Adderton was among Kostecki‘s allies when the reigning champion walked away from Erebus at the start of this season and faced a year on the sidelines.
However, the relationship between Kostecki and the outspoken telco boss was then upended by Kostecki’s decision to return to Erebus ahead of the Taupo Super400, following mediation led by Morris.
Fanning the flames between Kostecki and Adderton was an alleged request from Erebus management that all personal sponsors had to be removed from Kostecki’s helmet – including the Boost Mobile signage.
Adderton outlined his side of the break-up on the latest episode of the Apex Hunters United podcast, lamenting that Kostecki didn’t consult himself, or other backers such as Steve Blackmore from Southern Cross Truck Rentals and Earl Evans from Shaw and Partners, before making the decision.
“I remember the call, because I was in California, it was a Sunday afternoon,” said Adderton.
“And I saw the call come in from Brodie, and I took it and I basically was upbeat. Because every time I talked to Brodie, we’d been checking in to see how he was going, because he was having a pretty hard time.
“He’s a racer, he wanted to race. And I said, ‘Brodie, how’s it going? We’re still trying to put you in a NASCAR.
“’We’re still trying to do this….’. He goes, ‘oh, I’ve got to tell you something’.
“He said, ‘I’m going back to Erebus’. And I’m like, ‘well, have you made that decision permanent?’. He goes, ‘yeah, I’ve made that decision. Paul Morris and I went down, we met with them’. And he said, ‘and it gets worse, Peter, because they’ve told me I have to take the sticker, my Boost sticker off the helmet’.
“To credit Brodie, Brodie’s a racer, right? And I think he got really bad advice. I’ll be totally honest with you. I think Brody got really bad advice.
“So Steve and Earl and everybody else were off the helmet. You could not sponsor [him]. [Erebus owner] Betty [Klimenko] had made it clear that we had basically caused the problem, which we hadn’t.
“The funny thing is, I didn’t even know Brodie was leaving the team until I read it in Speedcafe. Everyone seems to think that Brodie and I were chatting. I hadn’t thought about Erebus for over two years since we had left them, right?
“So I said, ‘Brodie, what are you doing? Why wouldn’t you at least call us supporters and just at least talk us through? I think you’re making a massive career mistake’.
“I think he got poor advice, really bad advice. And I think because he’s such a hardcore racer… I’ve never met anybody who races so hard and is so focused on racing… and I don’t think he had good people around him.”
Adderton also revealed a wild claim made to Morris in the wake of the decision.
“I actually rang Paul, as soon as Brodie told me that this is what was going on, I rang Paul Morris, because Paul was obviously instrumental, as Roland said [in his Speedcafe column], and I know that Paul was instrumental,” Adderton said.
“I rang Paul and I said, ‘you just killed the guy’s career’.”
That, says Adderton, was followed by an attempt to rectify the Kostecki/Boost relationship.
“So I tell Paul, ‘we’re done, right?’ I said,’ I’m not gonna do anything’. I said, ‘the fact that Barry has made him take [off the sticker]…
“And so Paul says to me, ‘don’t worry, I’ll fix it’. So he rings up, he rings me back about 10 minutes later. He says, ‘alright, I think we can work with [Erebus CEO] Barry [Ryan] and put your sticker back on Brodie’s helmet.
“I said, ‘fuck you. You don’t dump us, right? Not like it’s some girlfriend you dump and then you find out that you might have upset her and you bring her back’.
“I said, ‘no, we don’t want anything to do with that team. And we don’t want anything to do with Brodie.
“Because what he’s done to us isn’t fair. And nobody knows the amount of support that we gave Brodie behind the scenes, emotionally, and offered financially, to help him.
“So it wasn’t just that he was ripping the sticker off. He was kind of ripping off the friendship. And that’s why I don’t think that Brodie, given his time again, would have made the same decision. I think he would have stayed the course. And that’s why I don’t really hold a grudge against Brodie.”
Adderton added that he is open to repairing the relationship with Brodie in the future.
“Just so you know, I am still absolutely open,” he said. “If Brodie picked up the phone to me tomorrow and said, ‘Peter, I want to come and have lunch with you’, I’d take the lunch in 30 seconds.”