Kostecki on racing: If you give it, you're gonna get it back
Brodie Kostecki discusses racing rules, rim design on Drivers Only
2023 champ happy racing has opened up, but is after more clarity
Kostecki on wrong end of high-profile incidents in Taupō
Brodie Kostecki says his regular Supercars rivals must expect retaliation, but maintains he is still after more clarity over racing rules in 2025.
Kostecki was on the wrong end of the stick twice in two days in New Zealand, first coming off second-best in a spirited battle with Chaz Mostert, before running off in a lap 1 run-in with Ryan Wood.
On a weekend he started on the front row for all three races, the 2023 Supercars champion had a third place in Race 9 to his name.
Kostecki cut a frustrated figure on both occasions, saying after the Mostert battle that it was "just different every time in my opinion," before claiming the Wood penalty was "pretty interesting."
Speaking on the latest Drivers Only podcast, Kostecki believes he has found understanding on how several rivals race, but claimed he needs more answers on racing rules.
“When you race the same guys all the time, you get to know what everyone's like,” Kostecki said.
“You start to build a bit of respect between each other… you sort of know that if you give it, you’re gonna get it back.
“I think it’s pretty cool that the racing has opened up, but it seems to be changing a lot round to round for me, with what’s allowed and what’s not.
“Hopefully going forward, we can get a bit of clarity on that, because it’s difficult knowing what's allowed and what's not.”
The 2025 season has been headlined by aggressive racing amid a 'play on' approach.
The Mostert-Kostecki battles attracted no penalties given both drivers were adjudged to have played a role in contact, while Wood was deemed at fault on Sunday.
“I’m all for hard racing… but if you give it, you should be able to give it back, but you’re protected by the rules,” Kostecki added.
“There’s a lot of respect that goes out the window out on the track… we’re still racing with the same rules we’ve had for the last 10 years, but we’re choosing to bend them at certain times.
“But it’d be nice if we could change some of them, I think the racing could be better again for sure. We’ve got such a passionate fanbase, and it’s great that we’ve opened it up to allow for more racing."
Kostecki maintained he was happy that the racing has opened up, but reiterated that a change to rim design could encourage more wheel-to-wheel combat.
Kostecki has been a vocal figure regarding the Gen3 rim design, which has often been blamed for interlocking incidents.
“I got told team owners don’t want to do it… but every time there’s wheel to wheel contact, there’s a car on the jig,” Kostecki said.
“Whether or not they bring some new wheels in and just use them racing, and we use the old ones for practice and qualifying, and race on the new ones.
“That race I had with Chaz, we had to replace every single suspension arm. Chaz was missing three spokes, my wheel was missing the whole edge, it tore a clevis out of the chassis.
“We’d have more side by side racing if the wheels were better.”
The 27-year-old is sixth in the points heading to the next round in Tasmania.
