The Repco Supercars Championship concluded the 2023 season on Sunday with Race 28 of the VAILO Adelaide 500 from the Adelaide Street Circuit in Adelaide, South Australia. This was the final race of Shan van Gisbergen’s Supercars career as he is headed to NASCAR next year.
Brodie Kostecki, who secured the championship on Saturday, started the race on the pole for Coca-Cola Racing by Erebus with Penrite Racing’s Matthew Payne starting next to him. On the opening lap, Payne beat Kostecki for the lead at Turn 1. On lap 19, Payne had a three-second lead over Kostecki.
Jack Le Brocq, who too was his final race in Supercars came to an end early in the race after making contact with Nick Percat which sent Le Brocq into the barriers at the final corner. Up front, Brodie Kostecki lost second place to Broc Feeney. Kostecki tried to get the position back but he locked up the brakes heading into Turn 9 and lost several positions.
On lap 33, Shane van Gisbergen and Will Davison kicked off the second round of pit stops. On that lap, Payne’s lead over Feeny was over six seconds. During pit stops, Shane van Gisbergen started to have problems with his car when he reported a loose wheel. Unfortunately, he retired from the race on lap 52, ending a 17-year career in which he won three championships.
On lap 63, Brodie Kostecki tried to get fifth place from Andre Heimgartner at the Turn 9 hairpin but he went wide and lost two positions to Chaz Mostert and Anton De Pasquale.
Upfront, Matthew Payne drove away to his first win by 8.5483 seconds over Broc Feeney. The rest of the top five finishers were David Reynolds third, Cam Waters fourth, and Chaz Mostert fifth. The rest of the top ten finishers were Andre Heimgartner sixth, Anton De Pasquale seventh, Brodie Kostecki eighth, Will Davison ninth, and Thomas Randle tenth.
The 2024 Repco Supercars Championship begins at Mount Panorama Circuit for the Thrifty Bathurst 500 from February 23-25.
