Underdogs shine in Darwin

Team 18 and Matt Stone Racing scored their first wins in Supercars at the Betr Darwin Triple Crown, with Chevrolet teams winning all three races.

Team 18’s Mark Winterbottom scored the win in the opening race of the weekend, following a fiery retirement for the pole-sitting Tickford Racing Ford Mustang of Cameron Waters.

Winterbottom snapped a seven-year, 197-race winless streak with the win; his first win since Pukekohe 2016. It was a maiden win for Charlie Schwerkolt’s Team 18 squad in 333 races.

“It’s unbelievable, to feel this atmosphere, it feels like the biggest win of your life,” said Winterbottom.

“Some of these guys and girls haven’t had podiums before. Once you get a taste of it, it’s so addictive.

“I was a bit emotional on that in-lap. It’s been a long time, and to do it with this crew is unbelievable.”

Broc Feeney put Triple Eight Race Engineering back on top in the second race, leading home a one-two for the team for his fourth win of the season.

The underdog story continued in the third race with Matt Stone Racing’s Jack Le Brocq winning from pole position; the first for the team in 172 races and first for Le Brocq since Sydney Motorsport Park in 2000.

“It’s pretty unreal, the guys have done an awesome job, especially the last few hours, it was pretty beaten up in that second race today,” said Le Brocq.

“I feel like it’s been a long time coming. We’ve had good speed this year, and it’s great to convert to solid race pace as well.”

Erebus Motorsport’s Brodie Kostecki continues to lead the championship heading into the NTI Townsville 500, with his margin down to 59 points over teammate Will Brown following a costly tangle in the final race with Feeney closing in in third place.