The Dick Johnson Racing star says he’s fully recovered from the virus that led to him pulling out of the Darwin Triple Crown.
Kostecki had entered the Darwin event with a virus and needed medical attention after suffering through the Saturday race without a working drink bottle.
He then pulled the pin on Sunday morning due to a variety of issues, including pain in his lower back.
Kostecki has since undergone a full recovery program, including physiotherapy and has no concerns about tackling the brutal Townsville streets.
“I’ve been doing everything I can to make sure that I’m fit and healthy to get back behind the wheel again and not have a repeat of what happened in Darwin,” he said.
“But I’m feeling fit and ready and excited to drive the car again tomorrow.”
Kostecki said he’s still unsure what caused the painful spasms in his lower back.
“I was obviously pretty ill leading into Darwin and I just shut down on Sunday. The body said that was enough,” Kostecki explained.
“But once I got over what I had, I was sort of fit and healthy again, and I’ve just been taking it day by day, making sure that I’m fit for this weekend.”
DJR excused Kostecki from commercial commitments between events, but his return to the workshop last week left team manager Tom Moore confident in his driver.
“He was in the workshop plenty of days last week, and the first day he was in there, he said, ‘I feel like I could go run a five kay tomorrow’,” said Moore.
Moore said Kostecki had taken to his recovery with typical vigour.
“He’s had a pretty thorough once over from some physios, some GPs, all that sort of stuff,” he said.
“Anyone that knows how he operates, he doesn’t leave any stone unturned, so he was basically, full recovery mode.”
This weekend marks a year since Kostecki chalked up his first victory with the DJR squad that he’s joined at the start of 2025.
Kostecki arrived at the team alongside race engineer George Commins and now team manager Moore, marking a new era for the squad.
“I’m probably looking forward to a stress-free weekend, we’ve had little issues cropping up out of our control the last few weekends,” added More.
“The mood within the group is exceptional. Everyone is at the point now where we’re just excited to go to the race track.”
Kostecki sits fourth in the championship ahead of Friday’s Townsville opener, 203 points adrift of leader Broc Feeney.
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