AN unusual trend is playing out in the 2023 Repco Supercars Championship.
There’s been a dozen races to date in the maiden Gen3 Supercars season and as yet, not a single one has been won by the championship leader.
Cam Waters, Chaz Mostert and Brodie Kostecki are the three drivers to have had their car numbers turn orange at some point, as is the category’s standard protocol to designate the driver currently atop the standings.
Waters was classified as the Race 1 winner in Newcastle after both Triple Eight cars were disqualified for a breach of the driver cooling regulations.
Mostert took over the lead by the end of the following day but is yet to win a race in a Walkinshaw Andretti United Ford.
He’d ceded top spot to Kostecki by the end of the final leg of the Melbourne SuperSprint, an event at which the #99 Erebus Motorsport driver had earlier taken the first and second race wins of his main game career.
In the six races since across Wanneroo Raceway and Symmons Plains, Kostecki has chalked up another five podiums but no wins.
There are 14 prior instances in ATCC/Supercars history where the same championship leader at the end of seven successive races had not won any in that span.
George Fury was the first case in 1983.
Mark Winterbottom has the longest such run, maintaining the points lead through a winless 12-race end to the 2015 season.
Marcos Ambrose (2005, 11), Rick Kelly (2007, 11), James Courtney (2010, 11), Craig Lowndes (1999, 10) and Russell Ingall (2005, 10) are not far behind.
Kostecki’s next chance to return to the winners’ circle and/or keep hold of the series lead comes on June 16-18 at Hidden Valley, where three races will make up the Darwin Triple Crown.