Jobe who? The moments that set rookie up to take Supercars by storm
After his first laps in a Gen3 Supercar, a then teenage Jobe Stewart was destined to reach the main game one day.
Within 18 months, he had locked away a main game seat.
For casual Supercars fans, the name ‘Jobe Stewart’ probably didn't ring many alarm bells as the Repco Bathurst 1000 wore on last October. By day's end, he was just five laps away from a remarkable Great Race triumph.
For Erebus Motorsport, there are few surprises about long time Academy driver Stewart, who usually cuts a calm figure in the garage, hand on hip, watching things unfold.
Stewart's ties to Erebus began through the team’s Mount Gambier-based chassis builder James White, given Erebus chassis are painted at his father's crash repair shop.
However, the impact Stewart has made on track, in such quick time, ensured the rising star had an Erebus seat for the taking even before he won the 2023 Super3 title.
November 26, 2023
All of 18, Stewart started his first Dunlop Series season on the streets of Newcastle, and ended it as Super3 champion.
While he wasn’t the fastest at times, Cameron McLeod winning eight races, Stewart was a model of consistency and immediately proved his worth.
Well before the start of 2024, Stewart was promoted to Super2, and he duly qualified on the front row and raced to second in the second race of the season.
March 12, 2024
On a hot day at Winton Motor Raceway, Todd Hazelwood set a baseline before he handed the reins to a budding teen. Stewart watched, listened and learned. Then, he got in.
Under the watchful eye of engineers George Commins and Tom Moore, having been led by Wayne Mackie, Stewart did more than just drive — he was able to provide feedback, and even gave the engineers some valuable time on the clock.
Rising star drivers — and academy drivers, at that — getting evaluation day laps is nothing new. On this occasion, though, it was the first sign of what was to come.
"I look all the way back to Winton, at a driver evaluation day in '24, Jobe was just on the pace straight away,” Erebus CEO Barry Ryan told Supercars.com.
“The first time they get into our cars at evaluation days, it’s never a case of 'take it easy, be careful’. We don’t force any fear into them.
"It is 'go and drive fast, because we know you can drive fast, we trust you'. We back them and they have the confidence soon as they get in the car, because we believe in them.
“He was unreal.”
October 11, 2024
In just his ninth Super2 race, at the most fearsome circuit on the calendar, Stewart belted his rivals to the tune of 13 seconds in a race spanning just 40 minutes.
It was a flogging, a no-contest. Super2 races aren’t meant to blow out like that — let alone at Mount Panorama — but on that day, everything clicked for Stewart.
On the biggest stage, Stewart put down a performance that turned heads, and laid the platform for what was to come 12 months later.
September 14, 2025
Erebus confirmed Stewart and Super2 teammate Jarrod Hughes for the 2025 enduros before 2024 was even out, such was the team’s confidence in their rising stars.
Hughes was placed alongside veteran Jack Le Brocq, with Stewart partnered with Murray, whose rookie campaign hadn’t gone to plan. Yet, with Stewart in tow, the #99 was supreme at The Bend.
Murray/Stewart was the only combination on the alternate driver strategy, with Erebus opting to start the primary driver before double-stinting Stewart and then putting Murray back in.
That meant Stewart had to race against the big dogs. He didn’t budge, nor did he put up a sweat.
“Tailem Bend showed everybody that he was ready. He was brilliant,” Ryan said.
“He's just so casual and calm about everything. At The Bend, when we said to him, 'you're racing these guys', all he sees is the helmet in the car. He doesn't care who he's racing against.
"He's just so chilled out and relaxed. Sometimes you’ve got to check his heart rate to see if he's still alive."
October 12, 2025
Stewart watched on from the garage as rain clouds circled over Mount Panorama, with Murray running mid-pack as the heavens opened.
The South Aussie driver was thrust into the hot seat as rain set in, but Stewart wasn’t going to simply circulate and jump from stop to stop.
Quietly, he moved the Chiko Camaro up the order, and out of sight, laid the platform for what nearly became a surprise second consecutive win on the Mountain for Erebus.
As nails were bitten in the Erebus garage when Murray led into the closing laps, Stewart stood next to engineer Mackie, keeping tabs on the action as the #99 Chevrolet soared to the lead.
“At Bathurst, I think the biggest thing was, he did a long, wet stint, and then when Cooper got in the car, he really helped coach Cooper into where the best lines were,” Ryan recounted.
“So, to have somebody with that amount of skill that can actually contribute to the team’s performance is hard to find, especially a young guy.”
October 24, 2025
And so, the coronation was complete. On the eve of the Gold Coast round, Erebus announced Stewart on a multi-year deal from 2026.
Yet again, Erebus proved itself as a promoter of young talent to the main game. Think Brodie Kostecki, Will Brown and Anton De Pasquale. All bonafide stars, albeit moving on from the team.
For Erebus, there's something extra special in Stewart, who has come through the team's system, won along the way, and impressed in current generation cars.
The only downside for 2026 is that Murray and Stewart can’t race together again at the enduros. Stewart will be reunited with Hughes, whilst Murray welcomes Tickford Super2 standout Lochie Dalton, once again backing youth.
Even then, Erebus now two young full-timers who have already shown leadership, and are positioning themselves to do so all season.
“Cooper and Jobe are actually on holidays together at the moment," Ryan said.
"They're hanging out, training together and doing all the things you need to do to be good teammates."
