‘Don’t understand’: Supercars rivals speak out on sidelined champ as title race blown wide open

The Supercars grid is still reeling from the bombshell news that reigning champion Brodie Kostecki will miss the opening round of the 2024 season – and likely the whole campaign – amid a messy feud with Erebus Motorsport.

Now two rivals – including a former teammate of Kostecki at Erebus – have spoken out on the ongoing saga, labelling it a “shame” that the “amazing champ” is sidelined as he seeks to leave Erebus.

But with Kostecki absent and three-time Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen having moved to NASCAR full-time for 2024, the title race has been blown wide open, with drivers out to capitalise on “big opportunities”.

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Will Davison, who drove for Erebus in 2014 and 2015 when the team fielded Mercedes cars, appeared on Fox Sports News this week to preview the Bathurst 500 which kicks off the season on 23-25 Feb.

Speaking about the Kostecki saga, he said: “Definitely some juicy headlines (the) last few weeks. Without knowing too much about the situation, it’s obviously a shame to have the champion who is so new to the sport – to actually win it in only his third year was pretty amazing. I know he’s a good mate of Anton’s (De Pasquale).

“Obviously some circumstances that are a little bit messy there. It’s not ideal. I’m sure it’ll be worked out. He’s got a huge career ahead of him. I’m not sure how it’s all going to pan out.

“Motorsport is juicy, it is political, and there’s often a lot of these things going on behind the scenes that you’d never hear.

“It’s just a bit sad that it’s come to the headline that it has. I’m sure it’ll be fine. He’s an amazing champ.”

He added: “We’re just focused on ourselves now. No SVG, no Brodie to start the year it seems, so big opportunities for us.”

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Davison will again partner Anton De Pasquale as the two drivers for Shell V-Power Racing (Dick Johnson Racing) this season.

De Pasquale raced for Erebus from 2018 to 2020, and in his final year had Brodie Kostecki as his co-driver for the Bathurst 1000 – before being replaced full-time by the future champion in 2021.

De Pasquale, who joined Davison in the Fox Sports studio, also told Nine’s Today show this week that he had checked on the wellbeing of his former co-driver.

“He’s good from that side of things,” he said.

“Obviously, [he is] a really good mate of mine, we co-drove a couple years ago – a few years ago now – so, yeah, just a bit of a mate’s check-in more than anything.

“I don’t really understand what’s happening, I don’t think I really want to because it’s obviously pretty layered and there’s a lot going on.

“But he’s alright.

“Obviously, it’s a shame not to have the champ on the grid at the first race back so, hopefully, he’s back as soon as possible because you want you want him out there; he’s a fierce competitor.”