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Todd Hazelwood has been confirmed in Brodie Kostecki’s place at Erebus for the Australian Grand Prix.
Reigning Supercars champion Kostecki sat out the season-opening Bathurst 500 last month after his relationship with Erebus broke down during summer.
Hazelwood, who was set to co-drive for the team at the Sandown 500 and the Bathurst 1000 later this year, was drafted in to take his place alongside Jack Le Brocq.
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Erebus committed to Hazelwood for only the first race of the season at the time, leaving the door open for a reunion with its first drivers champion.
The race-by-race arrangement appears set to continue, with Erebus confirming that the 2017 Super2 champion will remain in place only for the upcoming Melbourne SuperSprint, which forms part of the Australian Grand Prix undercard.
“Todd Hazelwood will continue to represent the team in car 99 at the Australian Grand Prix event,” the statement read.
“We would also like to express our thanks for the support we’ve received in recent weeks. Your messages mean the world to us.”
The team shed no further light on the Kostecki situation.
“Erebus Motorsport remains firmly committed to respecting Brodie’s privacy,” it said. “We are unable to provide further updates at this time.”
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Kostecki has remained silent since the end of his championship-winning season bar his appearance at a Motorsport Australia awards gala in early February to collect his trophy and the Peter Brock Medal.
He briefly addressed the saga in his speech, though he didn’t refer to Erebus by name.
“It is no secret that I have come to a crossroads with my 2023 Supercars team,” he said. “Ongoing discussions mean that I cannot say any more on that matter at this time. I thank you for appreciating my position.
“I am unsure what the immediate future holds,” he said. “What I can say is that I am in generally good health and that I have a long-term commitment to Australian motorsport and have a burning desire to stand up here again more than once as multiple Supercars champion.”
Erebus owner Betty Klimenko and CEO Barry Ryan broke their silence on the matter in an interview with Fox Sports at the Bathurst 500, saying it was up to Kostecki whether he raced for Erebus again.
“That’s not up to us,” Klimenko said. “It’s not in our hands.
“We respect the privacy of Brodie … and because of that we can’t say anything.
“We need to look forward and talk about Todd and Jack, but as far as Brodie’s concerned we can’t say a word.
“It will be set straight at some point, but that’s not what matters.
“What matters is that we respect Brodie’s privacy, we respect the fact that we can’t say anything.”
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Ryan emotionally denied rumours that Kostecki’s departure from the team concerns a breakdown in his relationship with management.
“I’m not that sort of person,” he said. “I’m not a bully. I don’t do anything but care for people.
“At the end of last year we were on top of the world and everybody believed in us, and now to have people decide they didn’t believe in us anymore, that hurts.
“I’ve got to have the energy to make sure we can rebuild this and do it again, which I have. But it hurts, it definitely hurts.”
News of Kostecki’s looming break-up with the team has cost Erebus three major sponsors, with 2023 title partner Coca-Cola, long-time backer Shaw and Partners and Southern Cross Truck Rental all pulling the plug during the off-season.
Le Brocq and Hazelwood returned lukewarm results for the title-winning team in their first round as teammates, finishing 13th and 11th on Saturday and eighth and 13th on Sunday.
Erebus is sixth in the teams championship, 273 points behind leader and 2023 title rival Triple Eight.
Le Brocq and Hazelwood are 11th and 13th respectively on the drivers title table.
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