Kostecki is cutting his first Erebus Supercars laps of the year at Winton today ahead of his return to the title-winning squad in New Zealand next week.

The return follows a tumultuous period for both driver and team since the end of last season that saw Kostecki refuse to race at the first two events of 2024.

That led to the an exodus of major partners.

The matter has long been framed as a health issue for Kostecki by the team, despite Kostecki himself saying he was “in generally good health” and admitting he was at “a crossroads with my 2023 Supercars team” back in February.

Either way, Ryan says things are “back to normal” at the team as of today’s Winton test.

“It’s great to be back there doing a test day before New Zealand and having Brodie in the car alongside Jack [Le Brocq],” said Ryan.

“It’s back to normal.

“We would have liked to have started the year like that, but unfortunately we couldn’t. It’s great to see Brodie happy, healthy and ready to go.

“It’s always a good vibe here. We all know each other really well, we’ve been together a long time. It’s great. It’s no different to what we finished at the end of last year. Everyone is ready to go. We’ve got the #1 on the car. It’s pretty exciting.”

Ryan added there has been no need to take extra measures to get Kostecki back up to speed for the ITM Taupo Super400 given his natural motivation.

“He’s done his homework in the background, prepared himself, and spent a lot of time with Paul [Morrris] at Norwell on his sim,” he said.

“All the stuff he does and all the stuff that makes him as good as he is, he just does. You don’t need to push Brodie. He pushes himself and pushes us hard enough. We don’t need to push him.”