Supercars legend Craig Lowndes has weighed in on the controversial incident between Chaz Mostert and Brodie Kostecki in Christchurch, saying he feels the 30-second penalty handed to Mostert was fair. And he’s also rejected Kostecki’s suggestion that Mostert’s actions were ‘malicious’.
Mostert shunted Kostecki off the track in the final race of the Christchurch round last weekend, after Kostecki tried to pass his Walkinshaw rival in an attempt to win the Jason Richards trophy. Mostert was handed a 30-second penalty, which relegated him to 17th place after the race.
Craig Lowndes has had his say on the Brodie Kostecki and Chaz Mostert incident. Image: Getty/Supercars
But some have called for Mostert to be hit with a suspension due to how dangerous the incident could have been. After Kostecki was forced onto the grass, he skidded out of control back across the track and only narrowly avoided colliding with Mostert and Will Brown.
Writing for the Supercars website on Tuesday, Lowndes said he thought the 30-second penalty was appropriate and any suggestion of further punishment isn’t warranted. “I think it was a fair penalty for the outcome,” Lowndes said.
“I think if there was a multi-car accident when Brodie came back onto the track, I think it would’ve warranted more investigation. In the moment, I think the penalty fitted the crime. But if you’re Brodie, you’re obviously on the other side of it, and you never feel like it’s harsh enough.”
Brodie Kostecki blasts ‘malicious’ driving
Speaking earlier on Tuesday, Kostecki labelled Mostert’s driving as “malicious”. The Dick Johnson Racing driver had been fairly diplomatic in his initial comments, but went a bit further on Tuesday.
“I would never do that,” he said on the ‘Lucky Dogs’ podcast. “Chaz does race pretty hard, we always race hard. I’ve had some pretty good battles with Chaz, but most of the time I end up with four wheels on the circuit on an exit.
“There’s a difference between hard racing and malicious manoeuvres. It’s pretty clear, and I thought it was pretty malicious to be honest.”
Chaz Mostert and Brodie Kostecki were seen discussing the incident afterwards. Image: Supercars/Fox
But Lowndes doesn’t see it that way, writing: “I don’t think it was malicious. It’s not normally a Chaz move, he is better than that. It was out of character. We want to see aggression out there and a bit of feeling. [But] what happened…I think that was over the line from Chaz.”
As for Brown, he’s in the camp that the 30-second penalty wasn’t harsh enough and suggested the stripping of championship points might have been more appropriate. “I don’t think it was warranted at all, so I was actually quite angry after the race because it was so unnecessary,” he said on ‘Lucky Dogs’.
“30 seconds, with the new format of the Finals System and all that we have…it’s not like the old championship where you get a 30-second penalty and it hurts your whole championship. He’s probably going to be in the final 10 come the end of the year.”