10 times a driver signing turned around a team

Supercars

30 Mar

From underdog wins to record-breaking success, some drivers have brought their teams to life

6 mins by James Pavey

DJR

Brodie Kostecki

Anton De Pasquale

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Brodie Kostecki and Anton De Pasquale have brought new energy and improved results to Dick Johnson Racing and Team 18, two teams which struggled to close out 2024 strongly.

Through two rounds in 2025, Kostecki and De Pasquale have been regulars of the top 10, with the latter one of just three drivers to finish all races in the 10 so far heading to the next round in New Zealand. Tickets for the ITM Taupō Super 440 are on sale now.

Kostecki, meanwhile, has fought for the podium in the final races of the Sydney and Melbourne rounds, proving DJR isn't far away from throwing big punches.

They're far from the only drivers to join new teams and bring success, with Supercars.com picking out 10 examples from the modern era.

Craig Lowndes to HRT

The Holden Racing Team claimed a shock Bathurst win in 1990 with Win Percy and Allan Grice, but the Walkinshaw squad didn't fire any big shots in the championship until a young Craig Lowndes arrived. Peter Brock pushed hard in HRT's early years, finishing third and Tomas Mezera fifth in 1995. Lowndes burst onto the scene in the 1994 Bathurst 1000, and won a record 16 races in 1996 to capture a stunning rookie title. It was the first of six titles in seven years for HRT.

Marcos Ambrose to SBR

Stone Brothers Racing somehow won the 1998 Great Race with Steven Richards and Jason Bright after a big crash earlier in the weekend. Bright captured more success in 1999, and after expanding to two cars in 2000, the team signed Marcos Ambrose in 2001. Within three years, Ambrose had turned SBR into the benchmark team, winning back-to-back titles in 2003 and 2004. Russell Ingall made it three in a row in 2005, enhancing SBR's status as the team to beat.

Garth Tander to HSV

Under the Kmart Racing banner, the Kelly-run team won Bathurst in 2003 and 2004 with Greg Murphy and Rick Kelly. Murphy joined in 2001 and finished runner-up in 2002 and 2003, but fell short of ultimate glory. Garth Tander joined from Garry Rogers Motorsport in 2005 and ended the year with a Tasmania clean sweep. He then led for the first half of the season before teammate Kelly controversially beat Craig Lowndes to the title. Tander kept the team at the top as the VE Commodore arrived in 2007, winning 15 races and the championship.

Craig Lowndes to Triple Eight

Triple Eight was born out of Briggs Motor Sport in 2003, but had few results to show in 2004. The team made a big play by signing Craig Lowndes for 2005, with Lowndes slumping to 20th in 2004 with Ford Performance Racing. The rest is history, Lowndes winning six races and finishing runner-up in 2005. In the following 20 years, the team won 10 Bathursts and 11 drivers' titles, with Lowndes, Jamie Whincup and Shane van Gisbergen becoming all-time greats in Triple Eight colours.

Jason Bright to BJR

Brad Jones Racing had knocked on the door of victory for a decade by the time Jason Bright arrived in 2010. Podiums, poles and Bathurst podiums aside, BJR hadn't really thrown many big punches. Bright claimed provisional pole for the 2010 Great Race, before steering BJR to its first win in Perth in 2011. He won again at Winton, and was crucial to the team becoming a frontrunner as the Car of the Future era arrived in 2013.

Shane van Gisbergen to Tekno

Another team that impressed in the COTF era's early days was Tekno Autosports, which signed a wantaway Shane van Gisbergen in 2013. Van Gisbergen immediately banished the demons of the off-season, headlined by 'retirement' and a contract saga, to claim both Adelaide poles and the Sunday win. The Kiwi finished second overall in 2014, coming oh-so-close to Bathurst victory, winning nine races for the team before joining Triple Eight. Tekno was on the up, and Will Davison led the team to victory in the 2016 Bathurst 1000, finishing what van Gisbergen started.

David Reynolds to Erebus

Erebus Motorsport battled for results after taking over Stone Brothers Racing and running Mercedes-AMG entries. After three average years in the AMGs, highlighted by wins at Winton and Perth, the team signed David Reynolds and switched to Holden in 2016. Reynolds closed out the year with a podium at Homebush, and famously won the 2017 Great Race. It led to a hopeful bid at title glory in 2018, and another run at Bathurst victory, only to be cruelled by cramps. In the next six years, Erebus were title winners, and Bathurst champions again.

Scott McLaughlin to DJR Team Penske

James Courtney's 2010 championship was a bright spark in a tough decade for Dick Johnson Racing, which dodged closure multiple times. Roger Penske bought in in 2014, and after a single-car season in 2015, the team expanded in 2016. The team made a statement by signing Scott McLaughlin, who was touted as the next big thing. In Shell V-Power Fords, McLaughlin claimed 48 wins and 59 poles in four seasons, turning DJR Team Penske into midpack runners to the team to beat.

Chaz Mostert to WAU

After losing factory status, the Holden Racing Team became Walkinshaw Andretti United in 2018. However, try as James Courtney and Scott Pye might, the team lacked a big star with a big ceiling to take it to the next level. Chaz Mostert was prized away from Ford, and after a moving year in 2020, Mostert won the 2021 Bathurst 1000, and has finished in the top three in three of the last four seasons.

Nick Percat to MSR

Matt Stone Racing had come close on many occasions before it found new speed in the Gen3 era, with Jack Le Brocq winning in Darwin from pole. However, it seemed a flash in the pan, and MSR needed a strong-headed driver to replaced Erebus-bound Le Brocq for 2024. Enter Nick Percat, who won in his sixth start with the team at the Grand Prix, and backed it up with another win in Tasmania. Percat finished eighth overall, but it could so easily have been fourth or fifth.

Honourable mentions

Ford Performance Racing was reborn when Mark Winterbottom arrived in 2006, with 'Frosty' becoming a title contender from 2008. Chaz Mostert joined in 2014 after helping Dick Johnson Racing get some glory from 2013, with FPR winning consecutive Bathursts and the 2015 championship.

Winterbottom was also key to Team 18 becoming a midfielder at best to fighting for podiums, with Frosty claiming a shock Symmons Plains pole in 2019. He also won the team's first race in 2023, before being moved on last year.

DJR, meanwhile, returned to championship-winning ways courtesy of a brilliant James Courtney, who arrived from Stone Brothers Racing and won two races in 2009. Courtney won the 2010 title after a year-long battle with Jamie Whincup, before leaving for Holden.

While Shane van Gisbergen was key to Tekno's winning ways, Will Davison joined in 2016 and led the championship in the early rounds, before ironically beating van Gisbergen to Bathurst victory later that year.

Then, there's that man McLaughlin, who was signed as a teenager by Garry Rogers for 2013. McLaughlin won in New Zealand and Ipswich, and claimed 10 poles and many headlines in a breakout year in 2014. DJR Team Penske came calling, but McLaughlin had left a big legacy with GRM.