Kostecki's unheralded Sydney breakthrough

One storyline that flew under the radar in Sydney was the best round of Brodie Kostecki’s troubled championship defence.

Kostecki cast aside poor qualifying performance at Sydney Motorsport Park to move through the field twice, and bring home points.

The reigning champion gained 14 positions over the two races in Sydney, after starting 18th and 13th. Only Matt Payne (15) gained more.

Crucially, for the first time in five rounds since his highly-anticipated comeback in New Zealand, Kostecki was able to piece together two strong races on the same weekend, and it mattered on the scoreboard.

Kostecki scored 174 points for the round, his best weekend so far this season, and more than the likes of Broc Feeney and James Golding. His previous best was 135 points in Taupō, where he picked up penalties in both races.

In Perth (39 points), he suffered damage and was 22nd, before retiring from the second race with engine dramas. More engine issues would consign him to a DNS in Darwin (129 points), before he clinched a podium in the finale.

Poor luck reared its head again in Townsville (99 points) with finishes of 19th and 18th, the first due to first lap contact.

Come Sydney, and the poor run looked to continue as he was 12th and 0.66s off the pace on Friday, before qualifying a lowly 18th on Saturday. However, he clawed through the field in both races, claiming crucial points.

Importantly, on a weekend Jack Le Brocq suffered an engine-related DNF, Kostecki kept Erebus Motorsport just 24 points behind seventh-placed Team 18, and 111 points behind sixth-placed Matt Stone Racing.

Having pieced together a solid weekend, Kostecki now wants a qualifying car that can match his race race car.

"We couldn't quite sort out our pace dramas in qualifying,” Kostecki said.

“Not quite great, but ended up coming P7 of the race. Passed a bunch of cars and got into a few battles out there, which is quite cool.

"So, car wasn't too bad in the race. Just got to work out qualifying.”

The 2024 Repco Supercars Championship will resume at the NED Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint on August 16-18. Tickets for the event are on sale now.

Live coverage can be found on Foxtel, with live streaming available on Kayo. Highlights will be shown on the Seven Network and 7plus. International viewers can follow all the action on Superview.