Gut feel changes Chaz
Supercars championship hopeful cuts new figure after dropping 10kg
WHEN Chaz Mostert looked in the mirror late last year, he didn’t like what he saw.
The popular Supercars driver had stacked on a few kilos. Many felt he had yet to return to his outstanding best since his brutal Bathurst crash in 2015.
So Mostert set about a physical transformation, frequently heading to his local gym at the Sports Super Centre in Runaway Bay.
The net result has been a lean, mean Mostert machine who has stripped about 10kg from his 185cm frame and is earning regular rave reviews for his on-track efforts.
But he says the decision to shape up was never to do with his ability behind the wheel. Nor was it about pushing the extremes as rivals do, such as Will Davison, who competed in the Sunshine Coast halfironman triathlon last month.
“I probably got to the end of the year a bit rundown just with how long the year is and just wasn’t happy looking at myself the way that I was, so I thought I’d have a big change up this year,” the humble 25year-old
said. “Instead of travelling overseas for the end of the year I went for a little holiday in north Queensland and then got stuck into it.
“To be honest, I’m not a good runner, I’m not a very good swimmer, I’m not very good in gym but it’s just good
to try to look after yourself.”
Loving the Gold Coast’s active-friendly climate and with the jumbled schedule that goes hand-in-hand with life as a Supercars driver, an hour a day at the gym was chosen as the way to go.
“I tried to get myself in a bit more of a routine outside of the race weekends which is very hard because we’re here, there and everywhere,” he said. “I’ve been working hard. I feel exactly the same in the car … but I guess losing a few kilos here and there makes you a bit more of a positive and confident person.”
After a winless 2016 season in which he placed seventh overall, Mostert has led the charge among Prodrive Racing Australia’s four drivers this year with two victories.
Heading into the last three rounds on the calendar, he remains in title contention.
Again displaying modesty in spades, he puts that improvement down to his team and return of his long-time engineer Adam De Borre.
Mostert is hoping for an upturn in results on the Gold Coast this weekend to keep himself in the hunt.
“I have struggled here every year … I have always felt on the defence instead of the attack,” he conceded.
“It would be nice to have a good fang around here and hopefully get a good result.
“If I get a surfboard (top three trophy) I would be stoked.”