DJR boss upbeat on progress amid 'relentless' push

"Incremental" improvement is delivering answers for the new-look Shell V-Power Racing Team, says Dick Johnson Racing CEO David Noble.

The Ford team debuted two new Ford Mustangs at the Thrifty Sydney 500 - Opening Round, with the team welcoming 12 new staff and star recruit Brodie Kostecki.

Kostecki and Will Davison left Sydney eighth and 15th overall, with DJR fifth in teams' as illness swept through the garage at Sydney Motorsport Park, while Davison grappled with new set-up.

Come Melbourne, and Kostecki ended up fifth and Davison ninth for the weekend. Only Triple Eight and Matt Stone Racing, which swept all three Melbourne podiums, scored more points than DJR.

Crucially, DJR is just five points behind Walkinshaw Andretti United, with Kostecki two points behind Chaz Mostert.

Being top Ford team in Melbourne brought a sense of pride to Kostecki, who admitted the team still has plenty of work to do to challenge for wins.

However, Noble said the work already completed is starting to deliver gains, with Kostecki and Davison both fighting for the podium in Race 6.

"There is an overall sense that our relentless combined efforts are starting to come to fruition," Noble said.

"It was an awkward weekend, but a great opportunity and we got some solid finishes by both Brodie Kostecki and Will Davison.

"There has certainly been incremental improvement this weekend. We’re always happy to make marginal gains, but incremental steps allow you to understand why you’re moving forward.

"The drivers are also adapting to the new philosophy with the cars, although it’s not really new for Brodie, and we’re starting to see things coming to fruition."

Kostecki recently told Supercars.com that DJR's next step is to start weekends strongly, rather than play catch-up from practice onwards.

"I think the expectation has always got to be to strive to be the best,” he said.

“We had expectations going into the first round to obviously try and win as many races as we could, and same going to Grand Prix. But the reality was we weren't just quite good enough.

"Obviously coming from a different manufacturer to Ford this year, there's been a few things regarding performance between those two that have been sort of a bit of an eye opener to myself.

“So we've working hard behind the scenes, as the HT [homologation team], to try and resolve those issues."

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