Rookies Zane Goddard and Jake Kostecki will share MSR entry in 2020

Matt Stone Racing’s expansion to two cars for next year’s Supercars Championship season will feature three drivers, two of which are making their debuts in the main game after graduating from Super2.

After announcing that former Kelly Racing driver and Super2 champion Garry Jacobson will pilot the team’s #35 entry, MSR’s second car will be shared by Zane Goddard and Jake Kostecki, both graduates of the Super2 series.

Dubbed the SuperLites entry, the two drivers will compete in five sprint rounds each, joining forces for the Enduro Cup while the driver of the season-ending Newcastle 500 will be worked out closer to the time.

Team owner Matt Stone sees the concept as a pathway to transition from the development series to a full-time drive in the main game, boosting the team’s status as a proving ground for young stars.

“We’ve always been about young drivers, giving them their first chance and trying to help them grow their skill to become professional, paid drivers,” Stone said.

“I came up with this concept several months ago and pitched it to Sean Seamer and the guys at Supercars management and it tied in with their moves with pathways and finding the next champions.

“Essentially we’ve been working on the idea of taking two young guys, putting them together in the main game and sharing a season.

“It’s an environment where they can learn without being burnt out too quickly and falling into the traps that some of the last couple of waves of rookies to come through have.”

Making his Supercars debut as a co-driver in the Kostecki Brothers Racing entry throughout this year’s Enduro Cup, Kostecki is finally moving on from the feeder series after making his debut in 2016, now focusing on the drive with MSR.

“Our wildcard entry into main game this year with KBR really opened our eyes as to the commitment, resources and teamwork required to succeed in Australia’s greatest motorsport category,” Kostecki said.

“I believe this program gives me the best possible chance to develop the race craft I need to ultimately step into a full-time main game seat.

“I can’t wait to get stuck into working with MSR and get to the track to cut some laps.

“Between Zane and I, we will be splitting the championship up but we both will be working towards the same goal, which is to get solid results and learn as much as we can.”

Racing for only two years in Super2 after an unsuccessful campaign to forge a career in Europe, Goddard says racing in Supercars is a lifelong dream and he’ll look to impress throughout the season.

“My life is racing,” Goddard said.

“To be given the opportunity at 20 years old, after two great seasons in Super 2, to fulfil my dream of racing in the main game is mind-blowing.

“I can’t thank Matt Stone and the team at MSR enough for believing in me, plus my sponsors and my parents who have been such a strong guiding influence in my life and racing so far.”

Racing the Holden ZB Commodore which KBR campaigned in the endurance races through 2019, the SuperLite car will carry the number #34, reflecting the Racing Entitlements Contract the team bought from Garry Rogers Motorsport.