Kostecki cruises to victory in All Stars race

Brodie Kostecki has cruised to All Stars victory in the Cash Converters Supercars Eseries opener.

Erebus Motorsport driver Kostecki, who won last year’s All Stars title, won from pole.

Kostecki’s win came after Erebus stablemate Jarrad Filsell finished second in the Pro Series race.

“We came out of the pits there and I knew it was going to be tight with Justin,” Kostecki said.

“I made a meal of it coming into pit lane.

“I had took look after the tyres for the restart, and managed to do that."

Kostecki's winning pass

Justin Ruggier beat Kostecki to Turn 1 off the line, and led the opening laps.

Kostecki attempted an overtake at Turn 9, but redressed following contact.

Four laps later, Kostecki made a pass stick into Turn 10, and Ruggier stopped immediately.

The undercut didn’t pay off for Ruggier, with Kostecki retaining track position on the rejoin.

The end margin was 3.6s, with Kostecki bolting following the compulsory Safety Car.

Andre Heimgartner finished third for Brad Jones Racing, as he did in the real world at Winton in May.

Kostecki suffered a scare when he pitted on lap 8, with the Erebus Commodore finding the grass.

Ruggier ranged alongside Kostecki on rejoin, but the former held onto the position.

The Safety Car was deployed on lap 13, and Kostecki vaulted into a big lead at the restart.

James Golding’s hopes of an undercut advantage fell away after he was hit by Jayden Ojeda.

Ojeda would cross the line sixth, with Brad Vaughan and Aaron Borg filling the top five.

Jack Le Brocq was seventh ahead of Zak Best, with Jordan Cox and Macauley Jones rounding out the top five.

The race ended in drama following Turn 3 contact between Thomas Randle and Matt McLean, the latter spinning out.

The season will resume next Wednesday at Sandown, where Pro Series and All Stars drivers will pair up for an enduro.