Tander: Erebus is the real deal in 2023

Garth Tander is convinced Erebus Motorsport is the “real deal” as the team extended both points leads at the Bosch Power Tools Perth SuperSprint.

Will Brown led Brodie Kostecki in a one-two in Race 8, before the duo finished second and third in Race 9.

A day earlier, Kostecki came home second after a robust battle with Shane van Gisbergen.

Kostecki didn’t win a race in Perth, but extended his championship lead to 100 points after scoring podiums in all three sprints.

In a marker of the team’s smarts, Brown was arguably the quickest driver on Sunday, a day after slumping to 16th.

Erebus, meanwhile, extended its teams' lead to 180 points over Red Bull Ampol Racing.

“I was pretty open-minded about where they would be at [in Perth],” Tander said after Sunday’s race.

“[Perth] was a real litmus test to see if they were the real deal.

“This weekend has proven they are the real — absolutely they are the real deal.

“Will Brown’s turnaround from Saturday to Sunday was seriously impressive. They did something more than having a good night’s sleep.

“That car was a lot better, and Will was a lot more confident with it.”

An Erebus car has been on eight of the nine podiums in 2023, and both cars have been on four podiums.

Given the breadth of the circuits Supercars has raced at with the new cars, and that Erebus has been quick at every turn, Tander likes what he sees.

“They’ve proven to have a fast car on the streets of Newcastle, they've proven to have a fast car on a high grip, fast flowing circuit at Albert Park,” Tander said.

“And they’ve proven to have a fast car on a degrading circuit here at Wanneroo.

“You can’t have more differing conditions that what they’ve experienced so far with the Gen3 car.

“Coming out of the weekend, I’m convinced they are serious championship contenders.”

Mark Skaife was full of praise for Kostecki, who despite being unable to win a race in Perth, pieced together a consistent weekend to win the round on points.

“He’s had eight podiums in the nine races,” Skaife added.

“You talk about being the real deal — it’s about consistency.

“Even on a day when you can’t win, you’ve got to be at the pointy end.

“That’s what they’ve proven to do."

The 2023 Repco Supercars Championship will resume at the NED Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint on May 19-21.

Tickets for the event are on sale on Supercars.com and Ticketek.com.