Triple Eight young gun Broc Feeney concedes he is a ‘long shot’ to claim championship

Triple Eight driver Broc Feeney was left heartbroken after a tumultuous Bathurst 1000, but will do whatever it takes to get back on the podium on the Gold Coast.

Triple Eight young gun Broc Feeney has conceded he is now a “very long shot” in the Supercars title fight but has vowed to hit back on the streets of the Gold Coast after his Bathurst 1000 heartbreak.

After the high of his first Supercars endurance win with a commanding Sandown 500 victory alongside his team boss Jamie Whincup, Feeney was brought back down to earth when his podium hopes were crushed at Mount Panorama.

Feeney was sitting second and in with a chance to challenge eventual race winner, Triple Eight teammate Shane van Gisbergen, when a broken gear shift tower shattered his Bathurst hopes with less than 25 laps to go.

A distraught Feeney buried his helmet in his hands in his car after he was forced to return to the garage, eventually finishing 23rd.

The result delivered a blow to Feeney’s title aspirations, slipping from third to fourth in the standings, 408 points behind series leader Brodie Kostecki.

While he acknowledged his championship hopes were now slim, Feeney was determined to fight back on the Gold Coast.

“I don’t think I need extra motivation, I’m pretty fired up and I always want to go out and win and get podiums and a home race is very special for me,” Feeney said.

“But for sure, I want to go out and have a good result considering the last race.

“We’re not out of it. We have got to get through this weekend within 300 points.

Team boss Jamie Whincup. Picture: Morgan Hancock/Getty Images

“I’m certainly a very, very long shot, but my goal is now just to go out and do what I try and normally do and try and fight for wins and podiums.

“It’s hard, I would like to be in a position where I am championship driving at the moment and trying to get real good points, but for us it’s just go out, do what we’ve been doing and try and get some trophies for the rest of the year.”

Feeney celebrated his 21st birthday last week and said his party at home with family, team and friends had been a welcome distraction from his Bathurst heartbreak.

Describing the result as a “kick in the guts”, Feeney said his position in the race at the time had made the mechanical failure all the more harder to digest.

“That’s the worst part about it. If I was running P20 and it happened, I would be gutted, but when you are certainly on track for a podium and you don’t know what is going to happen at Bathurst, but we were in with a shot,” Feeney said.

“It was tough. To be honest once I got out (of the car) I was fine, but then as soon as I talked about it, or I would see a replay or something I would get pretty upset. That made it tough, but that’s what this sport is, it means so much to me.

Feeney had to return to the garage. Picture: Morgan Hancock/Getty Images

“When stuff like that happens, it is a massive kick in the guts, but that’s why you celebrate the wins like you do.

“That’s just what makes the race so special to be honest, it’s so hard to win but so easy to lose. It hurts being so close to the finish line and it falling apart, but, hey, that’s Bathurst and that’s the reason why we love it and hopefully one day it makes the victory sweeter.

“I’m young and hopefully I’ve got plenty more years to go to the mountain and be right in contention.”

Feeney was confident the team had addressed the gear level issues, which impacted the Triple Eight Craig Lowndes wildcard as well as Feeney’s Camaro and also forced van Gisbergen to nurse his car to the finish, for the round on the Gold Coast.

“Well for sure we have got some new ones in,” Feeney said.

“But they are confident that won’t happen again.

“I’m sure the team is going to give us a car capable of winning and it will be up to us to try and do the job.”

Feeney has claimed five race wins in his second season in Supercars, the equal second highest tally behind Erebus Motorsport’s series leader Kostecki.

He said the advice of co-driver and boss – seven-time Supercars champion Whincup – had helped him put the pain of his Mount Panorama anguish behind him.

“He just said, ‘Mate, I have been through this situation plenty of times. It probably won’t be the last time that this happens’. He just said we’ll come back stronger next year and do it again,” Feeney said.

“He was trying to pump me up and say we did a good job all day and just be proud about what we did and move onto the next one.

“Now it’s just about going on the Gold Coast and business as usual and trying to get back on the podium to hopefully where we belong.”

Former series champion James Courtney confirmed his exit from Tickford Racing next season, with the 43-year-old widely expected to link with Blanchard Racing Team in 2024.

Courtney and Tickford released a joint statement confirming the widely rumoured exit from the team as they reduce their presence on the grid from four cars to two next year.

Courtney, who is currently running 13th in the series points, hinted at exciting news for 2024 earlier in the week with the expectation his BRT move will be announced ahead of the Gold Coast 500 this weekend.

Originally published as Triple Eight young gun Broc Feeney concedes he is a ‘long shot’ to claim championship