Erebus rookie Jobe Stewart encouraged by pace improvements
Erebus joined Team Chevy alliance before Darwin round in June
Stewart signals qualifying performance as key to Erebus' hopes
From the highs of nearly winning Bathurst on debut, Jobe Stewart's rookie Supercars season has been the epitome of a baptism of fire.
But, while it may only be slowly approaching one step at a time, there is light at the end of the tunnel for Erebus Motorsport.
Always steadfast in their ability as an independent team, Erebus elected to join the new-for-2026 'Team Chevy' alliance ahead of Darwin, and results have notably been on the up, though not claiming headlines.
Cooper Murray has claimed four 13th place finishes in the last six races, and while it doesn't sound like much, it's positive momentum for the team that find themselves anchored to the tail of pit lane.
However, it's qualifying speed that the team is continuing to hunt, with Erebus the only two-car team yet to register a Top Ten Shootout appearance this season. Both cars progressing into Q2 in Perth was another step in the right direction.
“I think we’ve gotten a little bit better over the last couple of rounds, but it’s just quali speed is the main thing," Stewart said on Supercars' latest Drivers Only podcast episode.
“You guys probably agree, qualifying is the most important, and everyone is so tight in the race, and it’s so tough.
“Unless you’re Kai [Allen] and you can qualify last and finish in the top five, but that’s the main thing for us.
“Me and Cooper felt like we did a pretty good job. We were next to each other on the grid on Sunday, but we just need to extract more out of the green tyre."
Stewart forms part of an entirely new driver-engineer combination, with Daniel Frencham a rookie engineer having joined from Garry Rogers Motorsport in Trans Am. SCT Motorsport's Jackson Walls and Isaac Baldry are the only other driver-engineer combo made up entirely of rookies.
However, Stewart does have familiarity with the #99 side of the garage, having teamed up with Murray and his engineer Wayne Mackie for the Ryco Enduro Cup last year, where Stewart emerged as one of the hottest prospects in Supercars.
“We rolled out with different cars on Friday morning, and we were pretty good in Practice 1 I think," Stewart said.
“We both drive pretty similar and we’ve been working together for almost a year now since enduros last year. We’ll just keep trying to get better, obviously there’s stuff that we can improve as drivers because we’re both pretty fresh.
“Wayne is on Cooper’s car, and I’ve got Dan Frencham, who came from GRM in [Trans Am]. It’s his first year in Supercars so we’re both pretty fresh.”
The 2023 Supercars Teams' Champions also announced that championship-winning team principal Brad Tremain would return to the team later in the season, returning from a stint in the IndyCar Series.
Tremain made a cameo appearance with the squad at The Bend last year, coinciding with Murray finding pace that also carried beyond the enduros, with strong runs on the Gold Coast and Adelaide.
“Brad Tremain came back last year for The Bend, which I think was big step up. For me and Cooper that was our first race together, and we came top 10 in our first enduro with Brad Tremain there," Stewart said.
“He should be back maybe for The Bend, but definitely for Bathurst, and I think he loves Bathurst just as much as the whole team, so hopefully we’ll strive for more results up there.”
The next round of the 2026 Repco Supercars Championship will be held at Ipswich, with on-track action commencing on Friday August 21.
