ONE of the big unanswered questions attached to the Brodie Kostecki/Erebus Motorsport saga is what’s next for the 2023 Supercars champion.
What is known is Kostecki likely has driven his final race for Erebus, despite being under contract for the upcoming season.
Details have been scarce with none of the involved parties willing to comment at this stage, but it’s clear that there has been a falling out between driver and team.
With Round 1 little more than a fortnight away, Erebus has confirmed Todd Hazelwood will drive at the Thrifty Bathurst 500, in the brand-new Gen3 Camaro that had been destined to power Kostecki’s title defence.
Erebus is clearly planning for a Kostecki-less future, with Jayden Ojeda joining them for pre-season testing at Winton this week.
Come the 2024 Sandown 500 and Repco Bathurst 1000, it seems veteran co-driver David Russell will shift across to the #9 entry led by Jack Le Brocq, and Ojeda will pair up with Hazelwood.
So, what about Kostecki?
The early indications are that Richard Childress Racing’s allegiances remain with Erebus, despite Kostecki impressing in his Cup Series debut last year.
Many expect the 26-year-old’s foreseeable future to be in Supercars, be it this year or next.
Kostecki’s chances of racing a Supercar this year hinge on a contract release being negotiated between his camp and Erebus.
Regardless, the Australian motorsport industry is abuzz with where the winningest driver in Supercars’ Gen3 era will pop up.
Setting the rumour mill alight is the widespread theory that ever-ambitious PremiAir Racing will pounce on Kostecki.
PremiAir insiders have downplayed any such suggestions, but sometimes as the saying goes, where there’s smoke there’s fire.
Peter Xiberras has invested heavily in his team, which is still hunting its first podium as it enters year three.
Xiberras, a champion drag racer and successful businessman, has sourced top-of-the-line equipment in the form of three Triple Eight-built Gen3 Camaros (two to be raced, one as a spare).
He has not held back in recruiting key staff, with high-profile appointments in the past six or so months headlined by Stephen Robertson (team manager) and proven engineers Ludo Lacroix and Mirko De Rosa.
As solid a pairing as Tim Slade and James Golding is, one could argue that a truly elite driver is the one missing piece in Xiberras’ quest for glory.
It’s understood Slade and Golding’s contracts are due to expire at the end of 2024 and 2025, respectively.
For PremiAir, it makes obvious sense, and for Kostecki, it’s perhaps a chance to start afresh with a Queensland-based emerging powerhouse.
The other logical contender would be Dick Johnson Racing, where both Anton De Pasquale and Will Davison are off-contract at season’s end.
For Kostecki, DJR could offer the allure of an iconic, historic team and the chance to be a hero to its huge fanbase.
For DJR, it would be the ultimate show that it means business after a relatively slow start to life under Brett Ralph’s watch; a power play potentially able to rekindle its Scott McLaughlin/DJR Team Penske heyday.
Elsewhere, it’s possible the Kostecki market might move too quickly for Grove Racing or Tickford Racing, who surely are right now all-in on making their Richie Stanaway/Matt Payne and Cam Waters/Thomas Randle combinations work.
Triple Eight and Walkinshaw Andretti United are full for 2025, barring the potential for fielding an additional car, and with respect, other teams might struggle to lure a star of Kostecki’s magnitude.
Watch this space…
