![\"WAU](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/025-Mostert-EV09-25-MH6_5731.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCar #25 completed four pit stops on Sunday. Image: Supplied<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCar #25 completed four pit stops on Sunday. Image: Supplied<\/p>\n
The #25 Ford of Mostert and Fabian Coulthard was the only front-runner to tackle the extra stop and twice led the race as a result.<\/p>\n
However, they ultimately finished in eighth place and 32 seconds behind the winner after a 102-lap journey devoid of any Safety Car periods.<\/p>\n
Still, that was enough to put Mostert\u2019s already near-certain position in the finals beyond doubt<\/a> before next month\u2019s Bathurst 1000, which marks the last regular season event.<\/p>\n WAU principal Carl Faux was race engineering the #25 entry on Sunday and said the team knew it was in trouble relatively early on.<\/p>\n \u201cChaz was fairly secure in the finals series so we thought we\u2019d roll the dice,\u201d Faux told Speedcafe.<\/p>\n \u201cWe expected there to be a faster race pace to be honest and higher deg than there was.<\/p>\n \u201cWe knew from about a third of the way in that wasn\u2019t going to be the case, but we were already committed to the four-stop.<\/p>\n \u201cIt obviously smashed everyone who did a four-stop. It was the riskier strategy and we didn\u2019t have a fast enough car to make it work.\u201d<\/p>\n Who has qualified for Supercars finals after The Bend<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n According to Faux, the team had planned the strategy from early in the weekend, setting aside tyres to enable it to execute five stints.<\/p>\n The Brit only took over race engineer duties on the car for Sunday after Mostert\u2019s regular right-hand man Sam Scaffidi returned home on Saturday night for family reasons.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t usually look at any data of this car or set-ups,\u201d explained Faux, who graduated from technical director to team principal in late 2023.<\/p>\n \u201cUsually what I do is make sure they are all talking the right language at the same time and going through the right processes.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I know the process and I know what is required to be done but it was a late [Saturday] night trying to get up to speed on where the car had ended up and the ideas going into [Sunday].<\/p>\n \u201cThe decision had been made in the lead-up, that\u2019s why there was so many green tyres available for car #25. It was about executing what was there.<\/p>\n \u201cThe pit stops were good, we tuned the car up in the race which we were happy about, but just not quite fast enough.\u201d<\/p>\n Faux affirmed that damage to the rear bumper of the car impacted its straightline speed \u2013 ironically adding drag to a Mustang aero package that had been revised to achieve the opposite.<\/p>\n