DJR will begin a new era in 2025 with Kostecki just the start of the changes that also include the arrival of ex-Erebus engineers George Commins and Tom Moore.

Kostecki’s co-driver Todd Hazelwood is also making the switch, while the team has struck a deal with Erebus to use James White-built chassis.

The quantum of change will undoubtedly require a bedding-in period next season, one that might ordinarily stifle the chances of a championship tilt.

However, Kostecki must simply be in the top 10 in points after the Bathurst 1000 – or win either the Sprint or Enduro Cup portions of the season – to qualify for the Finals.

That’s a fact not lost on DJR team principal and mastermind Story.

“We’ve got all the year to get our shit together, hover around the top 10 and just keep building, keep building and see where we are,” Story told Speedcafe.

“Next year might very well be a building year, but I think it presents a tremendous opportunity to have a crack. And that’s exactly what we’re gonna do.

“We’re gonna have a crack.”

While excited to get 2025 underway, Story suggests that DJR’s new era won’t properly start until the New Year.

“We want to respect where they’re coming from,” he said of his recruits.

“And likewise, if any of the folks who are leaving us, if there’s any requests from their new employers to take them on a bit early, we would grant that and give it our blessing.

“But we don’t seek to take the piss with anyone.

“We want to respect what’s happened, and we want to respect the relationships that exist, and we’re just happy to start from 1 January.”

Departures from DJR include driver Anton De Pasquale, who heads to Team 18, and current race engineers Perry Kapper and Richard Harris.

Kapper, who was also DJR’s chief engineer, has taken a technical director role at Supercars, while Harris is moving to WAU, likely to engineer Ryan Wood.