Supercar star Brodie Kostecki visits Mannum to provide some light relief ahead of the impending floods

Supercars driver Brodie Kostecki has made a pit stop on the main street of flood-threatened Mannum on the eve of the Adelaide 500.

Shovels were down and the spirits were high in Mannum on Wednesday morning as locals took a quick break from their disaster preparations to welcome V8 Supercar star Brodie Kostecki.

Motorsport fans joined locals on a sunny morning on Randell Street as the community took a breather from packing up ahead of the impending floods set to inundate the town.

V8 Supercar star Brodie Kostecki at Mannum on Wednesday, November 30. Picture: Dylan Hogarth.

Kostecki steered his powerful V8 down the Randell Street and left some rubber on the bitumen before the machinery rolls in to rip up the road to make way for the levee being built to protect the town.

The Erebus Boost Mobile Racing driver is in SA for this weekend’s Adelaide 500 but he made the streets of Mannum his circuit on Wednesday, entertaining hundreds of locals as he zipped up and down the main drag before taking photos with school children and meeting fans.

Brodie Kostecki talks to Mannum school children outside of the Pretoria Hotel. Picture: Dylan Hogarth.

Mannum’s Ray Weedon - who has been busy preparing to say goodbye to his home and business - was all smiles when the professional driver saw his classic car in the street and wanted to take it for a spin.

Mr Weedon brought down his MGA ‘56 and Kostecki couldn’t resist the opportunity to get behind the wheel.

Fellow Mannum business owner Trudy Fischer has a shop set to experience the full force of the flooding and while it’s been a tough time her her and the community, she said it was great the locals could soak in something different.

Mannum’s Ray Weedon was all smiles when professional driver Brodie Kostecki saw his classic car in the street and wanted to take it for a spin. Picture: Dylan Hogarth.

“It’s fantastic (Brodie) has come down here, it’s really good to boost morale after a horrible few weeks,” she said.

Kostecki said he learned about the plight of South Australia’s river communities and was all too keen to get to Mannum.

“It’s great to come down here and see so much of the town who have come out .. I’ve never seen anything like this before in my life with a river rising and the building of a levee like they are,” he said.

“It’s been great to talk to the locals and see them in positive spirits, obviously there is a lot of devastation coming ahead of the holiday season but the atmosphere is great and it’s good to see the community try and stay positive.”

Mid Murray Council chief executive officer Ben Scales said he was thankful to the state government and to Supercars Championship organisers for acting so swiftly to try and bring some joy to the town before the floods hit.

Mannum student Teghan Reichstein was one of a group of kids to sign V8 Supercar driver Brodie Kostecki's bonnet on Wednesday. Photo: Dylan Hogarth.

He said while it was a challenging time for the community, the town’s people were thankful for any opportunity to lift their spirits but also promote Mannum and remind the state that while the flooding was serious, there was still plenty to do in the Murraylands and Riverland regions.