Erebus eyeing success despite tight timelines
Erebus Motorsport CEO Barry Ryan says his team is determined be competitive in Bathurst despite the lead-in being dominated by repairs.
Erebus confirmed Thursday that Will Brown’s damaged car, EMH02, will be repaired in time for Bathurst.
The effect of that is the Greg Murphy/Richie Stanaway wildcard has been saved.
Erebus does not have a race-ready fourth chassis, meaning it all hinged on if Brown’s car could be repaired in time.
Cars and equipment arrived in Melbourne from New Zealand on Wednesday.
Erebus wasted no time stripping the damaged chassis, which is now on the jig in Mount Gambier.
Cars will be loaded up in the days leading to the October 6-9 event, giving Erebus two full weeks to complete the job.
The team has extra motivation to perform in Bathurst given the team brought home a podium last year.
Brown also secured a memorable provisional pole on the Friday.
From the outset, Ryan was committed to ensuring the wildcard programme was Erebus-run.
Ryan said other teams offered to help following the Brown crash, but he reiterated it would be an Erebus car, or nothing at all.
The team now has three weeks to turn around three race cars, and Ryan expects to be competitive.
"I couldn’t be prouder of our team," Ryan said.
"Our guys are working around the clock to ensure we have three Boost Mobile Commodores at Bathurst.
"We are going to Bathurst with the goal to replicate our [provisional] pole position last year and go two steps higher on the podium.
“We’re doing everything in our power to make that happen.”
Murphy paid tribute to Erebus for "moving hell and high water" to ensure the wildcard wasn't ruled out for a second time.
“I was positive about a solution being found, no matter what that was and it’s great news to hear that the team are going to be able to repair car #9,” Murphy said.
“The crews really are the unsung heroes of the game, they’re so passionate and committed to the sport, the jobs they do and when something like this happens they’re really forced to dig deep.
“It’s going to take a lot of hard work but the team knows what they’re doing, they’ve done it before and to know that it’s all under control is great.
“It’s not new but it still shouldn’t go unrecognised, it’s amazing and deserves a lot of praise and acknowledgement.”
Ryan said the intention to be competitive with the full-time cars is no different to the wildcard.
Murphy and Stanaway will have one final test day at Winton before their long-awaited appearance.
The wildcard, the brainchild of Boost Mobile founder Peter Adderton, was initially slated for last year’s race.
Considering the COVID-19 hurdles, Murphy and Stanaway’s experience and the Brown incident, it will be a triumphant moment once the #51 rolls out of pit lane.
“It will have been a long journey once it finally gets to Bathurst,” Ryan said of the wildcard.
"Everyone wants to see Murphy at Bathurst one more time.
“We are excited to see how Richie goes in an Erebus car."
