How Erebus became race winners again

Erebus Motorsport heads into 2022 buoyed by a season which saw both drivers in the top 10 overall for the first time.

The team entered 2021 with an all-new driver line-up, of rookies no less. Coupled with two new race engineers, and the team had it all do to.

By season’s end, the team had scored a pole, a win, a raft of podiums and a breakthrough Bathurst podium.

Will Brown and Brodie Kostecki, who entered 2021 with a handful of race starts between them, ended the season ranked eighth and ninth.

Never before had Erebus had both drivers finish in the top 10 in a season.

For team boss Barry Ryan, closer synergy at the team aided the Holden squad’s return to form.

"The biggest improvement I’ve seen this year is teamwork and how well we have been working together has been reflected in our results," Ryan said.

"Really what it came down to was hard work and a consolidated effort by the team to improve in all areas.

"We made the most of the long break between rounds and treated it like an off season."

The team did win a race in 2020, courtesy of Anton De Pasquale in Darwin, but consistency was few and far between.

Right from the outset in 2021, the Erebus cars were fast, with Kostecki reaching the shootout at the Bathurst season opener.

It was a welcome result after Brown suffered a major crash in practice which required a switch to the team’s spare car.

Kostecki on the Sandown podium last March

From there, Erebus was a force; Kostecki - who was engineered by the experienced George Commins - secured a surprise Sandown podium in the wet.

Brown pieced together a string of strong qualifying and race performances, and all of a sudden, both drivers were in the top 10.

When teams arrived in Sydney after a three-month break, Erebus was one of the fastest and most complete squads out there.

Having treated the break like an off season, Erebus flew out of the gates.

Brown’s Race 28 win was one of the season’s best, and the team could have had more had they cleaned up their pit stops.

"There are several moments I have been really proud of this year and no performance can be ranked higher than another in my mind," Ryan said.

"Brodie’s shootout at the season opener, his Sandown podium and when he helped Will at SMSP 2 to get a podium.

"Then obviously Will got his first race win in Sydney and provisional pole at Bathurst.

"Both of the drivers' performances in the Bathurst 1000 shootout were outstanding and then of course Brodie and Dave’s Bathurst podium.

"They were all fantastic moments, and all evidence of the team working in complete unity together.

"Seeing the team also rebound and work together to nail the pitstop that led to Will’s win was really rewarding for the crew, especially after all of the previous issues."

For Ryan, who has been with Erebus through its ups and downs, working on the one-percenters will ensure the Melbourne team remains at the pointy end.

Already, his drivers have aimed for the stars; Brown is targeting a top five championship finish, with Kostecki eyeing race wins.

Erebus ended 2021 with a Bathurst podium

At Erebus’ core is its renewed teamwork mantra, something exemplified by the impressive leadership shown by Commins and youngster Tom Moore in their first seasons.

"Teamwork is everything and making sure we’re working together in every aspect will ensure that we keep moving forward and continue to see some good results in 2022," said Ryan, whose team will feature two Boost Mobile-backed cars in 2022.

"I would rate our season an eight out of 10.

"Overall we saw some great results but we still had too many little issues with pit stops and some small reliability issues.

"To get a 10, you need to be perfect and to get a nine, you’d need to be very close to perfect."

Erebus will unveil its new-look Boost Mobile cars on February 21 ahead of the Sydney season opener in March.