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Supercars championship leader ‘confused’ by bad sportsmanship flag at Perth race
By Oliver Caffrey
Supercars championship leader Brodie Kostecki says he will consider racing differently after receiving a “stupid” bad sportsmanship flag in Perth.
Kostecki was given a warning for blocking two-time defending champion Shane van Gisbergen during an epic battle late in the first race of the round at Wanneroo Raceway.
Brodie Kostecki, right, driver of the #99 Coca-Cola Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 during race 2 of the Perth Supersprint at Wanneroo Raceway on Sunday.Credit: Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images
Van Gisbergen eventually overtook Kostecki after bumping his way through, but escaped without a penalty from stewards.
A protest was lodged against van Gisbergen but the claim was dismissed.
Kostecki said he was confused by what took place during the Perth Supersprint.
“The whole deal was confusing for me and how I got the bad sportsmanship flag,” the Erebus driver said.
“I was just confused on how the whole deal sort of transpired and how I ended up with a bad sportsmanship flag.
“The ruling’s pretty stupid, in my opinion, and I’d hope that we can change it in the future because the crowd and the fans deserve to see good racing and right now it’s not the case.
“It was really good racing out there and we got to fight for it but I was pretty frustrated when I came back in.”
Kostecki said the exchange had created a “pretty big precedent”.
“It seems like you can just force your way into a hole as long as you control your car sort of touch someone wide and the smallest bit of overlap, then it’s game on,” he said.
Kostecki had a promising weekend without winning, finishing on the podium for all three races.
The 25-year-old has a 100-point lead in the championship standings over Walkinshaw Andretti United’s Chaz Mostert.
Van Gisbergen had a disappointing final two races in Perth, but remains third as he tries to win a third-straight title.
AAP