'Bulldog' Kostecki survives Turn 8 hit to steal P7

Erebus Motorsport CEO Barry Ryan has praised Brodie Kostecki’s guile as he stole seventh from David Reynolds in the Adelaide finale.

Kostecki slapped the Turn 8 wall — the hit recorded at 15G — on lap 22.

They were scenes reminiscent of Kostecki’s Turn 8 hit during a Super2 race in 2020, which he won.

It came after cousin Jake Kostecki clattered the same wall, which triggered the first Safety Car.

There was much at stake — Kostecki was chasing Reynolds in the points, with Erebus chasing Penrite Racing.

Kostecki benefited from a later spin by Reynolds — who was taken out by Will Davison — to cross the line eighth.

Will Brown was sixth, helping Erebus to a double top 10 — but Lee Holdsworth’s ninth helped Penrite Racing take fifth by 10 points.

Regardless, Ryan was impressed by the resilient Kostecki, who finished seven places ahead of Brown.

“I think we’re the only car that hit the wall at [Turn] 8 that actually finished the race,” Ryan told Supercars’ Cool Down Lap podcast.

“He actually learnt how to drive it [damaged], because he bent it pretty bad.

“He learnt how to go fast with it bent, credit to Brodie — that’s his bulldog attitude.

“It was bloody good… Brodie and Will did a great job, the team did a good job."

It was a mixed bag on the Saturday, with Kostecki finishing a standout fourth.

Erebus was forced to repair Brown’s car after he was was an innocent bystander in a Saturday incident.

Cam Waters turned Todd Hazelwood, who bounced off the Turn 5 barriers into the hapless Brown.

Come Sunday, and Erebus had both cars in the fight — but Ryan was full of praise for the Groves despite falling just short.

Fittingly, Penrite Racing Team Principal David Cauchi gatecrashed Ryan’s interview, the two shaking hands.

“Brodie ended up seventh in the championship — we can’t sneeze that that,” Ryan said

“Teams’ championship, we were only 10 points off Grove — it was a big battle. It was a good battle.

“Brodie got past Lee [Holdsworth] on the last lap, thinking, ‘Have we clinched teams’?’

“It was really good, and good on Groves for what they’ve done this year. They’ve pushed their cars up and their team up.

“We made too many errors this year to be further up the championship.

“We’ve got to fix those errors — team, driver strategy, little errors you can’t have if you want to win a championship."

Erebus will now centre its focus on its two Gen3 Chevrolet Camaro builds.

Kostecki and Brown will again race for the team in 2023.

The 2023 Repco Supercars Championship will commence in Newcastle next March.

Tickets are on sale on Supercars.com and Ticketek.com.