Kostecki lifts lid on rare emotion after Bathurst win

Brodie Kostecki always knew he was going to win Bathurst one day. In his mind, he was too good a driver not to.

However, delivering the winning feeling to old friend Todd Hazelwood was something Kostecki still holds dear, as they prepare to defend their victory.

Former housemates, Kostecki and Hazelwood pulled off a Bathurst win for the ages 12 months ago, leading 157 of 161 laps to win the race. Victory was still only clinched on the final lap, Kostecki having to deny a racy Broc Feeney in an enthralling final hour.

As Kostecki and Feeney went punch-for-punch, Hazelwood nervously watched on from the Erebus Motorsport garage, his dreams sitting in the hands of his mate.

Kostecki ultimately got the job done, and after pulling into PIRTEK Victory Lane, he shed tears as he sat in his Chiko Camaro.

As he did at The Bend last month, Hazelwood opened the door and bellowed at Kostecki. The duo embraced, before Hazelwood dragged the tired Kostecki onto the roof to soak in the cheers from the thousands.

Hazelwood's journey is well-told, the driver and his family selling countless sausages for fundraising purposes to keep his racing dream alive. Bathurst had also bitten him year after year, Hazelwood even avoiding a "frightening" fate towards the end of the 2023 race.

While proud — yet not surprised — of his own efforts that day, which came in a year he was subject to headlines over his future, Kostecki took pride in making Hazelwood’s Bathurst dreams come true.

“That was a pretty special moment for me, winning that race,” Kostecki said on his Lucky Dogs podcast.

“I knew his whole situation of getting into Supercars and stuff. I remember getting out of the car and I was more emotional about winning with you more so than winning the race.

“I'm a cocky son of a bitch, I always knew I was going to win a Bathurst at some point in my career.

“To see the emotion on your face and your family, that was pretty special to me.”

Hazelwood needed 194 attempts to win a Supercars race, and now, he has two on the bounce.

However, it took a “sliding doors” moment to get there, with Erebus boss Barry Ryan reaching out just minutes after he lost his full-time seat with Blanchard Racing Team.

“I walked out of the meeting going, well, good, I'm happy this is done… that was a sign for me that something’s not right,” Hazelwood said.

“About 20 minutes later after that meeting with John Blanchard, literally walking back to the workshop where the cars were at, then had a text from Barry, saying ‘Brodie says you might be on the market as a co-driver, do you want to come drive for us?'

“You talk about sliding doors moments, that was about as eerie as it gets."

Track action at Mount Panorama commences on Thursday October 9.