Klimenko savours her second Bathurst 1000 win
“It was mind-numbing because I could see the finish line in front of me, but I also knew it could all go wrong on one of the last few corners,” Klimenko told The AJN.
As the last of the 161 laps on Mount Panorama were being driven in front of more than 193,000 spectators last Sunday afternoon, Erebus Motorsport’s Jewish founder and owner, Betty Klimenko, headed to the trackside fence close to the finish line – with her heart racing – to witness a piece of Australian motorsport magic about to unfold.
Erebus’s combo of Brodie Kostecki and Todd Hazelwood had led from the start in their Chevrolet Camaro and 30-odd laps after the race’s only safety car re-start were about to set a new Bathurst 1000 race record time.
Kostecki drove the final stretch and held off a determined chase by Red Bull Ampol’s Broc Feeney and Jamie Whincup in their Chevrolet to win Australia’s biggest and most prized car race by just 1.3496 seconds and deliver Erebus Motorsport, and Klimenko, their second Bathurst 1000 win after their 2017 triumph.
“I was shaking … it was mind-numbing because I could see the finish line in front of me, but I also knew it could all go wrong on one of the last few corners,” Klimenko told The AJN on Monday.
“This Supercars race is the most iconic in Australian sport, and it is very hard to win – some team owners never win Bathurst in their lifetimes – so to do it twice now … it’s an unbelievable feeling and I’m proud of everyone who was involved.
“And being a woman Supercars team owner and the only female team founder – everything is different about me – and I just feel really honoured.
“When it happened, my first thing I thought was, it doesn’t matter who you are or what you do – you can achieve anything you set out to do.”
Klimenko added, “I remember growing up watching the Bathurst 1000 every year with my dad (the late John Saunders) and I think he would have been very proud of me on Sunday.”
Unlike a typical Bathurst 1000 race, there were no major crashes or controversies and no dodgy weather. That resulted in a cracking pace, consistently fast lap times all afternoon, and Kostecki and Hazelwood setting a new event record time of 5 hours, 58 minutes and 44 seconds.
The one safety car re-start on lap 132 evened the field, but Kostecki kept his cool, and kept Feeney in his rear view mirror … just.
Klimenko told The AJN the keys to victory were “an absolute rocket of a car”, but just as importantly, the team working together as one.
“It wasn’t the usual argy-bargy, eventful type of Bathurst race, and I was kind of waiting for the stone to drop, but it didn’t happen,” she said.
“Our team knew what they were doing all race … the drivers, engineers and managers were all in the right zone and did things flawlessly.
“As a team, we didn’t panic at any time.”
Kostecki, who lives in her farm in Robertson in the NSW Southern Highlands, arranged a $50,000 donation by Erebus Motorsport to not-for-profit organisation Rural Aid the week before the big race and displayed their logo on the Camaro.
“Most people don’t realise, but there is a drought right now in rural South Australia,” she said.
“It’s so important to support Australian farmers.”
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