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Kostecki chunders his way to Supercars pole
Scott Bailey, AAP •  March 5th, 2026 5:30 pm
Brodie Kostecki has battled an upset stomach to take pole position at Melbourne Park | Photo: Dan Himbrechts/AAP
Brodie Kostecki has battled through vomiting midway through his flying lap to put his Ford on pole for the opening race of the Supercars' Melbourne SuperSprint.
In a remarkable display of resilience, the Dick Johnson Racing star put off bouts of illness between turns eight and nine to steal first spot off James Golding by 0.044 seconds at Albert Park.
The effort was enough to ensure he would start at the front of the grid for Thursday afternoon's race, with Broc Feeney third quickest Matthew Payne fourth.
Kostecki then jumped out of the car to visit the team garage, before returning to it and finishing second in the second lot of qualifying for Friday evening's race.
There he was 0.032 seconds behind Payne in Grove Racing's Ford in a brief eight-minute session, with Ryan Wood third on the grid and Chaz Mostert fourth.
The 2023 Supercars champion finished second in the second race at Sydney Motorsport Park last month, but otherwise had a tough opening to the year.
He copped a 15-second penalty for spinning Aaron Cameron on the last lap of a chaotic final race in Sydney, dropping from fourth to 12th as a result.
Meanwhile the hard-luck story of Thursday was Jayden Ojeda, who was quickest in first practice on Friday morning before hitting the wall in the next session.
It meant he missed both qualifying sessions and will start on the back of the grid for both Thursday and Friday's races, if his Chevrolet is fixed in time.
