Darwin Triple Crown: Red Bull go one-two as Broc Feeney records back to back wins
It was a Red Bull one-two finish at the Darwin Triple Crown as Broc Feeney recorded back to back victories in the Top End and his fifth season win in a dramatic Hidden Valley race.
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Triple Eight young gun Broc Feeney declared he had his “mojo back” in the championship fight after leading home a Red Bull one-two to complete a dominant weekend at the Darwin Triple Crown as defending Supercars champion Brodie Kostecki returned to the podium.
In a race headlined by a spectacular opening-lap crash at Hidden Valley Raceway, Feeney completed back-to-back wins in the Top End to enhance his title credentials after converting from pole.
The 21-year-old finished ahead of title-leading teammate Will Brown to clinch his fifth victory of the season, leading the race from start to finish.
After starting on the front row alongside pole sitter Feeney, Kostecki finished third to claim his first podium since the Gold Coast last year.
Two from two in the Territory!#RepcoSC#Supercarspic.twitter.com/nW8QfIczIQ
— Supercars (@supercars) June 16, 2024
Feeney’s win again ate into Brown’s championship lead, cutting his advantage to 108 points.
Starting behind Kostecki on the grid, Brown got the jump on his former Erebus teammate off the start line and then the two Triple Eight drivers were in control from then on, despite early safety car intervention after a wild lap-one crash.
Feeney started the year with three race wins in the opening five races, but he was unhappy with his form at the last two rounds in New Zealand and in Perth.
But the young star felt he was able to tap back to his best form in Darwin.
“I’m pumped to be back, bloody hell Will was fast then, obviously he chased me down at the end of Taupo, but to hold on there that’s a big win,” Feeney said.
“Two wins this weekend, a pole and a shootout today, it’s not the official Triple Crown but I’m pretty stoked with that.
“I have been working my arse off all year, it certainly hasn’t been because of a lack of trying.
“I just feel like I have got my mojo back, a bit of pep in my step this weekend, I feel excited, I’m pumped, I’m having fun and the results are coming with it.
“But to execute qualifying and the races here is unreal, two wins, I haven’t done that before to win two races, so I’m absolutely chuffed.
“It’s important (for the season). Obviously (Brown and I are) great mates and teammates, but he is the man that I am fighting for this championship so every point is crucial.
“Look, the last couple of rounds haven’t been terrible but when you are conceding points, it is not always great.”
Kostecki had a nightmare start to the Darwin round, failing to start Saturday’s race after an engine issue.
The Erebus driver refused to comment when asked about his early-season dispute with his team which led to him sitting out the first two races of the championship.
But Kostecki hoped his Sunday podium could be the start of a form turn-around.
“We have had a bit of a rough start and it’s really hard in this game, it’s very much based on momentum and we haven’t had it too much lately,” Kostecki said.
“But to start on the front row today and get a podium was quite cool.
“I’m excited going into Townsville and hopefully they can get this engine problem sorted and we can have a good clean run there.”
While he failed to chase down his teammate, Brown continued his impressive run with his 11th podium from 12 races this season.
“Broc is very fast. I think that whole last stint of the race, we were probably both nearly doing qualifying laps,” Brown said.
“It’s cool, it makes you work harder and you can’t make a mistake out there. I was trying to get close enough to try and pressure him …. he is not going to make mistakes.
“I need to work a lot harder and Broc has done an amazing job this year in qualifying and I need to step up my qualifying and do a better job.”
The scene was set for a spicy start to the race after Triple Eight asked stewards to investigate Kostecki for “crowding” Brown during the top-10 shootout.
After his shootout lap, Kostecki engaged in some playful gamesmanship and closed in behind Brown on his cool-down lap and flashed his lights as he joked with the TV commentary team about his former teammate.
Both drivers laughed off the incident, but Triple Eight asked stewards whether Kostecki had “crowded” Brown before his shootout lap. The stewards cleared Kostecki of any wrong-doing.
“The rule says you can’t impede a driver attempting their shootout lap so we asked the question,” Triple Eight team boss Jamie Whincup said.
“There was nothing in it and both guys had a good laugh, Will was like ‘Do we have to go to the stewards?’.
“But it’s Dutto’s (Mark Dutton’s) job as team manager to police the rules and if you think someone has broken something, then he’s got a right to go and ask the question.”
There was drama at the start of the race when Andre Heimgartner’s car launched over wildcard Cooper Murray after they came together at turn five in a dramatic lap-one crash.
Heimgartner’s Brad Jones Racing Camaro was sent flying over the top of Murray’s car when they made contact in heavy traffic, forcing an immediate safety car.
The Kiwi’s car landed on top of the rookie’s Camaro before dislodging, leaving Murray’s car badly damaged and forcing him back to the pits for immediate repairs.
But the Triple Eight wildcard crew was able to swiftly patch up Murray’s car and get him back on track by lap seven, while Heimgartner’s car did not appear to sustain as much damage.
Stewards investigated the incident, but deemed no action needed to be taken.
Bizarre opening-lap crash sparks safety car at Darwin Triple Crown
A dramatic opening-lap crash sparked an early safety car in the finale of the Darwin Triple Crown after Andre Heimgartner’s car launched over the top of wildcard Cooper Murray.
In spectacular scenes, Heimgartner’s Brad Jones Racing Camaro was sent flying over the top of Murray’s Triple Eight wildcard as they entered turn five.
The pair came together in heavy traffic, with Heimgartner’s car landing on top of the rookie’s Camaro before dislodging.
Whoa!!!! That's a massive moment!
— Supercars (@supercars) June 16, 2024
Andre Heimgartner and Cooper Murray come together in spectacular fashion on Lap 1!
Follow all the action live here: https://t.co/F4sYFUebMn#RepcoSC#Supercarspic.twitter.com/DFXztNjhq3
Murray’s car was left badly damaged following the incident, forcing him back to the pits for immediate repairs.
The Triple Eight wildcard crew was able to swiftly repair Murray’s car and get him back on track by lap seven
Heimgartner’s car did not appear to sustain as much damage.
Stewards investigated the incident, but deemed no action needed to be taken.
Feeney eyeing back-to-back Darwin wins after taking pole
Broc Feeney is targeting back-to-back wins at the Darwin Triple Crown after claiming pole for the Hidden Valley finale as defending Supercars champion Brodie Kostecki rebounded from the engine woes which destroyed his Saturday race to book a spot on the front row.
Backing up from his Saturday victory, Feeney secured his third pole position of the year with a stunning 1:05.92 lap to edge out Kostecki in the top-10 shootout on Sunday.
The Triple Eight young gun set the time early in the shootout as the third driver out and no one else was able to beat it.
Feeney’s Red Bull teammate Will Brown, who was fastest in qualifying, will start third on the grid alongside Saturday’s pole sitter, PremiAir Racing’s James Golding.
Kostecki bounced back after he failed to make it on track for Saturday’s race when his car would not start on the grid and he will now fight from the front row alongside Feeney.
Hailing his Camaro “rocketship”, Feeney was confident of repeating his Saturday success in the final race.
“I’m pretty happy, eighth to first, I’ll certainly take that,” Feeney said.
“Much happier with my lap today. To be honest, I probably thought it was going to be pretty hard to beat, it was a pretty solid lap.
“But Brodie and Will did some great laps in there at the end. I’m just stoked. We struggled a bit in qualifying and reverted back to yesterday and the thing was a rocketship.
“It’s just about getting a good start today and just trying to lead early on. We’ve obviously got a really strong race car, we showed that yesterday.
“To be on pole is awesome and we’ve got a good race car, so we’ll put it to use.”
Jack Le Brocq, Cameron Hill, Will Davison, Tim Slade, Anton De Pasquale and Triple Eight wildcard Cooper Murray complete the top 10 for Sunday’s final 48-lap race.
Murray produced an outstanding qualifying performance to book a place in his first top-10 shootout in his main game debut.
Well down in the driver standings after missing the first two races of the season, Kostecki said he had nothing to lose in Sunday’s race.
“I’ve got a little bit to find for the race. It will be my first race today and we’ll just have to see how it goes,” Kostecki said.
“I haven’t worried about the points too much. If you run well and you win races the points and championship always takes care of itself.
“I’m sure we’ll go out there and I’ll race pretty hard and we’ll just have to see what happens.
“I’ve got two Bulls … I’m in a Bull sandwich, so we’ll see how that goes and I’ll just have to see how the car is in a race.
“Just being out there and being off the front row today is pretty exciting for me and hopefully we can do a good job of tuning the car up for the race. I see every little thing as an opportunity for me and if there’s a hole I’ll go for it and if not, I’ll make one.”
Feeney strengthens championship push with Darwin victory
Triple Eight young gun Broc Feeney has strengthened his championship push after claiming his fourth win of the year in the opening race of the Darwin Triple Crown at Hidden Valley.
Adding weight to his title credentials, Feeney closed the gap on his series-leading teammate Will Brown with his first victory since the Melbourne SuperSprint.
After narrowly missing out on pole, Feeney stole the lead from PremiAir Racing’s pole sitter James Golding early in the race and was not threatened thereafter.
Feeney took the race win ahead of Team 18 veteran Mark Winterbottom — who carried on his impressive form at the Darwin circuit after his drought-breaking win in the Top End last year — and Brown in a strong day for Triple Eight.
Golding, who earlier broke through for the first pole of his Supercars career with a scorching top-10 shootout lap, finished fourth to equal his career-best finish.
While he fell short of the podium, last-round winner Chaz Mostert produced one of the drives of the day, charging through the field to finish fifth after starting 22nd on the grid following a qualifying shocker.
Feeney trailed Brown by 136 points in the championship leading into the round in Darwin, but has now cut that margin to 115 points.
The 21-year-old said the result was a welcome return to the top after failing to make the podium at the last round in Perth.
“It was good hard racing with Jimmy there for the first few laps, but I knew I had some real good speed, so got the move done early and then this thing was a rocketship,” Feeney said.
“The last couple of rounds have been pretty tough so to bounce back here with a big win is pretty awesome.
“I was pretty pumped to get through so early (the lead) and just clean air, it’s really important.
“Obviously we have got a good car, but there are some things that I can do better and some things that we can make the car do better, so we’ll bounce back tomorrow.
“I said to the crew I want to win tomorrow so I can do burnouts for these fans. I haven’t done one for a while, so I’m pretty keen to let it rip.
“It feels like a relief, it hasn’t been too long, but the people around me know the last couple of rounds haven’t been to my expectations … just trying to get back to where we want to be and, man, I feel better than ever this weekend.”
The battle between Golding and Feeney was intense in the opening laps, but the Red Bull driver seized the opportunity to pass the pole sitter on lap four.
Feeney’s inside passing move at turn six attracted the attention of race stewards, who then investigated its legality before determining that no further action was required.
The podium was Winterbottom’s second of the season after his second place at Albert Park.
“I wish we had the whole championship here, it would be fantastic,” Winterbottom said.
“I’m really proud of everyone, that’s an awesome result.
“We had a few little issues, a sticking throttle and a brake, so I was like ‘Don’t get any worse, just hang in there’. Great pit stop, great strategy, we’ve been fast for two days, so I’m proud of everyone. Another trophy for the team is really cool.”
While Feeney relished a return to the top step, there was trouble for defending Supercars champion Brodie Kostecki.
The Erebus driver struck trouble on the starting grid before the race when his Camaro failed to fire up and had to be pushed back to pit lane.
The team went to work investigating the starter motor and battery issue in the garage, but Kostecki was unable to get out onto the track.
There was friendly fire between Ford drivers Cameron Waters and Anton De Pasquale with Waters hit with a five-second time penalty for a driving infringement for their mid-race clash.
Another Mustang pair Thomas Randle and James Courtney also tangled, but the incident was also cleared by the stewards.
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Originally published as Darwin Triple Crown: Red Bull go one-two as Broc Feeney records back to back wins
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