Kostecki, Waters cross paths at Queensland speedway
Brodie Kostecki, Cam Waters cross paths at Queensland speedway
Kostecki ready for Supercars title defence after holiday "reset"
Erebus star also underwent post-season surgery
Supercars champion Brodie Kostecki is getting ready for his title defence after a holiday “reset", which included a speedway appearance trackside on Saturday night.
Kostecki, 26, won his first Supercars drivers’ championship at the VAILO Adelaide 500 last November after a dramatic 2023 season.
The Erebus Motorsport driver’s year also featured a NASCAR cameo at Indianapolis amid a sparkling season that helped his team score a Supercars title double.
Kostecki underwent surgery to remove his tonsils after the Adelaide finale, missing out on a Stateside race appearance with NASCAR stars Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon.
He still managed to get over to the United States for Christmas and New Year’s, before returning to Australia — only to get to a racetrack days after landing.
Kostecki helped friend Brent Kratzmann at a sprint car event at Toowoomba on the weekend, where Tickford Racing star Cam Waters was also competing.
Waters has been taking to speedways around Australia this summer, and claimed a podium at Simpson Speedway last week. The Mildura-born driver ended up racing from 11th to 18th in Saturday's A Main, with Kratzmann bringing home a top five after starting on pole.
“I’ve been around speedway my life, I’ve even been babysat at speedway,” Kostecki told Supercars.com in Toowoomba.
“I really love the sport, it’s really technical — it looks simple on the outside, but it highly mechanical and fast-paced.
"I’ve been here working with a good mate of mine, I love driving them, I love working on them, it’s a lot of fun."
Being trackside at the speedway could be a sign of what’s to come, with Kostecki keen to fill his 2024 schedule alongside the 12 Supercars rounds.
The Perth-born driver is set to make a number of NASCAR starts in 2024, having impressed Richard Childress during his Indy run last August.
"I was over in the States for the Christmas and New Year's period, it was good to have a break away from life in Aus,” Kostecki added.
“It was good to have a reset and make sure I’m ready to start the new season, I’m really looking forward to getting to Bathurst.
“I’m going to try and fill up my calendar with as much racing as I can and hopefully go back-to-back, that’s the dream.”
Kostecki will be joined by Jack Le Brocq at Erebus in 2024, with Will Brown replacing NASCAR-bound Shane van Gisbergen at Triple Eight Race Engineering.
