Family affair: the 'special' Kostecki on-track reunion
This weekend’s OTR SuperSprint marks the first time the three Kostecki racers have shared a main game solo driver grid.
Cousins Jake and Brodie Kostecki earned full-time 2021 drives with Matt Stone Racing and Erebus Motorsport respectively, with the latter scoring a surprise Sandown podium.
Jake’s older brother Kurt, who was runner-up in the 2019 Dunlop Super2 Series, has joined Walkinshaw Andretti United in a three-event wildcard program aboard a #27 Mobil 1-backed Commodore.
Family affairs are no stranger to Supercars; notably, Kelly brothers Todd and Rick competed against each other for a decade before starting their own operation in 2009.
Two-time Bathurst winner Will Davison has completed several enduro starts alongside older brother Alex.
However, having three drivers from the one family is a rarity, and one wildcard racer Kurt was proud to contribute to at The Bend.
“Having all three of us in three different cars, I don’t if that’s happened before with three family members in three different cars,” he told Supercars.com.
“It’ll be really special to be out there with them, but at the same time, they’re also competitors.
“Once you put the helmet on, they’re just guys in cars that you need to overtake.”
Brodie was the first Kostecki to the line in Saturday’s Race 9, which was won by Kelly Grove Racing’s Andre Heimgartner.
Kurt got one over his younger brother, with the WAU wildcard finishing 19th, two places ahead of Jake’s #34 MSR entry.
Eyeing a full-time seat to race alongside his brother and cousin, 22-year-old Kurt was keen to see 21-year-old Jake continue to impress in his maiden full campaign with MSR.
“For Jake and I to have our names alongside guys like that is really cool,” he said.
“They obviously had a lot of success in the series, and it’d be awesome for us to chase that.
“Jake’s got his full-time drive at Matt Stone Racing, so this is a great chance for me to put my hat in the ring. That team seems to be coming together in leaps and bounds.
“As soon as they got both drivers in their own cars, it has fast-tracked their development.
“It’s been good to see Jake get some good results, in qualifying especially.
“It’ll be cool to watch their progress as the year pans out, and when Gen3 comes in, it’ll be a whole new ball game.”
Brodie will launch from 12th for Race 10, which will commence at 1:00pm AEST, ahead of Jake (20th) and Kurt (24th).
