Kostecki loses engineer to bike accident as he goes for Bathurst record

In short:

Brodie Kostecki can set a new Bathurst 1000 record for the most consecutive pole positions if he qualifies fastest at Mount Panorama on Saturday.

Kostecki has claimed pole position for the previous three editions of the race, equalling the record jointly held with Peter Brock and Allan Moffat.

What's next?

ABC Sport will have a live blog of the Bathurst 1000 from lights out to the chequered flag on Sunday, October 11.

Supercars star Brodie Kostecki can surpass Australian motor racing legends Peter Brock and Allan Moffat with a Bathurst record this weekend, but will do it without the support of his engineer.

Kostecki has claimed pole position at the previous three Bathurst 1000s, trying the record for most consecutive poles for the great race with Moffat (1970-72) and Brock (1977-79).

Should the West Australian be the fastest in Saturday's top-10 shootout, he will become the first driver to secure four consecutive poles for the great race.

Kostecki is the only driver to secure pole position at Bathurst in the Gen3 era which began in 2024, and he put the number 17 Dick Johnson Racing entry on pole position for the last Supercars round at The Bend.

However, there will be a change on the pit wall for Kostecki, with his engineer George Commins not attending Mount Panorama this weekend.

Dick Johnson Racing announced that Commins, who was Kostecki's engineer for this Bathurst triumph in 2024 with Erebus Motorsport, had been injured in a mountain biking accident.

"Car 17 race engineer George Commins will miss the Repco Bathurst 1000 after sustaining injuries in a mountain biking accident prior to the race weekend," the team said in a statement.

"Team manager Tom Moore will take over race engineer duties for Brodie Kostecki and Todd Hazelwood at Mount Panorama while George recuperates at home."

Moore is no stranger to the engineering role, or Kostecki. The pair have been working in the same team since 2021. Moore was the race engineer for Kostecki's then-teammate Will Brown at Erebus.

Kostecki has been very good in qualifying this season, with six pole positions from 28 races.

His shootout laps at Mount Panorama for the past three years have been excellent, with Kostecki claiming pole position by margins of 0.483, 0.131 and 0.176 seconds.

Qualifying for the Bathurst 1000 will be held on Friday afternoon. That will set the grid for positions 11 to 27.

The top 10 from Friday will participate in Saturday's top-10 shootout to determine the grid from pole to 10th.

ABC Sport will have a live blog of the Bathurst 1000 from lights out to the chequered flag on Sunday, October 11.

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