Erebus rookies reflect on 'eye-opening' debut
Mount Panorama provided a high-intensity setting for the full-time initiations of Brodie Kostecki and Will Brown, who held their own in Bathurst.
Erebus Motorsport took a punt on the young drivers, and there was an early hiccup with Brown finding the wall at the Dipper in first practice.
However, by the end of the weekend, both drivers had shown early signs that the team will be vindicated by taking an all-new rookie line-up into 2021.
Kostecki superbly sailed into the ARMOR All Top 10 Shootout on Saturday, and finished Race 1 in 11th.
It was the best race result across both cars, with Brown recording finishes of 16th and 14th.
Kostecki revealed he had brake dramas on the sighting lap for Race 2, and encountered a high-speed off at the Chase.
Amid the chaos, both drivers were buoyed by their performances, with Kostecki pleased the team carried over its impressive test form into the season-opener.
“It was definitely very eye-opening, and I'm very proud of Erebus as a group," the 23-year-old told Supercars Trackside.
"We've definitely worked really hard at our test days, and it proved when we unloaded our cars from the transporter.
"Got into the shootout on Saturday… we didn't chase the track too well today.
"I think we can go back and sit as a group and work out how we go forward."
A champion in multiple categories, Brown topped official pre-season testing at Winton last week.
His full-time career got off to the worst possible start, but he responded in kind to finish both races.
Unfazed by the accident, the 22-year-old set the bar even higher for subsequent rounds.
"The team's excited, the atmosphere's great, which is really good," said Brown, will will run a different chassis at Sandown.
"The boys worked bloody hard to get my car back out there.
"I didn't even think we'd be racing this weekend, we pretty much sent, 'Nah, that's it'.
"The boys pulled it apart and were able to pull an all-nighter to get me out there.
"I can't be unhappy with 14th. A few of us are disappointed, but that's a good thing.
"We're rookies, 12th and 14th, and we're unhappy.
"We can't complain."
The Repco Supercars Championship field will return to Victoria for the Penrite Oil Sandown SuperSprint across March 20-21.
The event will be broadcast live on Foxtel and will be streamed on Kayo. Check out the full TV schedule here.
