Bathurst 1000 pole-sitter Brodie Kostecki has revealed the mantra of renowned ‘driver whisperer’ Paul Morris for Great Race success.
The Repco Supercars Championship leader converted provisional pole with a devastatingly quick Top 10 Shootout lap, beating his rivals by 0.4830s despite running wide and kicking up the dirt at Hell Corner.
It was an effort consistent with the dominance of the #99 Erebus Motorsport Camaro so far this weekend at Mount Panorama, including David Russell topping the first designated co-driver session by more than six tenths of a second.
Asked by Speedcafe if he dares to dream, Kostecki shared some words of wisdom from his mentor.
“I don’t really dream,” he replied.
“I just know I’ve got a job to do and D-Russ has got a job to do as well.
“We’ve done a good job all weekend and the team’s done a good job; we’ll just knuckle down.
“I’ve been saying, you’ve just got to take this place one day at a time and Paul Morris has always told me ‘one-six-one’.
“So, you’ve just got to make it every lap… He [Broc Feeney, who also qualified on the front row] knows that saying.
“You’ve just got to complete every lap, make sure you’re there for the last stint, and we’ll just take it from there.”
Morris’s credentials as a driver coach have been on display again this weekend, with two of his proteges – the other being Feeney, and hence the above quoted aside in the post-Top 10 Shootout press conference – qualifying on the front row and another, Kai Allen, winning one of the Dunlop Super2 Series races.
‘The Dude’ himself, though, is also a winner in the big one at Mount Panorama, taking victory in the 2014 Bathurst 1000 as Chaz Mostert’s co-driver.
If today’s race is a rather more straightforward affair, it would hardly be too surprising to see the #99 Coca-Cola machine disappearing in the distance, not that Kostecki is counting on it.
“I think it’ll just play out as the race plays out,” he ‘predicted’.
“I can’t really forecast what’s going to happen but we’re starting off pole and, if we get a good start, we should be in a good spot, but anything can happen.
“Safety Cars can come at awkward times and it depends on you know what strategies people are how those Safety Cars affect the race, so we’ll just have to see what happens.”
The first Safety Car period of the Sandown 500 was indeed a significant factor in the outcome given Russell had to stack in pit lane behind the sister Erebus car, and Kostecki would go on to take the chequered flag second to Feeney.
This time around, having Feeney’s #88 Camaro on the other side of the front row, and team-mate Will Brown’s #9 Camaro back on Row 9 after his crash in Qualifying, may prove a blessing given it reduces the prospect of a double stack at Erebus.
However, Kostecki does not think the pressure of not having to worry about pit priority will be off for too long.
“Probably for the first two stints, or first stint, but Will’s been really fast all weekend too,” observed the West Australian.
“He made a small mistake but I’m sure he’ll come through the field and be right with the front pack.”
Brown is once again paired with Jack Perkins for the Bathurst 1000 while, at the head of the field, either of Kostecki or Russell will start alongside either of Feeney or Whincup.
The 20-minute Warm Up kicks off at 08:00 before the Race itself is officially due to start at 11:15 (all times local/AEDT).
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