PODCAST: Kostecki and Hazelwood win The Bend 500

Defending Bathurst champions Brodie Kostecki and Todd Hazelwood have returned to winning form just in time for the Supercars endurance season, securing a commanding victory in the inaugural 500 at The Bend Motorsport Park in South Australia.

Hazelwood set the tone with a flawless opening stint, moving the #38 Mustang into the lead on lap 15 after passing early race pace-setter Jamie Whincup. From there, the duo never relinquished control.

Whincup – who was sharing a Triple Eight Camaro with Championship leader and top qualifier, Broc Feeney – saw his race unravel in pit lane with a costly refuelling issue that dashed the pair’s victory hopes. Despite starting from pole position, they slumped to 19th at the flag, a result that trimmed Feeney’s championship lead to 158 points over Matt Payne heading into Bathurst.

But leading Supercars’ scribe, Mark Fogarty, believes The Bend 500 offered little in the way of a form guide for Australia’s upcoming Great Race.

Talking on the Jax Tyres & Auto Race for the Championship podcast, he cited the major elevation differences at Bathurst compared to the relatively flat Bend Motorsport Park as one reason the Ford’s may not have it all their own way at Bathurst.

He also cautioned rival teams in pit lane not to expect Triple Eight to make the same mistakes at The Mountain as it did at The Bend.

Foges was quick to defend Superstar Craig Lowndes’ unusal lacklustre performance at The Bend, believeing the Supercheap Auto driver could still be a smokey for a surprise win at Bathurst.

All of this and much more is dissected, discussed and debated in the latest episode of Jax Tyres & Auto Race for the Championship.

For Kostecki, The Bend 500 victory represented his fourth consecutive success at The Bend, adding to his sprint sweep in 2023. It also marked his 10th career Supercars win and back-to-back endurance triumphs with Hazelwood, following their famous 2024 Bathurst 1000 victory in an Erebus Camaro before switching to Ford this season.

“This car was a little nervous on entry to the corners, but you can’t be nervous when you drive for a team like this and share it with a bloke like Todd who did such an awesome job,” Kostecki said after the race.

“We tuned it up and just managed the gap to Cam [Waters] and brought it home. Super stoked for everyone at Shell V-Power Racing.”

Ford teams locked out the podium, with Tickford Racing’s Cam Waters and Mark Winterbottom finishing second ahead of Grove Racing’s Matt Payne and Garth Tander in third. Will Brown and Scott Pye fought back from qualifying 16th to fourth as the first Camaro home, while Nick Percat and Tim Slade powered through from 11th to fifth.

Other notable results included Ryan Wood and Jayden Ojeda in sixth, Cooper Murray and Jobe Stewart in seventh, and Chaz Mostert with Fabian Coulthard in eighth after an aggressive four-stop strategy. Thomas Randle and James Moffat, along with Anton De Pasquale and Harri Jones, rounded out the top 10.

With just one event remaining before the Top 10 Finals Series begins, all eyes now turn to Mount Panorama, where the Bathurst 1000 will run from October 9–12.