Season in Review: Chaz Mostert

His season ended prematurely at Mount Panorama, but young gun Chaz Mostert was still happy to speak about 2015 and his time in the cockpit of a V8 Supercar.

Despite missing four whole rounds and obviously unable to qualify at Bathurst, Mostert still took home the ARMOR ALL Pole Award with a whopping 10 P1 starts, and is more eager than ever to line up at the Clipsal 500.

Here are Mostert’s thoughts on 2015.  

What was your best race?

“I’d probably say Adelaide at the start of the year. 

“To come second to Jamie in one of the Saturday races and just to go to a street track where we haven’t been that strong over the years as a team, to finish right behind Jamie and push him along was quite cool.

“To start the year off at Adelaide and get a podium with a brand new car, I think was probably my favourite result of the year.

“It was probably on par with Sandown – getting that one-two as a team was pretty special at the 500 there and being able to push each other so hard in those closing stages.

“So those two races – I couldn’t really pick one because they’re pretty much on par as my favourites of the year.”  

Best on-track battle?

“I think all year with Frosty. We were trying so hard in qualifying to beat each other so we could get pit lane priority – so I don’t think it was as much a battle on the track, but the battle in qualifying was very high competition.

“I really strived to get the ultimate lap together and I know Frosty was doing the same as well.”

It was great to see you get the Pole Award and take something away from what was an amazing start of the year.

“Yeah, it was fantastic. I hadn’t had a pole before this year and then to rack up enough – even sitting out the end of the year – to have enough to claim that prestigious award is pretty awesome.

“I’ve known a lot of good drivers over the years who have claimed it – Jamie has been fantastic, and even the year Will was with FPR he got that award. So it’s pretty cool to be, not just a driver in V8 Supercars, but to achieve an award that means you can be fast as well.”

Most disappointing race of the year?

“Probably Winton for me. I was leading and made a mistake – our car was so quick that weekend and that car felt like it almost drove itself it was set up that good. Credit to the team and, I don’t know, I just got in a battle with Fabian [Coulthard], tried to pull away. That corner’s had a lot of people off over the years … pretty disappointing but that’s the way it goes.

“That can be my disappointing [answer], but satisfying as well, because when I got back out there on track and was driving past the fans on the back straight at Winton, even though I was coming dead last and a couple of laps down they were still flying those Ford flags down the back and that kind of turned my mood straight away. [I thought] this is special … you made the mistake, but on the day with the fans out there still supporting you, it cheered me up straight away. It was pretty amazing.”

Best off-track memory or experience?

“At most rounds there’s a lot of promotional stuff most drivers have got to do and this year we shared the Pepsi Max sponsor with Frosty … each weekend we’d go to a Woolies store or similar for Pepsi Max. So me and Frosty would hang out at a lot of those appearances.

“It’s good to catch up with fans, but also to hang out away from the track without that competition between each other and just have a bit of a laugh … that was pretty cool for me. It’s kind of like hanging out with a big brother and having a joke about things.”

Best performance by another driver?

“It has to hands down go to Frosty. Not just because he’s my teammate, but the fact that guy can be so consistent and finish every race. He’s done it for countless years – so you have to give it to him hands down. He’s a standout for sure, I think.”

What was your goal at the start of the season and how did it play out?

“Goal at the start of the season was to try and finish in the top five of the championship, which I seemed to fail again! But that was my goal – it obviously slipped away towards the end of the year.

“But the other goal was to be able to spray a lot of champagne and try and celebrate with the guys in single races.

“I think we ended up with five wins, nine seconds and five thirds. It was pretty amazing – you know you’ve had a good day at the races if you can stand on the podium and spray that champagne all over your crew, have a great laugh and for me that’s what I definitely wanted to do a lot of.

“I got to do that even though I sat the end of the year out … so I ticked one of the goals, getting on the podium plenty of times, but the top five got away from me again.” 

Team’s biggest achievement?

“Hands down the championship was one. But I think, for me [also] looking from the outside to see 60-odd people give it their all and work as a well oiled machine.

“The year when they brought out the FG X – to see 60 people work so hard on trying to get two FG Xs out before the start of the season and turn out with two fabulous cars that turned into four over the next couple of rounds was probably the biggest achievement.

“For a brand new car to roll out and be instantly at the pointy end and be a new benchmark car – for me that’s probably the biggest achievement of the team.”

Who will improve the most in 2016?

“I think Will [Davison] going to a different team [at Tekno], we’ll probably see him bounce back up to the front. Will’s always been a good driver anyway.

“But as a driver, one to watch is going to be Cam Waters. He did the enduros this year and was pretty strong in them but I think, with his racecraft, he’ll probably learn a lot going into next year. Instantly the amount of racing and level of competition will really test him.

“So as a driver in general, I think he’ll be a big improver over the course of a few rounds, coming into V8 Supercars.”

What are you most looking forward to in the 2016 season?

“To get back in my race car!

“The end of the year was pretty tough – watching everyone else fight down to the last couple of positions in the standings, have some great battles.

“I really missed being able to fly around the track with a 650hp V8 Supercar underneath me, instead of being in a four-wheel wheel chair and wheeling around.

“That’s what I’m looking forward to most in 2016, getting back to enjoying it 100 percent and seeing what we can do.”

The numbers:

Championship position: 11thPoints: 2017Penalty: 0Race wins: FiveARMOR ALL Pole Positions: 10Average qualifying position: 3.8 (for the races he contested)Average finishing position: 5.9 (for the races he contested)