Ryan: How Brown-Kostecki rivalry is pushing Erebus forward

A healthy rivalry between Will Brown and Brodie Kostecki is pushing Erebus to the front, says Barry Ryan.

Kostecki and Brown are both in the top 10 in the championship heading to this weekend’s round in Tasmania.

Erebus gambled on two rookies last year, but Brown and Kostecki delivered; for the first time, Erebus had two drivers in the top 10 overall.

Kostecki opened 2022 with a maiden pole and podium in Sydney, and Brown secured dual top 10s.

For Erebus boss Ryan, the drivers' unwavering belief and attitude has transformed the Melbourne-based squad.

"I took them out for dinner at the end of 2020," Ryan told Supercars.com.

"I said, ‘Guys, the only way this is going to work is don't fight each other for 15th and 16th on the grid’.

“I told them to wait until they are first and second to fight, and then we will manage it.

"I think they took that onboard, but some of that comes naturally to them.

"They both know they have to help each other and work together to get their own personal results.

"Deep down, of course Brodie believes he's better than Will, and Will deep down believes he is better than Brodie.

"They are in equal equipment, but they both think they're going to beat each other anyway.

"It just pushes the team and each other further up the grid."

Erebus now finds itself as a teams’ championship contender; after Sydney, the team is just 48 points from the lead.

Brown congratulates Kostecki on his maiden pole

The Boost Mobile-backed outfit is arguably in its best position since 2018, when David Reynolds claimed three wins and a Bathurst pole.

Kostecki is also just 30 points behind points leader Chaz Mostert, haven beaten teammate Brown in both Sydney races.

Ryan explained that, although there is healthy competition between the pair, the team result remains the priority.

“They are both still really happy for each other when they get results,” Ryan said.

"They're pushing each other for the good of the team.

"Once last year, Brodie was coming up quicker and Will was on older tyres; Will let him past as quickly as he could so he wasn’t holding Brodie up.

"They were working together on the radio to work out how to do it best, so they didn’t hold each other up.

'They both really work well together'

"They are there for the team and I can’t see it changing because it's their nature.

"They both really work well together, and both have a similar attitude. They both have a lot of confidence in their own ability.”

Brown was first of the duo to win race, with the Queenslander holding on to beat Jamie Whincup and Shane van Gisbergen in Sydney last November.

Kostecki is still waiting for win No. 1, but now has a Bathurst podium to his name and the faster start to 2022.

For Ryan, the next step lies with Erebus being able to deliver a consistent race-winning package.

"They are never questioning whether they can be on pole position, or whether they can win the race,” Ryan continued.

“We've had drivers in the past that just didn't believe in themselves or the team. When you've got a driver like that, you're never going to get anywhere.

'Now we are way ahead of where we want to be'

"You've got to believe in each other, and the biggest box Brodie and Will tick is that they believe in themselves.

"Then once we deliver and show them that we've got the car that they can win in or get poles in, the whole belief is there.

"Then we’ve just got to do pit stops right and strategy, and we can consistently win races."

That next step will be put to the test this weekend in Tasmania, which will host the first sprint round of the season.

Both Erebus drivers secured top 10 results last April at Symmons Plains.

Last year’s trip to Tasmania holds mixed memories for Ryan at a time when the new-look team was still finding its feet.

"We were still getting on top of the new direction, setup and engineering," he said.

"We sort of look back at what we did then and think, ‘How the hell did we do that?’

"Now we are way ahead of where we want to be, so I think we can go back there with a lot of confidence, knowing we have improved the car a lot.

"We know what Tassie means, we know what are our style of set-up needs to be to make it work at Tassie.

"I think there's no reason why we can't bounce out of the gate pretty strong.”

The 2022 Repco Supercars Championship will resume at the NED Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint. CLICK HERE to purchase your tickets.

Every session of the event will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 506 and streamed on Kayo.

The Seven Network will broadcast highlights on Saturday and Sunday.