After months and months of anticipation, the dominoes are falling quickly.
And it was always going to be this way.
Brodie Kostecki has held the key to the driver market since before the 2024 championship even began.
From the moment friction with Erebus Motorsport became public on the eve of the season, his signature for 2025 has been the paddock’s biggest prize.
PremiAir Racing immediately appeared as the keenest suitor.
An ambitious upstart that had invested so heavily in its staff and equipment but without a champion driver to complete the picture, rumours flew that a big-money offer was being pitched.
But close behind sat Dick Johnson Racing, the sport’s most historic race team that too looked in need of a dynamic driver to turn it back into the powerhouse it’d been just a few short years ago.
In the months since, paddock chatter has swung wildly between the two directions, some adamant Kostecki was off to PremiAir, others DJR.
The first real clue came in late July when Speedcafe revealed that DJR had let its option on Super2 hotshot Kai Allen lapse.
In swooped Grove Racing, willing to give up on Richie Stanaway – the toast of the sport last October following a Bathurst-winning co-drive – just six months into his comeback season.
The Groves reasoned that it needed to pounce on 19-year-old wunderkind Allen before others did. But why had DJR let him loose?
DJR boss David Noble spoke at Symmons Plains of how it was all a matter of timing, pointing to the end of September as when his team would be ready to make its move.
On the surface it sounded like a gamble, letting one driver go while trying to catch another. Surely, though, DJR already had its man and was just biding its time?
In the background continued to sit PremiAir, odds lengthening on snaring Kostecki, but poised to pick up the man he’d replace at DJR, Anton De Pasquale.
Suddenly it has neither.
Amid the spotlight of the heightening Kostecki/DJR rumours at Symmons Plains, De Pasquale cut a confident figure, declaring he’d be on the 2025 grid.
With DJR aligning its ducks and now ready to confirm a Kostecki/Davison line-up later this week, De Pasquale made his move.
NEWS: De Pasquale to replace Winterbottom at Team 18
The self-managed De Pasquale’s seemingly sudden turn to Team 18 over PremiAir is a true shock.
Exactly why is unclear, but it appears Team 18’s mercurial owner Charlie Schwerkolt was in the mood for change and pitched a deal to the 28-year-old that he couldn’t refuse.
The casualty is a blindsided Mark Winterbottom, who joins Stanaway on the outside looking in.
At 43 and in his 20th season, the 2015 champion’s full-time career may be over. Although still quick and sponsor savvy, no one can outrun the changing of the guard forever.
And what of Kostecki’s current home, Erebus?
It has done what it always does in these situations, opting to rebuild through the enthusiasm of youth.
Super2 front-runner and Triple Eight wildcard driver Cooper Murray is soon to be confirmed there, pairing with journeyman Jack Le Brocq.
Make no mistake, there is more to play out in the silly season, including the obvious intrigue over just what PremiAir will do next.
But the remaining pieces are all footnotes to the big story, DJR’s victory in the race for Brodie Kostecki.
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