Brodie Kostecki and Todd Hazelwood snatch dramatic last-lap Bathurst 1000 win
Brodie Kostecki and Todd Hazelwood claimed a dramatic 2026 Bathurst 1000 victory after race leader Anton De Pasquale ran out of fuel on the final lap at Mount Panorama.
The Dick Johnson Racing duo secured the team’s first Bathurst victory since 2019, with Kostecki taking his second win in the iconic endurance race following his triumph in 2024.
Will Brown and Scott Pye finished second for Triple Eight Race Engineering, while pole-sitter Zach Bates and Aaron Seton completed the podium for Matt Stone Racing.
Kostecki and Hazelwood had looked set for a comfortable victory after dominating much of the 161-lap race, only for a slow brake change during their penultimate pit stop on lap 125 to drop them from the lead to fifth.
The setback handed Bates the lead ahead of De Pasquale, Brown and Jack Le Brocq, with the Team 18 driver closing rapidly on the Matt Stone Racing Chevrolet.
De Pasquale gained the upper hand during the final round of pit stops, stopping on lap 139 before Bates responded one lap later. The Team 18 Chevrolet emerged with a substantial advantage, holding a 15.5-second lead with 21 laps remaining.
Kostecki, meanwhile, extended his final stint until lap 150, leaving himself just 11 laps to recover the lost ground.
The former Supercars champion immediately began charging through the field, setting consecutive Gen3 lap records on laps 152 and 153 as he closed on Brown in the fight for third.
The pair battled fiercely, with Brown receiving a bad sportsmanship flag for moving under braking before Kostecki completed a pass at Murray’s Corner.
Moments later, Chaz Mostert crashed at Forrest’s Elbow, triggering the first Safety Car period of the race with just six laps remaining.
The interruption set up a three-lap sprint to the finish, with De Pasquale leading Bates and Kostecki at the restart.
Kostecki wasted little time moving past Bates at Murray’s Corner, putting himself second and within striking distance of De Pasquale.
The Team 18 driver had been instructed to save fuel during the closing stages, but his Chevrolet began to splutter on Mountain Straight on the final lap.
Kostecki swept past to claim an extraordinary victory alongside Hazelwood, leaving De Pasquale and co-driver Lee Holdsworth without the win that had appeared firmly within their grasp.
Brown and Pye inherited second place, securing the Ryco Sprint Cup in the process, while Bates and Seton celebrated their first Bathurst podium after a breakthrough weekend.
Le Brocq and Harri Jones finished fourth to complete a strong result for Matt Stone Racing, ahead of defending Bathurst winner Matt Payne and co-driver Will Davison in fifth.
Cooper Murray and Lochie Dalton finished sixth, followed by Andre Heimgartner and Bryce Fullwood, James Golding and Richie Stanaway, and Thomas Randle and Reuben Goodall.
Craig Lowndes and Bayley Hall completed the top ten in the Team 18 wildcard entry.
The Supercars Championship now heads to the Gold Coast 500 on October 23-25 for the opening round of the 2026 Finals Series.
