‘It was pretty funny until we realised he couldn’t breathe’: The man behind the wheel

He currently sits in pole position for the Supercars Championship, but how much do you really know about Erebus Motorsport driver Brodie Kostecki?

He currently sits in pole position for the Supercars Championship, but how much do you really know about Erebus Motorsport driver Brodie Kostecki?

Kostecki currently sits 131 points ahead of Bathurst winner Shane van Gisbergen as they enter the Gold Coast 500.

The 25-year-old has been rated as one of the most mechanically sounded drivers to enter the sport.

Norwell Motorplex owner Paul Morris said he has never seen someone handle a car as cleanly as Kostecki does.

Brodie Kostecki will start in pole position for the Gold Coast 500. Mark Horsburgh EDGE Photographics

“He is a super talented kid around mechanical and engineering,” Morris said.

“It is pretty unique to be able to work on a race car and be able to understand how it actually works as well as drive it.

“You don’t see that type of driver anymore, he is kind of like a modern day Larry Perkins.

“Someone who can build their own race car and drive it is someone pretty special.

“You could see when he got into a car he could always maximise the capability of the car straight away.

“He grew up basically racing in America, went at a young age and raced against adults basically.

“In America you can race high powered cars at a younger age so when he came back to Australia and started racing, he was instantly very quick and took a lot of people by surprise.”

Upon moving to the Gold Coast, Kostecki lived with Morris at Carrara for a few years while training.

“I was pretty hard on him but I love knocking him into shape and that was a pretty enjoyable part of my life,” Morris said.

“He is very much the same type of person you get who is in the car that is out of the car.

“He was like most young guys who needed a bit of direction in life and he could understand that was something I could give him and help make him a better person.”

Kostecki has been involved with cars his whole life, from growing up in Perth, his competitive nature was always going to put him behind the wheel.

In 2013, the competitive nature came out to a level he and his cousins Kurt and Jake had never seen before.

“We had this old moped we used to ride around on the property growing up when we were kids,” Kurt Kostecki said.

“This one particular day, myself, Brodie and Jake were doing laps on the property to try and see who could do the quickest lap.

“Jake had the fastest time and then our parents said they were going out and told us not to touch the moped while they were out.

“They left, Brodie jumped straight on the moped and took off, he didn’t like losing.

“Next thing we couldn’t hear anything, thought something is definitely not right here.

“Ran around the back, there is Brodie laying on the ground with the moped on top of him.

“His wrist looked to be in some trouble, so we grabbed a bag of frozen peas and taped it up and just sort of sat there quietly waiting for mum and dad to come home.”

Brodie ended up having a plate put in his wrist that remains there today.

Brodie Kostecki drives the Erebus Motorsport Chevrolet Camaro during the Bathurst 1000, part of the 2023 Supercars Championship Series at Mount Panorama on October 08, 2023 in Bathurst, Australia. (Photo by Morgan Hancock/Getty Images)

It wasn’t the only time the Kostecki trio found themselves getting into trouble, with Brodie explaining the unique way he received his nickname ‘Bush’.

“I was at Norwell Motorplex and I was in the car with Kurt while Jake and Paul Morris were in the other car and Broc Feeney in the other car as well,” Brodie said.

“We were racing around in the rain and having a bit of fun, Kurt was driving at the time.

“He noticed the brake pedal went a bit soft and the brakes ended up failing.

“We ended up driving the car into a tree at about 110kms and I jumped out before it hit the tree.

“I sort of slid along the grass bank and through the earth wall and into the bushes.

“That is how my name came about, pretty wild story for it to happen and I was pretty fortunate to come away with no injuries.

“Kurt actually broke his sternum in the crash, it was pretty funny at the time until we realised he broke it and couldn’t breathe.”

Van Gisbergen is chasing his seventh Gold Coast win while Kostecki will be looking to claim his first on his home track.

The Supercars begins on Friday at 11:35am with a practice run and racing will run over the weekend with Race 25 (85 laps) on Saturday at 3:45pm and Race 26 on Sunday at 2:15pm.