Supercars champion Brodie Kostecki's shock announcement weeks before season opener

Brodie Kostecki is reportedly set to split from Erebus Motorsport amid rumours of a falling out with the team and CEO Barry Ryan. The reigning Supercars champion is understood to have informed his team that he intends to walk away from the final year of his contract just weeks before the new season.

Kostecki led Erebus to a maiden Supercars driver and team championships after a decade of racing but according to Speedcafe, the 26-year-old has decided to leave. The report claims Todd Hazelwood - who was expected to be named as an Erebus co-driver this year - will take over from Kostecki on a round-by-round basis, to leave the door open for Kotecki to return.

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News Corp reports last-ditch talks are being held to try and convince the defending champion to stay. If Kostecki is to walk away, it could create chaos for the entire championship as the Supercars grid is already full for the upcoming season.

This would mean another team would have to axe a driver to make room for Kostecki or the champion would be sidelined. Last year Kostecki drove the #99 Chevrolet Camaro to six wins, registered ten pole positions and finished on the podium 18 times from 28 races.

Kostecki has also been linked with making a switch to NASCAR, after a successful debut last year with Richard Childress Racing. In November Childress said the plan was for Kostecki to race in up to five NASCAR events in the upcoming season.

"Hopefully, we can race him two or three (times) on the road courses," Childress told Fox Sports. "But I want to run him on an oval, he’s raced on them earlier in his career."

Erebus team endures tumultuous last few months

The Erebus team is set to look nothing like the team that won the team championship last year after young gun Will Brown defected to Triple Eight. Brown will replace Supercars legend Shane van Gisbergen after he left Australia to chase his NASCAR dream.

The team has announced Jack Le Brocq will replace the outgoing Brown. Le Brocq drove for Erebus in the 2013 Australian GT Championship, the 2014 Bathurst 12 Hour, and the Bathurst 1000 in 2015 but this year will race full-time for Erebus Motorsport the first time for. Le Brocq raced alongside Kostecki's likely replacement Hazelwood in 2022 at Matt Stone Racing.

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