EREBUS Motorsport’s hybrid ‘Mercadore’ has given six young drivers their first taste of a Supercar over the last two days in Queensland.
Used as the team’s ride car, the six drivers, each with a variety of experience in Toyota 86 and Excel racing – Ryan Casha, Lockie Bloxsom, Kai Allen, Connor Roberts, Luke Pink and Jarrod Hughes – spent yesterday at Norwell Motorplex familarising themselves with the car and each drove 18 laps today at Queensland Raceway.
The car is one of Erebus’ former Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG Supercars now cloaked in ZB Commodore panels as Brodie Kostecki’s #99 Boost Mobile car, though still running an AMG V8 engine.
An initiative of the Erebus Academy and Norwell Motorplex, the opportunity allowed the six young drivers the chance to work alongside Erebus drivers Kostecki and Will Brown and Erebus engineer George Commins.
“Our relationship with Norwell was developed through the Erebus Academy as we’re both incredibly passionate about assisting the next generation of Supercar drivers through the ranks,” says Erebus CEO Barry Ryan.
“The proof is in the drivers who have come out of Norwell, such as Brodie, and many others who have trained there so it shows that this kind of training is the best direction for young drivers looking to develop their skills.
“It’s great that we can use our combined resources to provide opportunities like these drive days that most young drivers wouldn’t have access to otherwise.”
The joint initiative is not a first for the Erebus Academy or Norwell Motorplex, who have worked together since 2019 on similar programs including ‘Karts to Cars’ and ‘Creating Pathways’.
