The Repco Supercars Championship continued their weekend on Friday at Albert Park in Melbourne, Victoria, with Race 5 in the Melbourne SuperSprint as part of the F1 Australian Grand Prix weekend.
Once again, the total laps of this race was 19. Matthew Payne started the race on the pole, while Brodie Kostecki, who won on Thursday and is still dealing with an illness, started second.
On the opening lap, Payne cleared Kostecki to keep the lead. Behind them, all the chaos unfolded. Zach Bates and Macauley Jones both spun at Turn 3 on the first lap, while Will Brown made a move on Cooper Murray that landed both of them in the gravel at Turn 11. Brown was issued a 15-second penalty.
On the fifth lap, Brodie Kostecki passed Payne at Turn 11 for the lead. Kostecki, Payne, and Ryan Wood pulled away from the rest of the pack. On the tenth lap, Broc Feeney locked his rear tire and hit Aaron Cameron at Turn 13. Kai Allen attempted to pass both cars, but Cameron was unaware of Allen and both made contact, allowing Feeney to take fourth place.
Late in the race, Matthew Payne challenged Kostecki for the lead. Kostecki’s car was too strong and Payne could not make the pass. Brodie went on to win his second straight race by 0.571 seconds over Matthew Payne.
Ryan Wood, who was 13 seconds ahead to finish in third place. It was Toyota’s first podium finish in 46 years. Cameron Water and Kai Allen rounded out the top five. Jack Le Brocq, Broc Feeney, Thomas Randle, Andre Heimgartner, and Anton De Pasquale completed the top ten.
The Repco Supercars Championship continues at Melbourne on Friday at 4:50 pm on YouTube.
