Matt Stone Racing has confirmed a shake-up to its SuperLite schedule with Jake Kostecki set to contest next weekend’s Sydney SuperSprint on June 27-28.
Kostecki’s adversary Zane Goddard was initially announced to pilot the Unit Racing #34 Holden ZB Commodore in the sole Sydney Motorsport Park event this season.
However, amid changes to the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship, the team has had to adjust its initial plan.
While a second revision to the calendar is on the horizon that will see the season conclude in 2020 at Sydney Motorsport Park under lights, Matt Stone Racing has balanced its books.
By the time the drivers get to end of the season, Stone told Speedcafe.com he expects both drivers will have had contested an equal number of events.
Kostecki was to race with the team at the Melbourne 400 but only contested practice and the first two qualifying sessions on Thursday before the meeting was cancelled due to coronavirus.
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Goddard was also to contest the race weekend at the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit in the VHT S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship.
Goddard will return to Supercars at Winton Motor Raceway on July 18-19.
The line-up beyond the Truck Assist Winton round will be confirmed once Supercars has ratified its second batch of calendar revisions.
Speaking with Speedcafe.com, Kostecki said he’s excited to finally make his solo racing debut after a false start in Melbourne.
“Going into Melbourne there was a lot of preparation and getting my headspace into it, obviously racing in my first solo main game round,” said Kostecki.
“Then it got cancelled, which was a bit of a bummer. I only did practice and qualifying due to COVID, but that’s how it went and I couldn’t do much about it.
“I’m happy to be racing the first round back at Sydney, which is going to be exciting. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Kostecki finds himself in a unique position on his return to the Supercars fold.
For most, it will have been four months since they last raced at the season-opening Adelaide 500 and three months since their last Supercars drive at the Melbourne 400.
However, for Kostecki, his most recent race appearance was at the Sandown 500 last year when he joined cousin Brodie Kostecki in a wildcard entry.
Kostecki comes into the Sydney SuperSprint having effectively only cut practice laps with very little in the way of door-to-door action.
The lack of recent racing experience is set to be compounded with a condensed format that will see him get just three practice sessions before being thrust into qualifying and the first race.
Kostecki believes that will make for a tough return, but is looking at the positives.
“With Matt Stone Racing and Todd (Hazelwood) driving last year, a lot of his best results were on Sunday,” explained Kostecki.
“Every Sunday he had his best results of the weekend. We’re not going to have that now going straight into Saturday racing, which is going to be pretty crazy.
“The format is a bit like Super2, not exactly the same, but there are no fuel stops and its shorter racing. I think with the format we can surprise a few people.
“You have to do the best job you can, but in terms of not being able to sleep on it overnight and waking up with a fresh mind of what you did the day before, that can hurt us a little bit.
“We’re going to Sydney to do the best job possible. I don’t know what to expect yet. There are new formats that are exciting for me because it’s new.”
Kostecki will return to the track on June 27-28 with the resumption of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship at Sydney Motorsport Park.
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