Feeney flies to fantastic four in dominant Darwin dash

The Advertiser

4 hours ago

Broc Feeney has continued his dominance in Darwin, winning back-to-back races from pole to extend his lead at the top of the Supercars standings.
The Triple Eight speedster seems unstoppable at the moment.
With his third and fourth consecutive race wins on Saturday, he opened up a 143-point gap over teammate Will Brown in the race for the Sprint Cup.
In a controlled performance in the day's second race, Feeney held on to the lead from the jump, setting a Darwin lap record of one minute 7.523 seconds in the process.
"It's been a really awesome day. Struggled a little bit yesterday, didn't feel too comfortable," Feeney said.
"So to come out this morning and get two poles was awesome, and then to convert those two to race wins.
"At the moment it's been fantastic ... just really enjoying life and momentum is continuing, which is great."
After pitting last, the 22-year-old made the most of a speedy stop and a fresh set of supersoft tyres to hold off Anton De Pasquale until a safety car with two laps to go sealed the result.
De Pasquale's second-place finish was his first podium of the season, while Grove Racing rookie Kai Allen picked up his first career podium in third place.
De Pasquale and Allen both slipped behind Brodie Kostecki and Matt Payne after pitting late, but jumped back into the top three with fresher tyres.
Cam Waters, who started in third, slipped back through the pack before an off on turn one with two laps to go sent him back to 10th.
Brown recovered 10 places to finish seventh after starting in 17th.
Feeney's two wins continued his love affair with Hidden Valley Raceway, including winning both races in 2024 and another the previous year.
What is it about the track that suits him so much?
"I don't really know," Feeney said.
"Every year I come back and when I keep getting good results I go 'far out, I wish every track could be like this'.
"Obviously it suits my style a little bit, but I suppose I wish I knew the answer because I'd try and be successful at all the tracks if I could."
Feeney earlier held off Tickford's Waters to win Race 17 as carnage unfolded behind.
It took just one turn for the first big shunt of the race to bring out the safety car.
Wheel contact from James Golding fired Jaxon Evans into the barrier at the exit of turn one at high speed, dislodging his front wheel and ruling his car out of the rest of the day's action.
The Brad Jones Racing crew will be working overtime to get Evans' No.12 Camaro ready to race on Sunday.
There was more drama straight off the restart, with Jack Le Brocq shunting hard into the wall amid cramped conditions on pit straight and parting ways with his front tyre.
Seconds later, Richie Stanaway suffered heavy damage in a tangle between Nick Percat, while Ryan Wood's Ford Mustang suffered engine failure and was left immobile.
Brown also had a disappointing qualifying result for Race 17, but recovered six spots to finish in eighth.
Feeney leads the race for the Darwin Triple Crown trophy on 160 points, with another 140 points up for grabs in Sunday's 200km race.
Unlike previous seasons when the Crown was only awarded to a driver who won a clean sweep, whoever amasses the most points over the course of the weekend will claim the prize.
RACE 17 RESULTS:
1. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight Race Engineering)
2. Cam Waters (Tickford Racing)
3. Matt Payne (Grove Racing)
4. Bryce Fullwood (Brad Jones Racing)
5. James Courtney (Blanchard Racing Team)
RACE 18 RESULTS:
1. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight Race Engineering)
2. Anton De Pasquale (Team 18)
3. Kai Allen (Grove Racing)
4. Andre Heimgartner (Brad Jones Racing)
5. Brodie Kostecki (Dick Johnson Racing)
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:
1. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight Race Engineering)
2. Will Brown (Triple Eight Race Engineering)
3. Matt Payne (Grove Racing)
4. Cam Waters (Tickford Racing)
5. Chaz Mostert (Walkinshaw Andretti United)
Broc Feeney has continued his dominance in Darwin, winning back-to-back races from pole to extend his lead at the top of the Supercars standings.
The Triple Eight speedster seems unstoppable at the moment.
With his third and fourth consecutive race wins on Saturday, he opened up a 143-point gap over teammate Will Brown in the race for the Sprint Cup.
In a controlled performance in the day's second race, Feeney held on to the lead from the jump, setting a Darwin lap record of one minute 7.523 seconds in the process.
"It's been a really awesome day. Struggled a little bit yesterday, didn't feel too comfortable," Feeney said.
"So to come out this morning and get two poles was awesome, and then to convert those two to race wins.
"At the moment it's been fantastic ... just really enjoying life and momentum is continuing, which is great."
After pitting last, the 22-year-old made the most of a speedy stop and a fresh set of supersoft tyres to hold off Anton De Pasquale until a safety car with two laps to go sealed the result.
De Pasquale's second-place finish was his first podium of the season, while Grove Racing rookie Kai Allen picked up his first career podium in third place.
De Pasquale and Allen both slipped behind Brodie Kostecki and Matt Payne after pitting late, but jumped back into the top three with fresher tyres.
Cam Waters, who started in third, slipped back through the pack before an off on turn one with two laps to go sent him back to 10th.
Brown recovered 10 places to finish seventh after starting in 17th.
Feeney's two wins continued his love affair with Hidden Valley Raceway, including winning both races in 2024 and another the previous year.
What is it about the track that suits him so much?
"I don't really know," Feeney said.
"Every year I come back and when I keep getting good results I go 'far out, I wish every track could be like this'.
"Obviously it suits my style a little bit, but I suppose I wish I knew the answer because I'd try and be successful at all the tracks if I could."
Feeney earlier held off Tickford's Waters to win Race 17 as carnage unfolded behind.
It took just one turn for the first big shunt of the race to bring out the safety car.
Wheel contact from James Golding fired Jaxon Evans into the barrier at the exit of turn one at high speed, dislodging his front wheel and ruling his car out of the rest of the day's action.
The Brad Jones Racing crew will be working overtime to get Evans' No.12 Camaro ready to race on Sunday.
There was more drama straight off the restart, with Jack Le Brocq shunting hard into the wall amid cramped conditions on pit straight and parting ways with his front tyre.
Seconds later, Richie Stanaway suffered heavy damage in a tangle between Nick Percat, while Ryan Wood's Ford Mustang suffered engine failure and was left immobile.
Brown also had a disappointing qualifying result for Race 17, but recovered six spots to finish in eighth.
Feeney leads the race for the Darwin Triple Crown trophy on 160 points, with another 140 points up for grabs in Sunday's 200km race.
Unlike previous seasons when the Crown was only awarded to a driver who won a clean sweep, whoever amasses the most points over the course of the weekend will claim the prize.
RACE 17 RESULTS:
1. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight Race Engineering)
2. Cam Waters (Tickford Racing)
3. Matt Payne (Grove Racing)
4. Bryce Fullwood (Brad Jones Racing)
5. James Courtney (Blanchard Racing Team)
RACE 18 RESULTS:
1. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight Race Engineering)
2. Anton De Pasquale (Team 18)
3. Kai Allen (Grove Racing)
4. Andre Heimgartner (Brad Jones Racing)
5. Brodie Kostecki (Dick Johnson Racing)
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:
1. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight Race Engineering)
2. Will Brown (Triple Eight Race Engineering)
3. Matt Payne (Grove Racing)
4. Cam Waters (Tickford Racing)
5. Chaz Mostert (Walkinshaw Andretti United)
Broc Feeney has continued his dominance in Darwin, winning back-to-back races from pole to extend his lead at the top of the Supercars standings.
The Triple Eight speedster seems unstoppable at the moment.
With his third and fourth consecutive race wins on Saturday, he opened up a 143-point gap over teammate Will Brown in the race for the Sprint Cup.
In a controlled performance in the day's second race, Feeney held on to the lead from the jump, setting a Darwin lap record of one minute 7.523 seconds in the process.
"It's been a really awesome day. Struggled a little bit yesterday, didn't feel too comfortable," Feeney said.
"So to come out this morning and get two poles was awesome, and then to convert those two to race wins.
"At the moment it's been fantastic ... just really enjoying life and momentum is continuing, which is great."
After pitting last, the 22-year-old made the most of a speedy stop and a fresh set of supersoft tyres to hold off Anton De Pasquale until a safety car with two laps to go sealed the result.
De Pasquale's second-place finish was his first podium of the season, while Grove Racing rookie Kai Allen picked up his first career podium in third place.
De Pasquale and Allen both slipped behind Brodie Kostecki and Matt Payne after pitting late, but jumped back into the top three with fresher tyres.
Cam Waters, who started in third, slipped back through the pack before an off on turn one with two laps to go sent him back to 10th.
Brown recovered 10 places to finish seventh after starting in 17th.
Feeney's two wins continued his love affair with Hidden Valley Raceway, including winning both races in 2024 and another the previous year.
What is it about the track that suits him so much?
"I don't really know," Feeney said.
"Every year I come back and when I keep getting good results I go 'far out, I wish every track could be like this'.
"Obviously it suits my style a little bit, but I suppose I wish I knew the answer because I'd try and be successful at all the tracks if I could."
Feeney earlier held off Tickford's Waters to win Race 17 as carnage unfolded behind.
It took just one turn for the first big shunt of the race to bring out the safety car.
Wheel contact from James Golding fired Jaxon Evans into the barrier at the exit of turn one at high speed, dislodging his front wheel and ruling his car out of the rest of the day's action.
The Brad Jones Racing crew will be working overtime to get Evans' No.12 Camaro ready to race on Sunday.
There was more drama straight off the restart, with Jack Le Brocq shunting hard into the wall amid cramped conditions on pit straight and parting ways with his front tyre.
Seconds later, Richie Stanaway suffered heavy damage in a tangle between Nick Percat, while Ryan Wood's Ford Mustang suffered engine failure and was left immobile.
Brown also had a disappointing qualifying result for Race 17, but recovered six spots to finish in eighth.
Feeney leads the race for the Darwin Triple Crown trophy on 160 points, with another 140 points up for grabs in Sunday's 200km race.
Unlike previous seasons when the Crown was only awarded to a driver who won a clean sweep, whoever amasses the most points over the course of the weekend will claim the prize.
RACE 17 RESULTS:
1. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight Race Engineering)
2. Cam Waters (Tickford Racing)
3. Matt Payne (Grove Racing)
4. Bryce Fullwood (Brad Jones Racing)
5. James Courtney (Blanchard Racing Team)
RACE 18 RESULTS:
1. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight Race Engineering)
2. Anton De Pasquale (Team 18)
3. Kai Allen (Grove Racing)
4. Andre Heimgartner (Brad Jones Racing)
5. Brodie Kostecki (Dick Johnson Racing)
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:
1. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight Race Engineering)
2. Will Brown (Triple Eight Race Engineering)
3. Matt Payne (Grove Racing)
4. Cam Waters (Tickford Racing)
5. Chaz Mostert (Walkinshaw Andretti United)