Erebus Motorspot boss Barry Ryan has reflected on one of the strongest performances his team has registered in Supercars over the last two seasons, with drivers Brodie Kostecki and Will Brown both starring at the final Penrite Oils Sandown SuperSprint race of the weekend.
Kostecki quickly carved from seventh on the grid to fourth, before picking off Jamie Whincup and then David Reynolds to make his way to second position early in the wet 36-lap race.
At a point he was able to whittle the margin to Shane van Gisbergen down to less than three seconds prior to pit-stops following a string of fastest laps, it looked like Kostecki would be able to challenge the Kiwi for the win; ironically making him the first to really look like a threat to van Gisbergen over the course of the weekend, despite the series leader’s broken collarbone.
Electing to stop much later than van Gisbergen in search of an ‘overcut’ proved fruitless for Kostecki. But, even with that and a late tour through the turn three grass thrown in, the 23-year-old was able to finish a clear second. Will Brown, meanwhile, came from the back of the field to finish seventh.
“Was one of the best drives I’ve seen in the wet,” Ryan said of Kostecki’s performance. “As I said to someone before, Shane [van Gisbergen] is pretty much in a position where he could win every race this year. So to come second to Shane is like a race win.”
Kostecki made his debut in the Supercars maingame in 2019 as a ‘Wildcard’ driver at that year’s Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000. He and cousin/co-driver Jake Kostecki were notably competitive across both events, particularly at Sandown where they held a spot in the top five early in the race.
Brodie Kostecki then scored a co-driver role alongside Anton De Pasquale at Erebus Motorsport for the 2020 Bathurst 1000, acquitting himself nicely via a nail-biting dice with Whincup (one which resulted in the latter making a mistake and crashing out).
“We signed [Kostecki] up in December 2019 pretty much as a co-driver and he’s doing a fantastic job,” Ryan added.
“Today he was getting in the groove, ever sector was within half a tenth. I think some of his oval school technique … he knows how to do lap after lap after lap without making mistakes. He did a fantastic job today and I’m proud of him.”
Kostecki now sits on the cusp of the top 10 in the championship, as the series prepares to hit Symmons Plains in Tasmania on April 10-11.