TLDR
Brodie Kostecki and Todd Hazelwood claimed the 2026 Repco Bathurst 1000 after Anton De Pasquale ran out of fuel on the final lap while leading. The Shell V-Power Ford pair had earlier recovered from a botched brake change that dropped them to fifth place.
Fuel miscalculation ends De Pasquale's lead on the mountain
Brodie Kostecki and Todd Hazelwood claimed the 2026 Repco Bathurst 1000 on Sunday after Anton De Pasquale ran out of fuel on the final lap while holding the lead for Team 18. De Pasquale and co-driver Lee Holdsworth ran dry on lap 161, gifting the win to the Shell V-Power Ford Mustang of Kostecki and Hazelwood.[1]
Team 18 principal Adrian Burgess left no ambiguity about the cause. "We f***ed up," Burgess said after the race.[3] De Pasquale said: "Once I knew how much fuel short we were, I knew we were cooked."[3]
Brake blunder, lap records and a sprint finish
Kostecki and Hazelwood had looked set to dominate before a botched brake change at their lap 125 pit stop dropped them from a commanding lead to fifth place.[1] The team stretched their final fuel stop to lap 150, and Kostecki responded by setting back-to-back Gen3 lap records on laps 152 and 153 to haul the car back into contention.[2]
Chaz Mostert's crash at Forrest's Elbow brought out a Safety Car, compressing the field and setting up a three-lap sprint to the finish.[1] De Pasquale's car died on the mountain on the final lap, and Kostecki crossed the line to secure his second Bathurst 1000 title, both won alongside Hazelwood in 2024 and 2026.[1]
Biggest crowd since 2018
A crowd of 204,223 attended the event across four days, a three per cent increase on the 198,203 who came in 2025 and the largest Bathurst 1000 attendance since 2018.[1]
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