Championship Hangover - Erebus Motorsport 2024

When a team or driver that is a reigning champion and is unable to be in contention to defend their championship the following season, we call this a championship hangover.  It may be down to the other teams catching up, new rule changes reducing the previous winning team’s advantage or maybe it could just have been some spells of bad luck.  But nothing I’ve seen quite holds a candle to what happened to Erebus Motorsport during this year’s Supercars season.

2023 saw the introduction of the Gen 3 Supercars.  It would no longer be Ford VS Holden, but rather Ford VS Chevrolet, with the Mustang and Camaro going head-to-head on Australian turf.  The new cars were designed to look more like their roadgoing counterparts, along with having reduced downforce compared to the previous Gen 2 cars.

Before the 2023 season, Erebus Motorsport had scored 8 wins 37 podiums including victory at the 2017 Bathurst 1000. But those numbers would soon change by the end of the year.

It would be the Gen 3 Chevrolet Camaros that would have the upper hand on overall pace against the Ford Mustang, with Triple Eight Racing and Erebus Motorsport making the most of the new generation of Supercars.  

Shane Van Gisbergen's departure to NASCAR left room for Will Brown to depart Erebus at the end of 2023 for Triple 888 Racing.

In addition, Erebus had two young talents behind the wheel, Will Brown and Brodie Kostecki, meaning they would be a force to be reckoned with.  Brown would finish fifth in the driver’s standings with four victories and five additional podiums as teammate Kostecki would go on to hoist the championship trophy at seasons end with a total of six wins and twelve extra podiums.  The two combined would make Erebus Motorsport 2023 constructors champions.

As a fan of the series, it was awesome to see this privateer underdog team rise to the top of Australian Motorsport, and I’m sure many hardcore supporters of Betty Klimenko’s squad felt the same.
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On the 15th of August 2023, it would be announced that Will Brown would replace the NASCAR-bound Shane Van Gisbergen at Triple Eight Racing for the 2024 season.  Two days later, Jack Le Brocq would be announced as the driver for the number 9 Erebus Camaro for 2024.  These announcements would occur three months before the 2023 seasons completion.

​The hangover would begin before the 2024 season launch, as it was announced on the 31st of January that reigning champion Brodie Kostecki would not compete at the first round of the 2024 season.
Speedcafe stated in that day’s article that it was “widely known to be the result of a rift between Brodie Kostecki and at least factions of the Barry Ryan-run team”.  Supercars fans would begin to speculate the cause, with part owner Barry Ryan being at the forefront.  A common rumour would stick out, yet it has not been confirmed by any of the main parties involved.

​In the coming days, both Erebus as Supercars would release statements on the news, with questions as to what happened between Erebus and Kostecki being left unanswered.  However, things would continue to unravel as on the 2nd of February, major sponsor Shaw and Partners would pull its sponsorship from Erebus Motorsport, effective immediately after a four-year stint with the team.  Three days later, SCTR (Southern Cross Truck Rentals) would also leave the team, with owner Steve Blackmore being the first to shed light on the magnitude of the current situation.

[Erebus’ press release] was disingenuous. It was also disingenuous from Supercars, because their press release was already on their website combined with Erebus' press release, so it was coordinated. And it's misleading.
 
“It leaves a bad taste in your mouth, because at the end of the day we're trying to make commercial decisions, and it makes us look really bad… like we're jumping ship at the first sign of troubled waters. And that's not the case.
 
“People are making commercial decisions because we're fully aware that there's a lot more to the story, and if things do come out, they are potentially damaging to other people's brands.” - Steve Blackmore (SCTR)

On the same day, naming rights sponsor of Erebus Motorsport – Coca Cola – would also confirm its exit from the championship team.  Additionally, Erebus would begin to refund 2024 memberships, all this happening on the 5th of February, less than three weeks before the first round of the 2024 championship.  

With three sponsors jumping ship, it became clear that Kostecki’s leave from the #1 Camaro was not health related as suggested by some, including Supercars boss Barclay Nettlefold.  There would be no reason for three major sponsors to part ways suddenly from a team with little explanation, if a driver is feeling unwell.  There would be massive backlash on sponsors if they did so, but there wasn’t.

Erebus Motorsport at Winton for testing.

Erebus Motorsport would show up to Winton testing with two very plain looking Camaros, with Todd Hazelwood being named as Kostecki’s replacement.  At Bathurst, for the first round of the championship, TFH (Temporary Fence Hire) would become Erebus’ main sponsor, who also sponsored Hazelwood’s Trans Am ride during the 2024 season.
 
On the weekend of the first round of the championship, Supercars conducted an interview with both Betty Klimenko and Barry Ryan about the current condition of Erebus Motorsport.  When asked about the situation with Brodie Kostecki, Betty replied:

We respect the privacy of Brodie and because of that, we can’t say anything” – Betty Klimenko.

It was clear that how and why Brodie Kostecki had bailed out, and thus, the true cause of the team’s mass sponsor exit would never be revealed by those who had the answers.  The problem with this is that this story would overshadow the 2024 Supercars season, the success of teams and drivers, and any on track action, until Kostecki return to the driver’s seat.

A large percentage of media focus should always be on the superstar drivers and team members that make the sport what it is, and the competitive racing that happens on track.  So, when you have a story that takes away that media focus from what’s important, it should be resolved immediately, which Supercars weren’t just unable to do but barely tried to settle. 

For the Bathurst 500, Jack Le Brocq would finish 13th in Race 1, and 8th in Race 2, as Hazelwood finished Race 1 in 11th and Race 2 in 13th.
 
During the opening round, Managing Director of Erebus Motorsport Shannen Kiely would hand in her notice, leaving the team after seven years.  This was reported on the 11th of March via Speedcafe(6), and the second round of the championship - ten days later - would be her final weekend with the team.  A month later, it was announced that she had joined Erebus’ previous naming rights sponsor Coca-Cola.
 
Races 3-6 of the championship would be held at The Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park.  Jack Le Brocq would finish 10th, 8th and 5th, before retiring in Race 6.  Hazelwood would pick up a pair of 9th place finishes before a sixth-place finish and a 15th.

Todd Hazelwood (right) would fill in for the absent Brodie Kostecki

Brodie Kostecki would make his surprise return to driving the #1 Chevrolet Camaro for Erebus Motorsport at the third round of the championship at Taupo, New Zealand.  
 
Kostecki would finish 14th in his first race back at a wet Taupo after receiving a penalty for hitting James Courtney off the road.  For Race 8 in the championship, he would finish one position better in 13th, whilst teammate Jack Le Brocq would finish 5th and 8th respectively in the two races.

TFH would announce that they would continue to sponsor Brodie Kostecki for the rest of the season, however, it wouldn’t be as a major sponsor.  New liveries for both Erebus Camaros would be revealed at the next round in Perth, Jack Le Brocq sporting BIC colours, and Brodie Kostecki with no major sponsor at all.  Kostecki’s car would wear Erebus Motorsport signage down the side, as well as a large #1, reminding everyone who were the reigning champions.
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Orafol would slap the rear quarter of both cars with their logo, in addition to SS Signs who would feature on the bonnet.
 
In terms of results, Perth would be a weekend to forget, as Le Brocq and Kostecki would finish 20th and 22nd in Race 9 respectively.  Le Brocq would be spun around on lap 9 by Nick Percat and would finish 23rd, whilst Kostecki was running fifth before retiring due to engine issues on lap 21.
 
Like the rest of the grid, the Erebus Camaros would feature indigenous inspired war paint for the Darwin Triple Crown, as Jack Le Brocq’s car received a new major sponsor in Tyrepower.  Also to note, Erebus CEO Barry Ryan would be absent from the weekend.
 
On the formation lap, Kostecki’s Chevrolet Camaro failed to start and was pulled into the pitlane, not starting Race 11 as LeBrocq finished 13th.  The reigning champion however would qualify on the front row and turn that into a third-place finish, Erebus’ first podium since 2023.  Le Brocq would finish sixth.

Jayden O'Jeda would partner up with Jack Le Brocq for the enduros.

On the Thursday of the Townsville 500, Jayden O’Jeda would be announced as Jack Le Brocq’s co-driver for the endurance races, completing the Erebus endurance line-up as Todd Hazelwood would pair up with Brodie Kostecki.
 
For Race 13 in Townsville, Le Brocq would finish sixth again as Kostecki finished down in 19th. Jack Le Brocq would score the team’s first pole position of the season for Race 14 and would turn it into a fourth-place finish, his best of the season, whilst Kostecki finished in 18th.
 
New liveries for both drivers would be revealed in Sydney ahead of the Sydney SuperNight, SS Signs becoming the prime sponsor on Kostecki’s Camaro, with PowerPlay now on the bonnet, and Wake Up! as the main sponsor for Le Brocq.
 
Jack Le Brocq would unfortunately have his worst race of the season, copping a 15-second pit lane penalty after an unsafe release, then his engine blew near the end.  Kostecki improved from 18th to 9th, and then finish 7th in Race 16, whilst Le Brocq came home in 15th.  
 
Races 17 & 18 would be held at Symmons Plains in Tasmania, with the #9 Camaro of Jack Le Brocq returning to Tyrepower colours.  He would finish 23rd and 5th in both races, whilst Brodie Kostecki finished 5th, then 23rd after a rollercoaster Race 18.  Kostecki would get penalised twice, first for spinning out David Reynolds at the hairpin and then at the pit stop thanks to an unsafe release into the path of Mark Winterbottom.  The Erebus Camaro picked up damage in pitlane as-well and to add insult to injury, gained another penalty for speeding in pitlane.

On the 29th of August, it would be announced that Brodie Kostecki would join DJR for 2025, including a quite awkward and odd video of Barry Ryan handing over Brodie Kostecki to the team  No matter, on the same day, Super2 driver Cooper Murray would be named as Kostecki’s replacement at Erebus.
 
Sandown would mark the first of the two endurance races, and it would be PowerPlay who became Kostecki and Hazelwood’s major sponsor for a single race.  
 
A few dramas during warm up would befall the team.  A fuel pressure issue for the #9 Camaro, and a practice pit stop where the #1 car was dropped without the right rear wheel on the car.
 
The Sandown 500 wouldn’t end well for either of the Erebus driver pairings, with Le Brocq clashing with Matthew Payne, squandering a potential fourth place finish into an 8th place finish for himself and co-driver Jayden O’Jeda.  It would be worse for Kostecki and Hazelwood however as their engine expired near the end of the race.

Bathurst Winner Sticker on Todd Hazelwood's Trans Am ride

For the biggest race on the calendar, the Bathurst 1000, Chiko Rolls would become the prime sponsor for Kostecki and Hazelwood shared Camaro.  
 
It was at Mount Panorama that Australian race fans finally got to see the Erebus Motorsport they had become accustomed to seeing last year, as Kostecki took pole position, and the pair dominated what would be the fastest Bathurst 1000 in history.  Finally, the reigning champions showed what they were capable of and provided relief to both Brodie Kostecki and the entire team after what had transpired at the start of the season.  Jack Le Brocq and Jayden O’Jeda would finish 8th.

​Unfortunately, as seems to be the theme of 2024 for Erebus, the race victory would be overshadowed by a team member allegedly being assaulted on the night of celebrations, with the situation being investigated by police.  Except, the data engineer who had joined the team before the Sandown 500 had instead given a false report to police and had rather assaulted a woman himself.  He would be quickly fired from Erebus Motorsport thereafter.

Erebus Motorsport would again have new looks to both of their cars ahead of the Gold Coast 500, Jack Le Brocq with ELEVEN sponsorship and Brodie Kostecki with Hope Energy colours. Later, Erebus would be fined $5000 for not opening up their garage during the Thursday put lane party night.  

At the end of Race 21, Jack Le Brocq would finish dead last in 24th as Brodie Kostecki took 5th.  Things would get much better on Sunday however, Kostecki scoring the pole position and converting into the team’s second win of the season, as Le Brocq finished a better 8th.
 
For the final round of the season, the Adelaide 500, Tree Cleanup Specialists would become the main sponsor for both Erebus Camaros, with Hope Energy continuing to sponsor Kostecki, and Chiko returning to sponsor Le Brocq too.
 
However, Jack Le Brocq would return home after practice to be present at the birth of his first child.  Cooper Murray therefore would make an early debut for the team, finishing 24th and 18th in the final two races of the season as Kostecki took a pair of 6th place finishes.
 
The final pieces of Erebus Motorsport’s 2024 season would be confirmed as both of their lead race engineers George Commins and Tom Moore followed Kostecki to Dick Johnson Racing for 2025.  And last but not least Team Principal Brad Tremain left for Indycar to join Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, however, this move had been originally planned to occur a year earlier.
 
So, let’s have a look and compare the teams 2023 championship season to their 2024 hangover:

​Even without the many controversies, Erebus’ 2024 season would be considered a championship hangover, as they were unable to get close to similar results to 2023, let alone be in a position to defend their titles.

However, it was the drama with their reigning champion, the loss of major sponsor backing, new major sponsors at almost every round and losing their number one driver along with other important personnel that made this a year to forget.  Not only was Erebus’s performance on track lacking, but they also fell out hard with fans thanks to how both they and the media handled the situation with Brodie Kostecki.  Both Betty Klimenko and Barry Ryan seemed to play both silent witness and victim, claiming everything was rosy as things collapsed around them.
 
The Bathurst 1000 victory however, would be the team’s saving grace.  Still, in the span of twelve months, Erebus had lost its two drivers that claimed the 2023 team’s championship for them, as well as losing three major sources of sponsorship backing right before they could defend their championship crown.  Dick Johnson Racing lost its two championship drivers at the end of their winning 2020 season, but not to rival teams, or with attached drama, whilst keeping their sponsors warm and dry. 
 
Many teams and drivers have suffered championship hangovers in motorsport, it’s not that uncommon, strings of bad luck happen, and the competition catches up.  But what happened to Erebus Motorsport throughout this year might be unlike any other championship hangover in motorsport.