Not for the first time, the Supercars star was the bolter in the pack – charging from fifth to the lead in the early laps before pulling a gap on the field.
Mostert also led late, charging past the eventual race-winning #32 Team WRT BMW with 38 minutes to go, before making a late extra fuel stop and eventually finishing fourth.
The #77 Craft-Bamboo Mercedes also had to pit in the closing stages, handing the frugal Team WRT BMWs a 1-2 result.
“We couldn’t make it on capacity or the amount we needed to save,” Mostert told Speedcafe, having shared the Arise Racing Ferrari with Will Brown and Daniel Serra.
“We found throughout the race that, trying to maintain the same pace as those guys at the start, we were still looking like three or so laps short per stint.
“The Safety Cars kind of got us on the same strategy.
“The Merc that got third (#75 75 Express), we had the opportunity to do that (pit at the same time as them), but we stayed with the leading two to get the track position.
“For us it was just send a Hail Mary, go as far as we could and hope a Safety Car comes when we had some tyre and a fast car to try and have a crack.”
There were mixed emotions for Mostert and the Arise team post-race, as the sister #36 Jaxon Evans/Brad Schumacher/Elliot Schutte/Alessio Rovera Ferrari 296 won the Pro-Am class.
“It was a big race for the team, Arise GT’s first 12 Hour race,” Mostert said.
“When you see the organisation that WRT is and the amount of endurance races they’ve done, for us to come fourth, show some pace and be battling in there, the team should be proud of that effort.
“Obviously we won with Pro-Am as well, which is really cool, to see everyone involved and see all the red shirts come out and the support they’ve given the team has been really special.
“I had a lot of fun. I’d love to try and win this race one day, but the older I’m getting and how fast these cars are across the top, it’s a little bit sketchy.
“This one keeps alluding me but we’ll hopefully see in 12 months if we come back.”
Mostert’s own Method Motorsport McLaren team endured even more wide-ranging fortunes, with its #24 car winning the GT4 class after the #25 entry crashed out early.
