Skaife, Tander split over Mostert title credentials
Supercars
23 Jul
Mark Skaife believes Chaz Mostert can win 2024 title
Garth Tander says Triple Eight is too "championship-hardened"
Margin cut to Will Brown from 279 to 105 points in two rounds
Supercars legends Mark Skaife and Garth Tander are divided over Chaz Mostert’s championship credentials in 2024, following the Ford star’s impressive Sydney sweep.
Mostert has been no lower than third in the championship since the first race in February, and jumped Broc Feeney into second after Sunday’s race.
The Walkinshaw Andretti United driver has scored 567 of a possible 600 points in the last two rounds, winning both Sydney races, and finishing second and third in Townsville.
Critically, Mostert has slashed the deficit to championship leader Will Brown from 279 to 105 points, with 1510 still to win in the final five rounds.
The leaders are feeling the pressure, with Triple Eight Team Manager Mark Dutton warning his team can't be "conservative" amid Mostert's form.
Points-wise, Mostert has never been closer to the championship lead after seven rounds in his career, and has never finished higher than third. However, Skaife believes the driver can get the job done this season.
Speaking after Sunday’s race, Skaife pointed to Mostert’s strong enduro combination with Lee Holdsworth as being key to the WAU star’s hopes.
“I think he can,” said Skaife, who won three straight titles with the Walkinshaw squad — then the Holden Racing Team — in the early 2000s.
“I think the combination with Holdsworth is also really powerful. We’ve spoken about the enduro combinations, and there are probably six to eight that are standouts.
“But I think the way they’re performing now, and the way that they look like they’ve made the car work. Their engineering base seems like its more stable, their teamwork’s good.
“I reckon they’re real contenders.”
Tander, however, wasn’t convinced. A former Triple Eight co-driver, Tander believes the Red Bull Ampol squad is "championship-hardened” enough to repel a Mostert challenge.
Tander cited the next round in Tasmania, which will be held on the Super Soft tyre, as the “real teller” for whether or not WAU can deliver Mostert the title in 2024.
When asked if Mostert can win this year, Tander replied: “Not yet. I’m not saying that they won’t in the future, but not this year.
“Tassie will be a real teller for us, whether they have made gains on the Super Soft tyre.
“[Triple Eight] have done this year in, year out for the last 15 years, they are so championship-hardened, they know how to get the job done.
“Broc Feeney has watched Shane van Gisbergen do it in the past, Will Brown watched Brodie Kostecki do it last year at Erebus.
“That’s not to say Walkinshaw Andretti United and Chaz Mostert won’t develop that, but they probably need to come up short to really find what they need to get the job done."
The 2024 Repco Supercars Championship will resume at the NED Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint on August 16-18. Tickets for the event are on sale now. Live coverage can be found on Foxtel, with live streaming available on Kayo. Highlights will be shown on the Seven Network and 7plus. International viewers can follow all the action on Superview.
