Articles by Rebecca Williams

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Young gun holds off Red Bull duo as Mostert wins three in a row

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Rebecca Williams @BecHeraldSun 12 min read November 15, 2025 - 5:32PMNews Sport Network Ouça este artigo Copied URL to clipboard codesports.com.au Free tickets for Supercars opener Motorsport: Fans are in for a treat for next season's Supercars opening round, with free tickets available for the opening race at the... Don't miss out on the headlines from Supercars. Followed categories will be added to My News. Chaz Mostert’s quest for a maiden Supercars crown has lifted another gear after the Ford star stormed to a third consecutive win, steal the championship lead and book a ticket straight to the Adelaide grand final in the opening leg of the Sandown 500. After his back-to-back wins on the Gold Coast, the Walkinshaw Andretti United driver locked in his place for the title decider at the end of the month and unseat Broc Feeney from the top of the standings for the first time in six months. Still chasing a maiden championship win 12 years after his Supercars debut, 33-year-old Mostert took his fourth win for the year as he led home a fast-finishing Will Brown, who staged a stunning recovery to finish second after starting from 15th on the grid following a qualifying shocker to keep his championship defence alive. Chaz Mostert won three races in a row for the first time in his Supercars career. Picture: Getty Images Mostert took the win with support from his teammate Ryan Wood - who is out of the finals race - with the young Kiwi staging a thrilling late-race battle with Brown to hold off the Red Bull Camaro as long as he could to protect the two-time Bathurst winner’s lead. After an epic tussle, Brown passed Wood with four laps to go with the New Zealand young gun finishing third after starting the race from pole. It is the first time in his career Mostert has secured three straight wins, but he said he owed it to his teammate. “I owe Woody a beer tonight, he saved my bacon out there today,” Mostert said. “I struggled for a bit of rear tyre life, but just so glad to hang on. “It was so awesome sharing the front row, Woody would have been a hard man to beat if he didn’t have to slow up for the old fella today. “It’s a real team win and we’ll celebrate it hard after the weekend. Just awesome. “Three in a row, it’s amazing, but today was a bit of a gift.” Chaz Mostert now leads the standings by three points. Picture: Getty Images The victory moved Mostert to the top of the standings, three points ahead of fourth-placed Feeney, who has led the championship since Symmons Plains in May. The top four drivers at the end of the round will advance to the Adelaide grand final, while the bottom three will be eliminated. After sitting fifth in the elimination zone heading into the Sandown round, Brown was the big mover in the standings, jumping up to third behind Mostert and Feeney. Grove Racing’s Bathurst 1000 winner Matt Payne slipped to fourth position after finishing the first of two 250 km races in sixth place. Of the seven remaining finalists, Grove Racing rookie Kai Allen and Tickford Racing pair Cam Waters and Thomas Randle now sit in the elimination zone for the grand final. Waters finished 12th, while Randle was 16th after starting the race from 22nd on the grid. Mostert had leapt from sixth to second in the standings after his pair of wins on the Gold Coast and he has carried that momentum into the Sandown semi-final. The Supercars fan favourite has finished third in the championship three times and considered the series’ new finals system as his best chance to add a title to his two Bathurst 1000 crowns. WOOD VOWS TO HELP MOSTERT Kiwi young gun Ryan Wood has vowed to “help Chazzy out” after securing a front-row lock-out for Walkinshaw Andretti United for the first leg of the Sandown 500 as defending Supercars champion Will Brown’s finals campaign struck trouble. After being eliminated from the finals race on the Gold Coast, Wood said his priority was now to help his teammate and title contender Chaz Mostert after he secured pole position for Saturday’s first 250km race with a blistering Top 10 shootout lap. Wood edged out Mostert by just 0.162sec to take his third pole of the season, bouncing back from two heartbreaking rounds at Bathurst and at Surfers Paradise. Mostert, who sits second in the championship standings, led the drivers still in the finals mix ahead of Grove Racing duo Kai Allen (fifth) and Matt Payne (sixth), Broc Feeney (seventh) and Cam Waters (ninth). Walkingshaw Andretti United driver Ryan Wood, pictured here in action on the Surfers Paradise street circuit, is out of contention for the 2025 Supercars championship, due to the new finals series format to decide this year's championship race. Picture: Brendan Radke But there was trouble for defending Supercars champion Brown, who missed the shootout and will start from 15th on the grid for the 81-lap race, while Thomas Randle’s finals campaign is also in a precarious position after qualifying 22nd. Both Brown and Randle sit in the danger zone for elimination in the championship with the top four progressing to the Adelaide grand final. Wood said he was now focused on doing what he could to help Mostert’s finals hopes. “The (car) is a rocket at the moment, so I really want to convert it this afternoon into a good result,” Wood said. “But first thing’s first is to help Chazzy out, so eyes on. Ryan Wood driver of the #2 Mobil1 Truck Assist Racing Ford Mustang GT celebrates with team owner Ryan Walkinshaw after taking pole position for race 30 Sandown (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) “For me, it’s all about executing a good start. You can’t really play anything out until it happens. If we can just lead and pull away, that will make our life easy and do what we have to. “Obviously Goldy was tough, but to bounce back the way we have is really cool.” Sitting fifth in the championship, Brown now has the job ahead of him to push through the field and keep his title defence alive. “It just felt like we didn’t put the best laps together then,” Brown said. “It didn’t feel great, it is what it is …. we just didn’t do a good enough job, so we’re 15th. “It’s disappointing to be honest. We’ve done heaps between Gold Coast and here to try and improve this and I’ve done a lot of simulator work, but it didn’t work out.” Late spin costs Brown as Mostert shows Championship credentials Chaz Mostert fired the first shot among the Supercars title combatants to lead the seven remaining finalists in practice at Sandown on Friday. While Team 18 veteran David Reynolds topped the final practice session, Walkinshaw Andretti United star Mostert was the best of the finalists, finishing second fastest. Reynolds’ teammate Anton De Pasquale, who was fastest in the first practice session, was third, while championship leader Broc Feeney and James Golding rounded out the top five. Arriving at Sandown after back-to-back wins on the Gold Coast, Mostert showed strong pace as soon as he hit the track when he also finished second in the first session. Chaz Mostert has set the pace among the Supercars finalists racing at Sandown. “It was a good confidence-building day for us, I think we were second in the first session and second in this session,” Mostert, who sits second in the championship standings, said. “We’ve got a little bit of tuning to do to make the car a bit better, but we’re trying a few little things, but the car feels like it is around the window. “Overall, a pretty good start for the weekend. I can hopefully sleep a bit nicer tonight and we’ll see what weather and what we’ve got in store tomorrow.” There are seven drivers still in contention for the 2025 championship – Feeney, Mostert, Matt Payne, Cam Waters, Will Brown, Kai Allen and Thomas Randle. The top four at the end of the round will progress to the Adelaide grand final, while the bottom four will be eliminated. Defending Supercars champion Brown, who won the Sandown endurance race last year, was seventh fastest in final practice after a late spin, just ahead of Waters in eighth. Randle was 13th, while Grove Racing duo Matt Payne and Kai Allen were 15th and 16th. There is qualifying, a top 10 shootout and the first of two 250 km races at Sandown on Saturday. Reynolds goes fastest right at the death of it!#RepcoSC#Supercarspic.twitter.com/zr9HBvvqzC— Supercars (@supercars) November 14, 2025 The Finals pressure is setting in for the reigning champ 👀#RepcoSC#Supercarspic.twitter.com/TWZmbhQ8hj— Supercars (@supercars) November 14, 2025 SECRET WEAPON DRIVING FORD STAR’S CHAMPIONSHIP SURGE Chaz Mostert heard the naysayers questioning if he would slow down on track once he became a father. While the Ford star is the first to admit his priorities in life have shifted since he welcomed his young daughter, Everly, into the family, Mostert is revelling in proving doubters wrong. Not only has he not slowed down, 33-year-old Mostert felt becoming a dad had actually sharpened his focus as a driver. In fact, the dual Bathurst 1000 champion – the only father still in finals contention – said the 19-month-old could even be his secret weapon as he continued his quest for a breakthrough championship in the Supercars finals. “People kind of grill you a little bit and go, ‘Oh, you’ve had a baby, you’re going to lose some pace’,” Mostert said. “If anything, I think it actually makes me focus on it even more. “Once the helmet is on, all I want to do is show some of these young guys that there is still plenty of fight in some of these mid-aged racing car drivers and go toe-to-toe with them. Ford star Chaz Mostert celebrates with his wife, Riarne, and young daughter, Everly, after winning on the Gold Coast. Picture: Mark Horsburgh. “Sometimes days in sport don’t go to plan. I’m so lucky to have what I have off-track, a beautiful family, beautiful wife and a little 19-month-old who is keeping me very young at home as well. “At the end of the day, they don’t really care how the day goes or not, as long as I come home and be the dad that they need me to be. It makes it good to be able to switch off in those moments where everything is not going to plan. “I think that is something I think I do have a bit over the guys that I am racing in the finals at the moment. Maybe (dad-to-be) Cam (Waters) will know in the next 12 months himself how that kind of balance changes off-track.” As Mostert continues his late charge for the Supercars crown, his wife, Riarne, and Everly, reneged on their initial plans to skip the Sandown round so they could be at the track to support the Walkinshaw Andretti United star. “She (Everly) is so young, she is probably not going to remember any of these memories of dad racing cars and stuff like that, but I always will,” Mostert said. “It’s very special for me to be able to have them here. Copied URL to clipboard codesports.com.au Mostert looking to book spot in final Supercars: Chaz Mostert is looking to book a spot in the first ever supercars final. “They weren’t originally coming to this (Sandown round), but they have bolstered up on the plan to make sure that they are here for the last final rounds as well and give me all the balance I need off track to try and do it.” Mostert is holding up his end of the bargain to storm into championship contention after a stunning opening finals round on the Gold Coast. The Supercars fan favourite leapt from sixth to second in the standings after back-to-back wins at Surfers Paradise and is hoping to ride that momentum at Sandown into the grand final at Adelaide. “When you’ve got some results on the board, you believe that you can do it and you know that you can do it, too,” Mostert said. “It’s sometimes a bit of a mental challenge throughout the year when you are not getting the results that you want, but I’m glad what we’ve done throughout this year got us into a good position for Goldy, especially, and we’ll see if it works this weekend as well. “In sport, you are only as good as your last result, so we’re coming into Sandown obviously feeling very pumped up and ready to fight and know that we can do it.” Ford star Chaz Mostert sits second in the Supercars championship ahead of the Sandown 500 Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images Off-track results aside, Mostert has already delivered one of the viral moments of the 2025 Supercars season at Mount Panorama. After mechanical issues forced an early end to his Bathurst 1000, Mostert famously downed a beer with the punters at The Chase, but the aftertaste still lingers. “A lot of people have been saying to me, ‘I bet that beer tasted good’, but it actually was probably the opposite way, it didn’t taste as good because unfortunately I wish I was still out there racing,” Mostert said. “It’s one of those ones, it’s a pretty cool moment and everyone keeps reflecting on it, which is cool, but it still hurts not finishing Bathurst.” Still chasing an elusive championship 12 years after his Supercars debut, Mostert, who has finished third in the championship three times, believed the new finals system was his best chance to add a title to his two Bathurst 1000 wins. “Someone asked me the other day what I think about the finals series and does it suit me and I would say these coming years in the next couple of years are probably my best chance to try and win one with the changes,” Mostert said. “I’m up for the challenge and got the experience on my side …. I feel like I’ve got all the weapons in the arsenal to try and do it, we’ve just got to see if we can. “My biggest threat and rival is myself. That’s the sole focus.” Chaz Mostert celebrates after one of his wins on the Gold Coast. Picture: Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images Not only is Mostert the only dad still in the finals mix, but he is also the only driver without a teammate still in the equation after Ryan Wood was eliminated on the Gold Coast. The rest of the finals contingent consists of Red Bull pair Broc Feeney and Will Brown, the Grove Racing Fords of Matt Payne and Kai Allen and the Tickford Mustangs of Cam Waters and Thomas Randle. It was another angle Mostert said the team hoped to exploit with the ability to throw all their intelligence and focus at one car to try and deliver a championship. “It’s got to be something different for sure than all the other guys that are in there,” Mostert. “I know for me, I’ve got Woody in my corner trying everything to do heavy lifting in practice and in qualifying and he is solely focused on trying to help myself get to where we need to as a team for these finals. “Woody deserves to be in the seven, but it just puts more pressure on myself so that I do this for the both of us.” Brown: ‘Lot of f*** ups’ won’t ruin my Supercars finals bid Defending champion Will Brown is confident he can strike back from a “lot of f**k ups” on the Gold Coast to avoid elimination from the Supercars finals race and keep his title defence alive at his Sandown “happy hunting ground” this weekend. The Triple Eight star enters the second round of the Supercars finals series in fifth position in the danger zone for elimination after a bruising round on the Gold Coast last month. Brown needs to finish in the top four at the end of the Sandown round in order to remain in contention for the 2025 championship at the season-ending grand final in Adelaide. Brown’s Triple Eight teammate Broc Feeney leads the championship standings ahead of Ford trio Chaz Mostert, Matt Payne and Cam Waters, while Brown, Kai Allen and Thomas Randle sit in the elimination zone. Will Brown says he’s desperate to bounce back from a disappointing round on the Gold Coast. The Toowoomba pilot is just 12 points behind fourth-placed Waters and 84 behind Feeney. But the Toowoomba pilot said the pressure was on every driver in the finals – not just the three sitting in the danger zone – and he was banking on his strong recent form at Sandown to help give him an edge. “To be honest, I don’t feel a lot more pressure being fifth as if I was third or even probably closer to second,” Brown said. “I think that all of us from seventh up to second are probably close enough in points that all of us have a chance to get through and we all have a chance to get knocked out as well. “There is pressure for all of us, including Broc. You have a crash and there is high pressure. “I think we are all in the same boat, it’s just about putting your best foot forward, trying to minimise mistakes, crashes obviously, there are always things that are out of your hands. “I feel confident coming here, I have qualified pole the last two years here, won the 500 last year (with Scott Pye) and I feel like it has been a happy hunting ground for me pretty much my whole career. “I’m more confident coming into this weekend than I was on the Gold Coast.” Kai Allen, Cameron Waters, Chaz Mostert, Broc Feeney, Matt Payne, Will Brown and Thomas Randle pose ahead of the Penrite Oil Sandown 500. Brown endured a testing round at Surfers Paradise when he recovered from two qualifying crashes to finish fifth and eighth in the pair of 250km races. “It was just a lot of f**k ups to be honest – that’s pretty much how I’m going to put it – on my behalf,” Brown said. “It’s hard to look back on that and see how you improve that, you try and make sure you do more simulator work, make sure you are more prepared for each weekend, but unfortunately they are split second decisions that cause those crashes. “Hopefully we have got that out of the road and we can just focus on the rest of the year.” After one of the most consistent seasons on record to win the title last year, Brown said his title defence had “definitely not” played out as he had hoped. Brown has had just two wins and one pole, while his teammate Feeney has had 12 victories and 14 pole positions. “I think anyone can see that it’s been a disappointing title defence, but at the end of the day we’re not out of it,” Brown said. “We’ve got a shot to win the championship here and I would have liked to have done a lot better job. “Our biggest thing is to get through this weekend …. I think we get through that final four in Adelaide and we have got a shot.” Originally published as Supercars: Ryan Wood helps teammate Chaz Mostert’s championship charge Join the conversation (1 Comment) Add your comment to this story To join the conversation, please log in. Don't have an account? Join the conversation, you are commenting as More related stories ‘Done and dusted’: Tander calls time after Bathurst fairytale Six-time Bathurst 1000 champion Garth Tander has declared his 2025 win at Mount Panorama as the perfect way to close his Supercars driving career. 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