Chaz Mostert and Fabian Coulthard produced a remarkable comeback victory at The Bend, charging from 11th on the grid to win the 2026 AirTouch 500. The #1 Mobil 1 Optus Toyota avoided the worst of the chaotic wet conditions during the opening stages before finding another level as the track improved. Mostert and Coulthard ultimately crossed the line 18 seconds clear of their nearest rivals.
The result also created a memorable milestone for Toyota in Supercars endurance racing. Walkinshaw TWG Racing’s Ryan Wood and Jaxon Evans climbed from 14th to finish third, while Penrite Racing’s Kai Allen and Tim Slade secured second. Mostert celebrated his first victory in a 500km Supercars enduro, while Coulthard returned to the top step for the first time since 2020, when he also won at The Bend.
Erebus Racing initially looked capable of producing a major upset after dominating much of the wet opening phase. The team took a gamble by moving onto dry-weather tyres early, with Lochie Dalton’s #99 Camaro becoming the test car before Cooper Murray took over. The decision u
Absolutely — a stronger headline for the post would be:
ltimately came too soon, allowing the leading Toyota runners to regain control. Evans was among the first front-runners to make the switch, and Wood nearly capitalised after taking over the #2 Toyota, briefly closing right onto Mostert’s rear.
The battle remained intense through the closing pit-stop cycle, with James Golding dropping from fourth after a mistake at Turn 1 and Matt Payne moving into contention. A potential fourth Safety Car was avoided after Macauley Jones suffered a high-speed incident at Turn 5, leaving the #96 Toyota damaged but clear of the racing line. In the final stages, Payne made a move on Jayden Ojeda at Turn 3 and was later handed a five-second penalty, affecting the final finishing order.
Mostert was never seriously threatened once he completed his final stop with just over 12 minutes remaining, holding a 16-second advantage over Allen and seven seconds over Wood. Payne’s penalty dropped the Payne/Will Davison combination to sixth, promoting Will Brown and Scott Pye to fourth, while Ojeda and David Russell completed the top five. Attention now turns to Bathurst, with the next championship round—the Repco Bathurst 1000—scheduled for October 8–11.
