Ryan Wood and Jayden Ojeda's Mustang in action at Bathurst. Photo / Photosport
Eric Thompson at Bathurst
The Bathurst 1000 race creates legends, breaks careers, brings joy and breaks hearts. It’s one of those races any driver from around the world just wants to get a start and getting a win is almost an added bonus.
There are very few race events in the world in which drivers are desperate to compete. A lot has to do with the track itself, which is unique in the world of motorsport being a public road up and down a mountain.
After speaking to many drivers over the years the main attraction is how difficult and challenging the place. There is absolutely no room for error making Mount Panorama at the top of risk versus reward tracks.
What makes it so hard to win these days as opposed to, say, the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s is the race is run flat out from the time the lights go out. No more is there a middle period of the race where drivers can chill out a bit, save the car and themselves for an all-out sprint to the finish during the last hour.
Most people up and down pitlane have taken to calling the Bathurst 1000 the world’s longest sprint race. Modern Supercars cars are now pretty much mechanically bullet proof and the weakest link, especially if it’s going to be hot or teeming with rain, will be the drivers.
Hence a big focus on teams signing the right co-driver who can match pace and fitness with the main game drivers. There is no time to rest in the cars these days as everything is on the ragged edge 100% of the time with fitness, hydration, concentration and the will to win paramount if a team wants to be in the hunt at the pointy end of race.
With that in mind, the co-drivers had an hour on Saturday morning to fine-tune and tweak themselves before the race later today.
Scott Pye, co-driving with Will Brown, set the fastest lap in the co-driver-only session. Four-time Bathurst winner Jamie Whincup (Broc Feeney) had a mixed bag, first spinning off at Hell Corner and bringing out a red flag, and then setting the second fastest time.
Behind the two Red Bull Ampol cars was Mark Winterbottom (Cam Waters), Garth Tander (Matthew Payne) and Zach Bates (Craig Lowndes). The only Kiwi co-driver in the field, Fabian Coulthard, who’s alongside Chaz Mostert, was sixth fastest.
The final practice before the top-10 shoot-out saw Feeney on top from Mostert, Waters, Cooper Murray and Brodie Kostecki. Ryan Wood was the best of the Kiwis in seventh with Matthew Payne ninth, Jaxon Evans 18th and Andre Heimgartner 27th.
The session wasn’t without incident as Tomas Randle moved across the track causing Mostert to take evasive action and Wiil Brown responding with a spin down the escape road.
Number one pick
After last year’s near miss where they finished second, and on current form, Broc Feeney and co-driver Jamie Whincup are odds on to get their first Bathurst 1000 win as a pairing. Feeney’s qualifying performances this year have been beyond his peers, and he’s been the pacesetter in the majority of races so far. Whincup’s pedigree goes without saying and has an envious Bathurst record. The pair had a hiccup at the last round, despite being very quick, and have worked hard to avoid the same issues this weekend.
A close second
Brodie Kostecki is very fast around Mount Panorama and is the defending Bathurst 1000 champion. He’s got a really solid co-driver in Todd Hazelwood who he combined with for the 2024 win. They won at The Bend as a precursor to this weekend’s event. Ford have been on the back foot a bit lately and they will probably turn it around at arguably the toughest track on the race calendar.
Don’t discount
Cam Waters almost deserves to win after 11 attempts. He’s come close in the past and come unstuck a few times due to no fault of his own. For Waters it’s unfinished business, and he’s been fast all year with four podiums in the past four races. His co-driver is Mark Winterbottom, who has both a Bathurst 1000 and a Supercars championship to his name. He has so much experience and might have a point to prove now he’s no longer a main game driver.
In with a chance
Kiwi Matthew Payne has the well-respected and proven Bathurst 1000 winner Garth Tander sharing driver duties this weekend. Payne sits second in the championship behind Broc Feeney and has been consistently fast all season. His Taupō dominance cemented him as a real contender in the championship. Payne made the top-10 shoot-out last year but struggled a little through the race. With an extra year’s experience and Tander as a co-pilot, they’ll be in with a fair chance to win.
Outsider
Kiwi Ryan Wood has come of age in the championship this year. His undoubted raw pace has been honed this year as indicated by getting his first race win at Perth. His co-driver, Jayden Ojeda, has a couple of Bathurst Six Hour wins so knows his way around Mount Panorama. If Walkinshaw Andretti United can balance the pairs rapid pace with a little caution to make it to the end, they could be there or thereabout come the last hour of the race.