The Repco Supercars Championship kicked off the NTI Townsville 500 weekend with Race 20 on Thursday at Reid Park Street Circuit in Townsville, Queensland. Brodie Kostecki started the race on the pole, with Cameron Waters starting second. The race was set to 35 laps.
Kostecki went into a wheelspin to start the race, losing the lead to Cameron Waters, while Chaz Mostert and Matthew Payne got by him. On the third lap, Payne challenged Mostert for second at Turn 11, but the two made contact, allowing Kostecki to get third place from Mostert. On the next lap at the same corner, Kostecki took second away from Payne.
Kostecki began catching Waters, who was leading by over a second. Later, Payne complained about engine issues, and Mostert also fell back. Kai Allen was the first to pit road on lap 13. Cameron Waters pitted a short time later. Brodie Kostecki led until lap 24 before he went to pit road.
Cameron Waters retook the lead, with Matthew Payne and Kai Allen chasing him. Kostecki quickly picked off Allen and Payne, setting his sights on Waters in the closing laps. On the final lap, Kostecki closed in on Waters by getting near his bumper, but he ran out of time. Cameron Waters won Race 20 by 0.200 seconds over Kostecki.
Matthew Payne, Kai Allen, and Chaz Mostert rounded out the top five. Thomas Randle, Will Brown, Ryan Wood, Jayden Ojeda, and Broc Feeney completed the top ten. Click here to see the full results.
Day two of the NTI Townsville 500 continues on Friday at 5:40 pm on YouTube.
