Reigning Supercars champion Brodie Kostecki has led from start to finish over 161 laps to win his first Bathurst 1000.

The Erebus driver fended off red-hot rival Broc Feeney in the six-hour-long marathon at Mount Panorama on Sunday to win Australia’s biggest domestic motorsport prize.

Starting from pole position with co-driver Todd Hazelwood, Kostecki was uncatchable before a Matt Payne crash resulted in the race’s first and only safety car with 28 laps remaining.

The 26-year-old proved his mettle against Feeney, paired with four-time Bathurst winner Jamie Whincup, in a sprint showdown to the finish line.

Kostecki won by just 1.35 seconds.

Feeney’s Red Bull teammate and championship leader Will Brown finished third with co-driver Scott Pye.

BRODIE KOSTECKI AND TODD HAZELWOOD WIN THE GREAT RACE!#RepcoSC #Supercars #Bathurst1000 pic.twitter.com/o9IMZDrz9P

— Supercars (@supercars) October 13, 2024

“I just can’t believe it. I’m in awe at the moment,” Kostecki said.

“Broc was breathing down my neck the whole time. It was just balls to the walls the whole time.

“It’s kind of funny around here. If you bring your pace back a little bit, you can actually get yourself into trouble.

“I just knew that if I just did shootout laps every single lap, I knew I wouldn’t make a mistake.

“It’s redemption from last year, for sure.”

A year on from fumbling the grid’s top spot at Mount Panorama, Kostecki held his nerve on Sunday against numerous fierce passing attempts from second-rower Feeney to lead for the opening 28 laps, before handing over to co-driver Todd Hazelwood.

He looked certain to be crowned the King of the Mountain with little challenge, until a Matt Payne crash resulted in the only safety car and a full course reset after almost five hours.

With the entire grid boasting fresh tyres and 28 laps to go, the West Australian proved his mettle by fending off Feeney in a sprint showdown to the finish line.

Such was Feeney’s pace that the 21-year-old took the fastest lap of the race, with a time of two minutes 7.861 seconds.

“I drove my heart out out there. I didn’t leave anything on the table,” Feeney said.

“These guys next to me, Brodie and Todd, absolutely killed it today – they were faultless.

“We’ll be back one day. We’ll get up on the top step.”

The win is also Kostecki’s first of the season after a messy off-season legal dispute with Erebus disrupted his title defence.

He missed the first two rounds this season as a result of the dispute.

Departing for Dick Johnson Racing next year, he gifts Erebus their second Bathurst 1000 win since David Reynold’s 2017 triumph.

Feeney and Whincup did find some redemption in their second-place result after their last attempt at the mountain ended in tears.

The pair experienced gearbox issues in lap 137 when they were placed second before finishing 23rd last year.

It is the best Bathurst finish for Feeney from five attempts, but Whincup’s attempt to break his 12-year-long Bathurst drought fell just short.

The podium finish helped Feeney knock off Chaz Mostert for second in the standings, behind Brown by 204 points.

Mostert finished fifth, while fourth-placed Cam Waters was fourth fastest.

Bathurst 1000 results

1. Brodie Kostecki/Todd Hazelwood (Erebus Motorsport)

2. Broc Feeney/Jamie Whincup (Triple Eight Race Engineering)

3. Will Brown/Scott Pye (Triple Eight)

4. Cam Waters/James Moffat (Tickford Racing)

5. Chaz Mostert/Lee Holdsworth (Walkinshaw Andretti United)

6. James Golding/David Russell (PremiAir Nulon Racing)

7. Anton De Pasquale/Tony D’Alberto (Dick Johnson Racing)

8. Jack Le Brocq/Jayden Ojeda (Erebus)

9. Richie Stanaway/Dale Wood (Grove Racing)

10. Cam Hill/Cam Crick (Matt Stone Racing)

-AAP