'Okay doesn’t win races': DJR's pre-enduro fighting words

Dick Johnson Racing CEO David Noble was encouraged by Brodie Kostecki's speed in Ipswich, but affirmed "okay" won't deliver the results the team is after.

Kostecki scored a brace of fifth place finishes at Queensland Raceway to end the Repco Sprint Cup portion of the season in sixth overall, 135 points behind Chaz Mostert and 110 ahead of Anton De Pasquale.

While Broc Feeney was again a runaway winner, Kostecki was a quiet achiever, getting his elbows out with Cam Waters in the opener and running third early in the finale.

Will Davison's Finals hope remain hanging by a thread, with the two-time Bathurst winner now 251 points behind 10th with 600 remaining before the cut-off.

Through eight rounds, DJR claimed three podiums, which was the same as 2023 and 2024.

The team held no secrets over finding more performance, Kostecki's engineer George Commins telling the Cool Down Lap podcast: "We're still not really happy with the pace overall."

Crucially, DJR welcomes experienced co-drivers Todd Hazelwood and Tony D'Alberto into the fold, with the two Shell V-Power Fords combining for 298 laps of Queensland Raceway last Tuesday.

Mark Skaife previously said Bathurst winner Kostecki looms as one to watch in the enduros, with the 2023 Supercars champion chasing a third consecutive Great Race pole.

"Brodie Kostecki had good speed across the weekend and that’s encouraging going into the enduros," Noble said in a Ford Performance release.

"It’s also going to be good to get our co-drivers drivers, Tony D’Alberto and Todd Hazelwood, into the cars alongside Brodie and Will Davison.

“We’re encouraged by what we saw in speed at QR, with a couple of okay finishes. But okay doesn’t win races.

“Brodie is still in title contention but we have to keep banking points."

DJR is hunting its first Bathurst win since 2019. Coincidentally, that is also Ford's most recent enduro win.