Chaz: 4th
Nick: DNF

It’s been a frantic start to the 2023 Supercars Season, with Race 1 in the books. Chaz Mostert pushed hard for the podium all afternoon, just running out of laps, while Nick Percat’s day unfortunately ended early.

After a positive three practice sessions on Friday, Saturday started with qualifying, with Chaz picking up where he left off setting the second fastest time. Unfortunately for Nick, he couldn’t get the tyre to come to life late in the session, putting him 21st on the grid.

Chaz admitted he left a little on the table in the shootout, resulting in the Mobil 1 Optus Racing No. 25 out of seventh.

Race 1 of the year wasn’t going to be easy. 95 laps, 250km, 33 degrees on the ground, it was going to test everything.

It was a clean opening half of the race, Nick moving forward and going long on strategy, while Chaz pushed into the top five.

At the halfway point, Car No. 2’s day ended abruptly. A componentry failure in the front end meant that was it for the day, a tough way to finish the first race of the year.

Chaz was the one to watch in the final stint, setting the fastest lap of the race, lighting up the timing screens, and moving into fourth position. He was gaining on third and second every lap, but ran out of time.

Tomorrow, we follow the same format, rolling straight into qualifying first, followed by a Top 10 Shootout, and another 95 gruelling laps around the streets of Newcastle from 3:20pm AEDT.

Chaz Mostert

“It’s shame we just missed out on a trophy today, we pushed hard, but to get a solid finish first race of the year with so many unknowns, we will definitely take it. It’s a good way to start the season.

“The team has been awesome all weekend, car ran great all day, it was tough out there but a good nights sleep and we will be ready to go again tomorrow in the Mobil 1 Optus Racing No. 25.

“We had a good quali car today, I didn’t get the shootout exactly right, so hopefully we can start a little further up tomorrow!”

Nick Percat

“Disappointing to not roll out Friday form over to qualifying this morning, just need to get that tyre to turn on a little better tomorrow morning.

“The componentry failure put an end to our day early, but the guys are already hard at work on the Mobil 1 NTI Racing No. 2 so we will be ready to go again tomorrow morning.

“Thanks to the crew for their hard work and everyone for the support, great to see Chaz have so much car speed at the end there, so looking forward to getting back on the positive side of things tomorrow.”