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Australia

Gold Coast 600: Mostert and Owen take Race 21 win

Chaz Mostert and Steve Owen took victory in the first leg of the Gold Coast 600 in a wet Race 21 on the Surfers Paradise street circuit.

Chaz Mostert, Rod Nash Racing Ford

Chaz Mostert, Rod Nash Racing Ford

Daniel Kalisz / Motorsport Images

 Chaz Mostert, Rod Nash Racing Ford
Chaz Mostert, Rod Nash Racing Ford
Chaz Mostert, Rod Nash Racing Ford
Andre Heimgartner Brad Jones Racing Holden
 Paul Dumbrell, Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden

Mostert's co-driver Owen led the field for a clean opening lap over Paul Dumbrell.

Alex Premat got on the radio and complained of the conditions and suggested the need for a safety car intervention, only to become the first incident of the race when he rotated his machine. Jack Perkins and Luke Youlden got a small piece of him as they split the DJR Team Penske Ford, which was able to continue on.

Andre Heimgartner muscled his way by Dumbrell for the second position on Lap 6 before moving under Owen for the race lead soon after. He then proceeded to drive away, pulling out to a two-second advantage after 10 laps of racing. By Lap 20, that margin had more than tripled. 

While Owen fended off several attacks by Dumbrell, Richie Stanaway closed in and joined the fray. The enthralling battle came to a head on Lap 29 when Dumbrell speared Owen after a big lock-up, sending the pole-sitting car spinning. Stanaway slipped through and moved into the runner-up position as a 15-second time penalty was assessed to Dumbrell.

On Lap 35, a flurry of pit stops took place with Whincup taking over from Dumbrell and serving the penalty. Mostert also took over from Owen, but had a bit of a run-in with fellow Prodrive driver Mark Winterbottom as they exited their stalls. Winterbottom was promptly handed a penalty for an unsafe release.

That wasn't the extent of drama during pit stops however. David Reynolds had to climb into his car NASCAR-style through the window as the door was jammed due to damage Youlden sustained early in the race.

After a superb drive, Heimgartner handed over the No. 14 Holden to Tim Slade, who carried on with a comfortable lead. Cam Waters, who took over for Stanaway, slotted into second. Garry Jacobson, who pitted off-sequence from the rest of the leaders, was scored third when the first set of compulsory stops cycled through.

Todd Kelly and Garth Tander then had a coming together, causing big damage to the nose and rear of the Nissan.

Halfway through the rain-marred race, Slade held station at the front with ten-second advantage over Waters.

It took over half the event, but on Lap 57, the very first safety car intervention was needed when Lee Holdsworth slammed a tire bundle and dislodged them.

This is where the complexion of the race altered significantly. A slow stop for Slade dropped him from the lead down to third while Waters assumed control. The issue for Slade and company was a peculiar one -- the air jack didn't raise the car high enough due to water masking a hole in the asphalt, which didn't give enough clearance for the crew to remove the left rear tire. During the full-course yellow, Jason Bright also took over from Jacobson and restarted back in eighth.

On Lap 61, green racing resumed and Mostert quickly snatched the top spot away from Waters. 

Due to the slow pace of the race, it became time certain in the later stages. With half an hour remaining, Mostert had pulled out to a four second lead.

Championship leader Fabian Coulthard was dealt a blow when race control slapped him with a 15-second time penalty for helping Nick Percat around. The penalty dropped him from 10th to 19th in the finishing order.

Mostert drove very cautiously in the final laps to avoid any mistakes in the slippery conditions, allowing his cushion over Waters to evaporate. At the line, he took the checkered flag by 2.4 seconds. Slade held off a hard-charging Shane van Gisbergen for the final spot on the podium, a first for co-driver Heimgartner. Michael Caruso crossed the line as the final driver inside the top five behind SVG.

Cla#DriverCarLapsTime
1 55 australia Steven Owen 
australia Chaz Mostert 
Ford Falcon FG-X 94  
2 6 new_zealand Richie Stanaway 
australia Cameron Waters 
Ford Falcon FG-X 94 2.4916
3 14 australia Tim Slade 
new_zealand Andre Heimgartner 
Holden Commodore VF 94 5.5391
4 97 new_zealand Shane van Gisbergen 
australia Matt Campbell 
Holden Commodore VF 94 7.0041
5 23 australia Michael Caruso 
australia Dean Fiore 
Nissan Altima 94 21.2713
6 88 australia Jamie Whincup 
australia Paul Dumbrell 
Holden Commodore VF 94 26.8865
7 888 new_zealand Steven Richards 
australia Craig Lowndes 
Holden Commodore VF 94 28.2674
8 5 australia Mark Winterbottom 
australia Dean Canto 
Ford Falcon FG-X 94 43.3660
9 56 australia Jason Bright 
australia Garry Jacobson 
Ford Falcon FG-X 94 47.5501
10 12 Tony D'Alberto 
new_zealand Fabian Coulthard 
Ford Falcon FG/X 94 47.9276
11 15 australia Rick Kelly 
australia David Wall 
Nissan Altima 94 48.7763
12 2 australia Warren Luff 
australia Scott Pye 
Holden Commodore VF 94 49.1462
13 17 france Alexandre Prémat 
new_zealand Scott McLaughlin 
Ford Falcon FG-X 94 50.0481
14 33 australia Garth Tander 
australia James Golding 
Holden Commodore VF 94 51.3217
15 22 australia James Courtney 
australia Jack Perkins 
Holden Commodore VF 94 51.7119
16 21 australia Tim Blanchard 
australia Todd Hazelwood 
Holden Commodore VF 94 1'00.3189
17 78 switzerland Simona de Silvestro 
australia David Russell 
Nissan Altima 94 1'00.3281
18 9 australia David Reynolds 
Luke Youlden 
Holden Commodore VF 94 1'00.6665
19 34 australia James Moffat 
australia Richard Muscat 
Holden Commodore VF 94 1'02.6657
20 19 Jonathon Webb 
australia Will Davison 
Holden Commodore VF 94 1'05.5635
21 8 australia Nick Percat 
australia Macauley Jones 
Holden Commodore VF 94 1'14.1452
22 99 australia Dale Wood 
new_zealand Chris Pither 
Holden Commodore VF 94 1'14.5461
23 62 australia Alex Davison 
australia Alex Rullo 
Holden Commodore VF 92 2 laps
24 18 australia Lee Holdsworth 
australia Karl Reindler 
Holden Commodore VF 58 36 laps
25 3 australia Aaren Russell 
australia Taz Douglas 
Holden Commodore VF 48 46 laps
26 7 australia Todd Kelly 
australia Jack Le Brocq 
Nissan Altima 45 49 laps

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