‘Public humiliation’: Erebus team boss faces fresh allegations

Van Leeuwen said he walked into the garage to see the lion’s share of the team in its customary post-weekend huddle.

It was at that point Ryan allegedly scolded van Leeuwen in front of the team, dismissing Speedcafe’s reporting.

“Barry proceeded to introduce me to the team, my full name, place of business, and said that my reporting is shit as I tried to defend myself as just being a guy trying to do his job,” claimed van Leeuwen.

“It was incredibly awkward for every single person involved. I decided to bite my tongue and depart the scene. I was in a bit of shock to be perfectly honest at what was unfolding in front of me.

“Once the huddle was finished I went back and expressed my disappointment with Barry’s actions to him privately which led to a somewhat fiery discussion about what has happened and my role in it over the last few months.”

Van Leeuwen claimed in the podcast: “To summarise the perspective of Barry and the Erebus comms manager Carly Hammersley, their perspective is that there was never any dispute. It was all made up by us to get clicks. 

“Brodie was mentally unwell for unrelated reasons and we’ve done all this damage by reporting on things like the fact that the reigning champion wasn’t on the grid for the first round. That, according to Barry and Carly, wasn’t newsworthy, not in the public interest.

“Carly actually told me in her experience as a journalist, if you can’t quote a source it shouldn’t be a news story.”

Van Leeuwen said he disagreed with Ryan and Hammersley’s take on the situation.

The sum of Speedcafe’s reporting is breaking the news that Brodie Kostecki would not contest the Supercars season opener, reporting sponsors had left Erebus Motorsport as a result of the internal fracas, and rumours of a potential sale of the racing team.

“All we are doing is our jobs and all we can ever do is report on things that have happened or are happening,” van Leeuwen added.

“We are reactionary. We are not the cause. We didn’t cause the rift. We didn’t tell Brodie not to turn up to the first two rounds. We didn’t tell Coca-Cola to cut and run and leave the team.

“We only report things that happen well outside of our control. So for that then to be put on me and put on us is ludicrous. It really is.

“The whole thing was a fascinating insight into the management of that team, a first-hand insight that I now have.”

WWOS is not suggesting that van Leeuwen’s claims about what Ryan said to him are true; simply that van Leeuwen made these claims during the Full Credit to the Noise podcast.

WWOS asked Ryan and Erebus Motorsport to comment on the recent allegations made by van Leeuwen. In a text message to WWOS, Ryan said “There’s two sides to every story and one side is always the truth.”

The alleged events of Sunday evening at Wanneroo Raceway have come as no shock to those in the Supercars paddock and van Leeuwen is not the only journalist to cop flak from Ryan.

WWOS knows of one other motorsport journalist to receive an expletive-laden text message, criticising their organisation’s coverage of recent events earlier this month.

WWOS also received a thinly veiled threat from Ryan having followed Speedcafe’s lead in reporting rumours of a potential Erebus Motorsport sale. Those rumours still persist.

In the texts, Ryan suggested this journalist was on “thin ice” and labelled motorsport media “gutter trash”.

Ryan said inquiries by WWOS into Brodie Kostecki’s attempt to leave the team were “no one’s business.”

WWOS has repeatedly offered Ryan and Erebus Motorsport opportunities to comment on the events of the past year and a half. They have continually declined to comment.