With the Repco Supercars Championship on a coronavirus-induced halt at the season’s midway mark, Speedcafe.com takes a look at the 2021 performance of Erebus Motorsport to date.
Teams’ championship: 6th
Drivers’ championship: Will Brown 10th, Brodie Kostecki 11th
Qualifying head-to-head: Brown 10, Kostecki 9
Race head-to-head: Brown 10, Kostecki 9
Erebus Motorsport has made its doubters eat humble pie in 2021, and for good reason.
Since making wholesale changes following the 2015 season (its third in Supercars), switching to Holden and moving to Victoria, the team has been building year-on-year to the point where wins and podiums were not a case of if but when.
Victory at the 2017 Bathurst 1000 marked a pivotal moment for Erebus Motorsport, moving the team from mid-fielders to front-running contenders.
All seemed well in the camp in 2019 as David Reynolds signed an extraordinary 10-year deal, though any semblance of harmony soon disappeared in 2020 as COVID-19 wreaked havoc.
As they say, change is as good as a holiday, and it was a big holiday at that.
Come the close of 2020, out went Reynolds to Kelly Grove Racing with engineer Alistair McVean in tow while Anton De Pasquale was pinched by Dick Johnson Racing. Meanwhile, his engineer Mirko De Rosa joined the newly formed Blanchard Racing Team.
In their place, two rookie drivers in Brodie Kostecki and Will Brown arrived with George Commins and Tom Moore taking the top spots as engineers.
Few could have imagined the success the team would garner early on, Kostecki claiming a podium in only his fifth race.
While Brown hasn’t stood on the podium yet, he’s looked awfully threatening and has been an increasingly consistent presence towards the front.
Their standing in 10th and 11th in the championship – Brown from Kostecki – should no doubt be applauded all things considered.
It’s one thing to bring in a rookie driver and expect success, let alone two and a new engineering set-up.
Nevertheless, credit must be given to team boss Barry Ryan for taking the bold, not safe, route. Few saw what he did and many questioned the move, believing the team was seemingly doomed to begin with.
There is without doubt a different feel within the Erebus Motorsport garage. With youth, the team has had a breath of fresh air, and with new ideas, the team has begun finding its way back towards the front.
One can only imagine what the team might be able to achieve come season two with its young guns.
Team mid-season grade: 8/10
Driver mid-season grades: Kostecki 8/10, Brown 8/10
Discussion about this post