MSR BENEFITTING FROM SUPERLITE PROGRAM
Matt Stone Racing drivers Zane Goddard and Jake Kostecki impressed in the opening round of the Supercars Championship and their team believes that this instant success has been achieved because of the SuperLite program.
In 2020 Goddard and Kostecki shared the #34 MSR Holden Commodore throughout the championship as part of the SuperLite program.
The two Super2 graduates rotated driving duties until the season opening round, the Bathurst 1000 when they shared the car.
This year both drivers have been promoted to full-time gigs with Kostecki piloting the #34 Unit sponsored Commodore and Goddard jumping in car #35 previously driven by Team Sydney driver Garry Jacobson.
At Bathurst both drivers impressed, with Goddard finishing 12th and Kostecki 13th in the opening race, UNIT Marketing Manager Toby Lynch believes is proof that the SuperLite program works.
“Last year was a year that no one could have predicted, and it threw numerous curve balls at the championship, including the teams and drivers,” said Lynch.
“It’s a credit to both drivers that, despite being the youngest in the field, they were able to approach the challenges thrown at them with determination and maturity and deliver a series of solid race results.
“As a result, they find themselves graduates of the program and in their own cars for 2021 which is the ultimate outcome. As Bathurst showed this is now a chance for them to continue to build on their solid results and further refine their race craft against the series’ best.”
Matt Stone Racing benefiting from SuperLite program – Image: InSyde Media
The idea behind the SuperLite program was to give young drivers chasing a dream of becoming a professional Supercars driver the opportunity to get a taste of Supercars and show that they have what it takes to compete against the best in the business.
Goddard and Kostecki’s promotion highlights that the concept has worked first time around.
The Queensland based squad is not opposed to bringing it back in the future as team principal Matt Stone told Auto Action in the latest issue.
The SuperLite opportunity allowed its drivers to learn the category, fellow drivers and some circuits around Australia before taking on this year’s championship in a full-time capacity.
Although Bathurst was an ultra-strong weekend for the team, they are not getting ahead of themselves, as neither Goddard nor Kostecki drove at Sandown last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Victoria.
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