanaway also ran within the top 12 for much of the race but struggled for pace after taking just two tyres in his stop and faded to 16th.
Andre Heimgartner had a relatively uneventful run. After some early dicing in the midfield and staying out deep into the pit window, he emerged in a solid 11th, just outside the top 10.
A major talking point mid-race arose when James Courtney made heavy contact with his teammate Aaron Cameron, sending the latter off track and narrowly avoiding the tyre wall.
The incident was triggered by a bold move from Heimgartner at Turn 3, which unsettled the pack. Brown capitalised, Courtney got impatient, and Cameron was the unfortunate casualty of some aggressive team-on-team action.
The midfield battles stayed intense throughout the race, particularly in the final 10 laps. Broc Feeney, one of the day’s best movers, stormed up the order from deep in the pack to finish 8th after a late pass on Jack Le Brocq.
Will Brown also looked racy, but a small mistake while trying to pass Le Brocq allowed Feeney through instead.
Tyre degradation was a key topic on the abrasive Townsville street circuit, and teams varied in their strategies. While Waters, Kostecki, and Payne opted for four-tyre stops, others like Wood and Stanaway tried to make two-tyre strategies work.
It ultimately paid dividends for the front-runners, with Kotestcki taking out the win and Waters finishing second. De Pasquale held onto third despite Payne’s pursuit.
That felt awesome, the Shell V-Power Mustang was on fire today,” Kostecki said.
“I had Cam breathing down my neck the whole race, I know I couldn’t make a mistake. What an awesome feeling, to get the monkey off the back is just absolutely unreal.
“I’ve been pretty fortunate to win some pretty cool races, but this feels real special.”
Courtney, Percat, and several midfield runners pitted earlier than most, attempting undercuts that largely failed to deliver any significant gains as tyre life proved crucial in the final stint.
Race 20 Top 10 Results:
- Brodie Kostecki – Dick Johnson Racing
- Cam Waters – Tickford Racing +4.315s
- Anton De Pasquale – Team 18 +10.920s
- Matt Payne – Grove Racing +12.079s
- Bryce Fullwood – Brad Jones Racing + 15.939s
- Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United +16.738s
- Will Davison – Dick Johnson Racing +17.472s
- Broc Feeney – Triple Eight Race Engineering +23.011s
- Jack Le Brocq – Erebus Motorsport +23.539s
- Will Brown – Triple Eight Race Engineering +24.047s
Kiwi Results Recap – Race 20:
- Matt Payne – 4th
- Andre Heimgartner – 11th
- Ryan Wood – 12th
- Richie Stanaway – 16th
- Jaxon Evans – 24th (DNF classified)
Race 20 was the first of three across the weekend in Townsville, with points at a premium in this crucial mid-season stretch. Payne continues to prove himself a consistent front-runner, while Heimgartner and Wood will look to convert promising pace into top-ten results and reassess their strategy for the next two races.
Stanaway will hope for a stronger showing with a smarter strategy in Race 21. For Evans, it’s simply about breaking his run of brutal misfortune.
Races 21 and 22, both 200km, take place on Saturday and Sunday, and with track temperatures expected to rise, tyre management will again be central to the outcome. Can Payne fight onto the podium? Will Wood bounce back with more grip to work with? Time will tell.
Header Image: Shell V-Power Racing
