Brown, van Gisbergen cars ready for teams' title decider
Will Brown, Shane van Gisbergen cars repaired after Saturday crash
Erebus and Triple Eight are fighting for teams' championship
Erebus leads by 161 points with 288 available in Adelaide finale
Big efforts by Erebus Motorsport and Triple Eight Race Engineering have ensured a four-car battle will decide the 2023 teams’ championship in Adelaide.
Erebus and Triple Eight had it all to do on Saturday night after a crash that took Will Brown and Shane van Gisbergen out of Race 27.
Brown was escorted into the Turn 4 wall by Anton De Pasquale on lap 1, with an unsighted van Gisbergen ploughing into the Erebus Camaro.
Both Chevrolets were out, with Brown’s #9 Coca-Cola Camaro sustaining heavy front and rear damage.
Erebus mechanics worked until 3:30am local time, and returned on Sunday morning to put the finishing touches on the car for what will be Brown’s last race with the team.
Triple Eight mechanics stripped the van Gisbergen car midway through Saturday’s race, which was won by Tickford Racing driver Cam Waters. Triple Eight completed its repairs by 10:30pm.
Erebus’ teams’ championship lead was cut from 170 to 161 points after Broc Feeney passed Brodie Kostecki, who clinched the drivers’ title, for sixth.
Erebus led the teams’ standings by as many as 272 points during the year, with Triple Eight closing in as the year wore on.
After the Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight, the margin was down to 80 points, before it blew out again to 179 points after Feeney's mechanical dramas in the Repco Bathurst 1000.
With 288 points available on Sunday at the VAILO Adelaide 500, Triple Eight will need a minor miracle to win its 12th teams’ championship.
Kostecki, however, is determined to complete an historic double for Erebus.
“This team has delivered all year and that was a pretty high pressure scenario this weekend,” Kostecki said.
“Not only have we been fast and presented well, but you have to do everything right to win this championship because it is too close.
“To go up against Triple Eight and beat those guys is pretty cool… there is also a teams' championship going on and it would be very cool to sweep them both.
“It is funny how things played out with one energy drink and Coke car knocked out. It is really close and we have a bit of work to do for tomorrow.
“Broc was quite fast and started P11 and got by me at the end. We will go to sleep tonight and have a big swing at it tomorrow. My goal is to win.”
Supercars will return to the track for ARMOR ALL Qualifying at 10:15am local time/10:45am AEDT. The Top Ten Shootout will follow at 12:05pm local time/12:35pm AEDT, followed by Race 28 at 2:45pm local time/3:15pm AEDT.
