Kostecki, Stanaway penalised over late run-ins

Brodie Kostecki and Richie Stanaway were both penalised over late-race collisions with each other in the Taupō finale, dropping the duo down the order.

Kostecki took the chequered flag in 10th and Stanaway in 11th, but both drivers were hit with five-second penalties.

Vision cut to Kostecki getting into the rear of Stanaway’s Ford into Turn 7 on the penultimate lap as they disputed ninth, with Cam Waters just behind.

Waters got past both drivers, but Kostecki got past Waters on the final lap, with Stanaway behind in 11th ahead of Cameron Hill.

However, Kostecki was handed a five-second penalty over the contact, with Stanaway also copping a five-second penalty over earlier contact.

It was the second penalty in as many days for Kostecki, who was pinged over a clash that took David Reynolds and James Courtney out at Turn 1 on Saturday. However, with Jack Le Brocq a solid eighth, Erebus moved to third in the teams' standings behind Penrite Racing.

"A bit of a wild day for us… didn’t quite get a good jump and sort of ran around fourth in the race,” Kostecki said in a team video.

“Didn't quite have the car pace as the front guys, but had a little fumble in the pit stop and that put us back around 14th, 15th.

“It was a bit of a disappointing way to end the day, but we've got a few things to work on before we head to Perth.”

Waters was classified ninth ahead of Ryan Wood, with Hill 11th. The penalties dropped Kostecki and Stanaway to 12th and 13th, split by just 0.3522s.

Stanaway moved to fourth in the points, but was keen to rectify his poor qualifying form.

"Bit of a mixed weekend for us. Just held back a lot by qualifying form,” said Stanaway, who raced from 23rd to sixth on Saturday.

"So really got to work on that. But, yeah, at the same time, a lot of positives take out from just some phases during the race where we've had good speed on both days.

“Just got to keep chipping away at it… probably a career highlight for me in terms of support from fans here at the track.

“I’ve never felt like we've had that much support before. So, it's been incredible. Just would have been nice to be a little bit further up and be on the podium."