In the midst of the 2024 season, it was well-known Kostecki would depart Erebus Motorsport for fresh pastures in 2025.
PremiAir Racing was thought to have an early lead in the race for securing Kostecki’s services but ultimately he decided to drive for Dick Johnson Racing.
In a pilot episode of Kostecki’s new podcast with Will Brown titled Lucky Dogs, last year’s Bathurst 1000 winner opened up on his thought process.
Kostecki said it was a “pretty lengthy process” which he was guided through by fellow Bathurst 1000 winner and Norwell Motorplex operator Paul Morris and his then-Erebus engineer George Commins.
“It was meant to be a lot shorter [process] initially. Obviously with contract restrictions, when you can talk to people, and all that sort of stuff,” Kostecki explained.
“Barry [Ryan] was pretty good out of it and was pretty much trying to wheel me out of the door at one point. That changed after Bathurst and Gold Coast. He was like ‘It’s sad to see you go’ type of thing.
“It was a new process for me having two people, or two teams trying to basically head hunt you at the same time. I was pretty lucky to have pretty good people around me like Paul to give me good advice.”
Kostecki said his decision was influenced by two key elements. The first was the competitive potential of either team, which he said DJR had the edge over PremiAir.
On one hand, PremiAir was a team on the up but lacking relative to the then-General Motors homologation team Triple Eight.
On the other hand, Ford squad DJR had struggled to reach the lofty heights it achieved with Scott McLaughlin, which netted three drivers’ championships.
“I worked out what was going to be the most sustainable way going forward,” Kostecki explained.
“Obviously, DJR weren’t at the place where they wanted to be and they obviously had a pretty big fall from grace after Scotty left and didn’t quite have the results they wanted.
“I was speaking to Pete [Xiberras] a fair bit, he was more newer into the sport and was looking for a bit of direction probably through me.
“It was like, it’s a lot to take on your shoulders to go to a team that’s the same size as Erebus, effectively and doesn’t have much around it and build it up.
“I saw it as a four-year or three-year stint there to get it to the level where you can beat a team like Triple Eight at your end.
“It was pretty simple in the end of just that DJR had more infrastructure, had more backing behind it, and had some really good people there.
“I just felt like it needed a few more injections around and I feel like I could make an impact on that team at a quicker rate than I could at PremiAir for example. So that’s how I ended up there.”
The second element was a meeting with DJR co-owner Brett Ralph, who Kostecki took a liking to.
Ralph bought into DJR in 2022, taking a majority share of the racing business alongside founder Dick Johnson and executive Ryan Story.
“I remember meeting them for the first time at Norwell with Paul and he rolled up and he was wearing a flannel shirt, a tee shirt, shoes that looked like they had walked 5000 kilometres – just a down-to-earth Aussie guy,” Kostecki explained.
“He basically told me why he wanted me and where he thought I could make an impact. It really made me feel pretty wanted. He had a plan and he was sticking to it.
“It just gave me I guess security in what I wanted to do. George was adamant DJR was the best way to go, knowing Rowdy [Mark Fenning] there and all the tools they have there.”
Kostecki brought Erebus’ top engineering talent with him, including Commins and Tom Moore.
For Commins, it was an easy transition having already been based in Queensland. Moore, however, was Victorian based.
“Tom was a late one. He was ready for another role. He had grown to his highest position he could go to at Erebus effectively,” Kostecki explained.
“There was no way up for him really. I think Barry offered for him to be the head of engineering but he was already.
“He was getting a different email title but it was more about having more skills about managing people and building himself up to a bigger role.
“I put his name forward and said I think Tom would be a great fit for this team. George obviously really wanted to go to DJR.
“I didn’t have to drag them with me. They just saw that this place could be a great place. It just needs a few injections, like I said, so that’s how that came about.
“All my dealings with them have been great and it’s a really cool organisation to be a part of.”
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