THE Shell V-Power Racing Team will start the 2026 Repco Bathurst 1000 from the front row of the grid.
Brodie Kostecki laid down a storming lap to vault from fifth in qualifying to second Saturday’s Top 10 Shootout.
While he fell 0.2850s shy of a record-breaking fourth consecutive pole in the Mount Panorama enduro, the lap ensures that Brodie and co-drive Todd Hazelwood will notch up their fourth straight front row start in the Supercars classic.
Rylan Gray and Tony D’Alberto will start Car 38 from 25th on the grid following the crash in Practice 3 that caused them to sit out qualifying.
Saturday’s other Supercars running consisted of two one-hour practice sessions, in which both cars focused on race setup tuning.
Practice 5 marked the track return for Car 38 after its extensive overnight rebuild, its crew heading home after 1:30am and returning at 6:30am to complete the finishing touches when the paddock opened at 7am.
Tony finished the co-driver-only session in 19th, while Todd set the eighth fastest time in the session.
Practice 6 featured a live pit lane, allowing teams to complete practice pit stops, driver changes and brake caliper/rotor changes in pit lane during a session for the first time this weekend.
Several of the Top 10 Shootout runners did simulation runs; Car 17 wasn’t among them and finished the session in 13th, with Car 38 in 22nd.
Both sides of the Shell V-Power Racing Team garage were busy in the wake of the session.
A few notchy gearchanges prompted a precautionary transaxle change on Car 17 prior to the Shootout, while a straightline speed deficiency prompted another engine change for Car 38, the work on which continued into the night.
The Shell V-Power Mustangs will next hit the track at 8:30am AEDT on Sunday for a 20-minute warm up session.
The 2026 edition of the Repco Bathurst 1000 will get underway at 11:30am AEDT.
