The opportunity to co-drive with Brodie Kostecki was one which David Russell accepted with glee when Erebus Motorsport boss Barry Ryan made the phone call three years ago.
While there was a level of disappointment at coming up just short of victory in their first Sandown 500 together, when they were set back by a double stack, second place in the opening enduro of the 2023 Repco Supercars Championship continues their stellar record as a duo.
Three times they have driven together now, finishing third in the 2021 Bathurst 1000 and fourth at Mount Panorama last year, before bagging another podium last time out.
The fortunes which Russell has experienced are a far cry from the years prior to his Erebus tenure, having spent a season in the wilderness following just a single enduro campaign at Tickford Racing in 2018.
He kept his eye in with a round of Super2 with Matt Stone Racing in 2019, which developed into a return to the top tier in the following year’s Bathurst 1000, then received the call-up to drive for the team which is now leading the Supercars Championship.
“When Barry rang me three years ago, I’d already had some discussions with another team,” recounted Russell.
“He told me who I was [would be] driving with and, pretty much in that same phone call, I said, ‘Don’t worry about that mate, I’ll sort that out,’ and I knew I was teaming up with [Kostecki].
“It’s been great to obviously be his co-driver and also be a part of the Erebus team in what has been a sort of building phase and then into Gen3, obviously very dominant in quali and being up [on the podium].
“We know that there was a result that sort of went by the wayside a little bit, but to be P2 is still pretty good and for ‘Bush’ to be able to continue to get those championship points is really good.”
Russell has in fact been testing again today in the #99 Coca-Cola Camaro at Winton, given Erebus had a day up its sleeve.
Kostecki said of the 41-year-old, “We’ve had a really good record together and D-Russ has just got the experience to always put the right foot forward and that’s something that’s really important that these races.
“They’re so long and there’s a lot of risks that you can take during the races that don’t always play out. He seems to just always be at the right end of that and showed some really good speed [at Sandown] as well.
“It’s just a really good dynamic between us and obviously the continuity from the last few years as well was important coming to this new generation of car.”
Practice at the 2023 Repco Bathurst 1000 starts on Thursday, October 5.
