Ryan hails Erebus rebound after Le Brocq repairs

Barry Ryan has paid tribute to his Erebus Motorsport crew after Jack Le Brocq reached Sunday’s Shootout following his big Saturday crash.

Erebus was forced into hurried repairs between races on Saturday after Le Brocq was sent into the concrete in a dramatic Safety Car restart.

While Brad Jones Racing was forced to withdraw Jaxon Evans’ damaged Camaro, Erebus worked to the clock to deliver Le Brocq out for the second race.

It was a second DNF of 2025 for Le Brocq, who was taken out in Melbourne by Ryan Wood. Taking the points from both races, Le Brocq could be just 82 points from the top 10.

Come Sunday, and Le Brocq qualified fourth in what was a session full of shocks — and the previous day’s efforts weren’t lost on Ryan, despite a looming chassis swap.

"It's got some lasting damage that we'll have to fix, and we might have to replace the chassis for Townsville,” Ryan told Supercars.com.

“But for it to be as fast as it was just then… we all wanted to get a result after yesterday, sometimes your brain power can be stronger than your grip of your car.

"I've just got full faith in the crew and they've got faith in themselves. We've done it for a lot of years together, most of us.

"So, when shit happens, we just fix it and we get on with it. It's as simple as that. I'm proud of the boys."

Ryan is hopeful Le Brocq can make a splash in Sunday’s Boost Mobile Top Ten Shootout, given the #9 Tyrepower Camaro saved tyres due to his Saturday crash.

"We've got green tyres, so I think probably half the top 10 wouldn't have greens at a guess, but maybe they all have. But I'd be very surprised if they all have,” Ryan said.

“It's hard to get there with green tyres for the last Shootout and because we missed a race and a qualifying yesterday, we saved a set.

"So hopefully we're the only one with green tyre, then we'll get a pole. So, that’s our aim."

Erebus rookie Cooper Murray missed out in qualifying after making a small mistake, but Ryan was confident his young driver will soon match the current efforts of Penrite Racing teen Kai Allen.

Allen, who was Murray’s teammate in Super2, claimed his maiden Supercars podium on Saturday.

"Awesome to see Kai get his first podium. Anytime I see a rookie get a podium, I think it's really good,” Ryan said.

“Some guys that have been here for a lot of years should be thinking about themselves. All the rookies, all these young guys can do it.

"It's just getting to a point where they're confident enough, more than anything. Most of 'em got the cars to do it. It's just getting that confidence level and a bit and believing themselves.

"Kai's obviously really high at the moment. It's awesome to see him. I just want to see Cooper do it. He’ll get there."