One year on: Has Kostecki revolutionised Dick Johnson Racing?

It was the silly season play that promised to bring Dick Johnson Racing back to the top of the Supercars pile.

One year ago, Brodie Kostecki's high profile switch from Erebus Motorsport to DJR was confirmed, heralding the dawn of a new era for the Ford homologation team, and seeing Anton De Pasquale move on to Team 18.

As team owner Dr Ryan Story AM championed back when the announcement was made in September last year: “Our 2025 line-up is one of the best on the grid and a clear statement of intent from us and the commitment we have to our organisation, partners and supporters for the future."

A lot has changed in the 12 months since, with Kostecki adding an impressive Bathurst win to his 2023 championship, and DJR losing Ford homologation status to long-time rivals Triple Eight for 2026 and beyond.

Kostecki's move wasn't as simple as a driver swap however, with Kostecki also bringing Erebus engineering firepower in race engineers George Commins and Tom Moore, as well as Erebus chassis for both he and - eventually - Will Davison.

Whilst viewed as a rebuilding year with key components changing, there was also an expectation that Kostecki was the guy to deliver right from the word go.

Has he delivered? Supercars.com looks into the stats.

Has Kostecki changed DJR's fortunes?

Kostecki's outstanding Friday win in Townsville is unquestionably the highlight of DJR's season to date, and whilst the headline results have all gone the way of the 27-year-old, it's important to dive deeper into the numbers.

Eight rounds comprised the 2025 Repco Sprint Cup, and eight sprint events were held before the enduros in 2024, so that seems a perfect place to compare year-on-year.

It's important to note that with the introduction of the Super 440 sprint format this year, there have been six more races completed in 2025 after eight rounds.

Immediately it's clear to see that Kostecki's record stands out over DJR's past two years, with his win being backed up by three poles, and claiming top 10 finishes in 62.5% of races this year.

However, whilst one side of the garage has hit the ground running, Davison has had a torrid time in 2025, despite his stats being largely identical year-on-year.

The two-time Bathurst winner has stagnated whilst the likes of Ryan Wood, Cameron Hill, and former teammate De Pasquale have all taken a leap forward, with Davison 11 positions behind Kostecki in the championship standings.

Though Davison's campaign hasn't been helped by receiving his Erebus chassis later than initially expected, the projected performance gains haven't been made, and it's hurting the team. Brad Jones Racing are only 93 points behind in the battle for fifth in the teams' championship.

DJR 2024 vs 2025 (after eight rounds)

What's next?

Right out of the box, expectations were tempered for DJR, as Story outlined after last year's finale in Adelaide.

"The great thing about the Finals system is that it really gives us an opportunity to get our shit together," Story explained.

"We're not gonna roll out of the box at Round 1 and be at the peak of our powers. It's going to take us some time, and we need to use that time wisely."

However, the Ryco Enduro Cup will be run and won before The Finals, and for the #38 side of the garage, there will be confidence aplenty.

Bathurst-winning co-driver Todd Hazelwood reunites with his former housemate and Super2 teammate for the Ryco Enduro Cup, and the pair will once again be one of the leading combinations.

The Bend will provide something of an unknown in the 500km opener to enduro season, given the changes made to the cars, tyres, and the format since the last event in 2023, and all eyes will be on the duo come the Repco Bathurst 1000.

DJR have been the only Ford team to claim a podium at Bathurst in the Gen3 era courtesy of De Pasquale and Tony D'Alberto, and were the last Ford team to win Bathurst in 2019 with Scott McLaughlin and Alex Premat.

For Davison, the enduros represent a complete reset, and with the experienced Tony D'Alberto as co-driver, the duo make for one of the most experienced pairings on the grid.

It's extremely unlikely that Davison will qualify for The Finals, and if DJR fall short of having both cars in championship contention, it will no doubt be a disappointing end to the season.

From here, what does success look like in 2025?

Barring any major disaster across the Enduro Cup, Kostecki will be one of the 10 drivers gunning for the 2025 Repco Supercars Championship during the Finals Series.

He is currently looking set to enter the post-season as the sixth seed, however with 600 points on the line, and Kostecki 135 points behind Chaz Mostert in fifth and 110 ahead of De Pasquale behind, there is scope for that to change.

Kostecki enters the Elimination Final at the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 as a previous winner at Surfers Paradise in 2024, and one would imagine he will be one of the favourites again.

He was also extremely speedy at Sandown last year before being taken out by an engine failure, however the suburban Melbourne venue was far from a happy hunting ground for the Shell V-Power Mustangs last year.

But the team acknowledge that they haven't been up to the task in 2025 so far, with CEO David Noble stating after Ipswich that the team need to lift for Kostecki to challenge the frontrunners: “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."

However, when all the chips are on the table, you would be hard pressed to bet against someone like Kostecki, who is arguably the toughest racer on the grid, and can drag the absolute best out of any situation.

For Davison, the team have been steadfast in backing the 43-year-old veteran, with both parties on record in saying that they will be continuing on in 2026, however there's no question that results need to improve.

Kostecki should only get stronger as the team become attuned to the intricacies of Erebus' chassis and the engineering methods of their former engineers, but for the team to really progress, car #17 also needs to fight at the front.

Kostecki will be 29 years old and will have completed his sixth full-time season at the end of next year. Could we see Davison pass on the torch to Kostecki, and a young charger step up in his place?

The views in this article do not necessarily express the opinions of Supercars, teams or drivers.