Brodie Kotecki wins second race at Gold Coast 500 but Red Bull driver Will Brown Supercars leads championship heading into final round

Brodie Kostecki backed up his Bathurst 1000 victory by conquering the streets of Surfers Paradise, while Red Bull drivers Will Brown and Broc Feeney staged a thrilling showdown.

Erebus driver Kostecki was unrivaled as he produced a masterclass on Sunday to convert pole position into his first Gold Coast victory after avoiding an early race carnage.

It was the reigning champion’s second win of the season, having dominated Mount Panorama with co-driver Todd Hazelwood earlier this month.

Series leader Brown overcame a ferocious Feeney in an exciting duel between the two Red Bulls to finish second and stay at the top of the standings.

Feeney remains Brown’s only opponent in the championship race, with Chaz Mostert and Cam Waters now out of contention after the two missed out on the podium.

The Red Bull drivers are separated by 180 points.

After winning Saturday’s race, Waters attempted to act as a spoiler, but fell short in fourth place after sustaining damage to the front of his Tickford Mustang.

Mostert, then fifth, was forced to return to the pits to refuel after a mistake on his last visit and had to settle for 11th place.

With only 300 points available in the final round in Adelaide, Mostert and Waters will not be able to close the gap on Brown.

Waters’ Tickford team-mate Thomas Randle took fifth after finishing second on Saturday.

There was chaos on the first lap when Anton De Pasquale’s Dick Johnson Camaro sent Walkinshaw Andretti United rookie Ryan Wood into the tire barrier in Turn 11.

As he began to turn, De Pasquale was pushed into the opposite wall by James Courtney to create an eight-car pileup and trigger the safety car.

De Pasquale did not return to the race, while Courtney came last and Wood 21st out of the 23 drivers.

PremiAir Nulon driver James Golding suffered another disastrous pit stop after a visit to the garage in Saturday’s race cost him a podium finish.

After his pit crew had difficulty replacing his left rear wheel in the first Gold Coast race, Golding’s Camaro on Sunday was abandoned too early before a new right rear wheel was fitted.

Golding crossed the finish line in 13th place after starting ninth.

The series heads to Adelaide from November 14-17 to decide the championship race.

championship standings

• 1: Will Brown (Triple Eight Career Engineering) 2772 points
• 2. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight) -180
• 3. Chaz Mostert (Walkinshaw Andretti United) -309
• 4. Cam Waters (Tickford Racing) -428
• 5. Matt Payne (Grove Racing) -909

AAP