Supercars great Jamie Whincup on advice he gave Broc Feeney after last year’s Bathurst heartbreak

Supercars great Jamie Whincup knows about the highs and lows at Bathurst and has shared the advice he gave to Triple Eight young gun Broc Feeney on their plan for Mount Panorama redemption.

Supercars great Jamie Whincup has revealed the simple advice he offered his protege Broc Feeney after his Bathurst 1000 heartbreak last year as he plots redemption for the Triple Eight young gun at Mount Panorama.

Whincup, a four-time champion in the Great Race, said 21-year-old Feeney’s pain from 2023 had added “fuel to the fire” for the pair’s campaign at the iconic circuit this week.

Just weeks after the high of the biggest win of his young career alongside his co-driver and team boss Whincup in the Sandown 500 last year, Feeney was brought back to earth in devastating fashion in the prized race of the championship.

Feeney’s race hopes were crushed after he suffered a gear lever issue when he was running second in the race behind then teammate, and eventual winner Shane van Gisbergen, with less than 25 laps remaining.

The images of a shattered Feeney with his head in his hands and he sat inside his car in the Triple Eight garage underlined the cruel nature of motorsport.

Whincup admitted Feeney’s Bathurst anguish had played on his mind “certainly a little bit” since last year’s race at Mount Panorama, providing extra motivation for the 2024 campaign.

The seven-time Supercars champion offered some pragmatic advice to Feeney about how to move on from his Bathurst pain.

“It was heartbreaking,” Whincup said.

Jamie Whincup reacts after Broc Feeney pulled into the garage due to mechanical issues during last year’s Bathurst 1000. Picture: Getty Images

“So no doubt there is extra motivation to have a good result this year because of the heartache of what transpired in 2023.

“I have had experience of the highest of highs and the lowest of lows at Bathurst. Broc hadn’t, he hadn’t experienced that heartbreak and he certainly did last year.

“So I just reminded him that the world does go on after an issue at the biggest race of the year. We all wake up tomorrow and the sun will come up and we will move on.

“You learn the most in the hard times, no doubt. That’s a bit of a cliche comment, but it is true. You learn the most and hopefully we have learnt from last year and it adds fuel to the fire.”

Whincup had little doubt the Bathurst result had burned inside Feeney, who has the most race wins of any driver this year with five, this season.

“I think (it has burned) because you are not guaranteed another opportunity to be in race winning contention at the biggest race of the year,” Whincup said.

“You are absolutely not guaranteed that. So when you have that opportunity and it doesn’t transpire, it absolutely burns.

“So all we can do now is hunt for that opportunity to be in that position again and hopefully the tide goes the other way.”

Broc Feeney will be out for redemption in the Bathurst 1000 after his heartache at Mount Panorama last year. Picture: Getty Images

Triple Eight heads into the Bathurst 1000 this week with form on its side after the Camaro squad’s double podium at the Sandown 500 last month.

Will Brown and his co-driver Scott Pye took the Sandown endurance victory ahead of Feeney and Whincup, who won at Sandown last year.

But Whincup was well aware the last-round results did not “guarantee anything” once the team got to Mount Panorama.

“Obviously we take confidence in a good result at Sandown, but Bathurst is very much a different kettle of fish,” Whincup said.

“So we bank those results and reset basically and head to the biggest race of the year as prepared as we possibly can.

“Everybody is going up there, putting their best foot forward so it’s going to be a battle so we’ve got to make sure that we’re on our A-game. We are confident that we have got the resources in the toolbox, so to speak, to do a good job.

“It’s one thing taking a fast car there but it is another thing making sure that we maximise over the race weekend and obviously that is our focus.”

Broc Feeney and Jamie Whincup won the 2023 Sandown 500.

While a Bathurst crown this week, Whincup said he still considered the drivers’ championship to be the biggest prize for the year and remained the team’s primary mission.

Brown leads the driver standings, 189 points ahead of Ford rival Chaz Mostert with Feeney a further 33 points back in third place.

“We’re always thinking about the championship. For me, that is still the biggest prize of the year, the drivers’ championship,” Whincup said.

“Of course, it’s probably further in the back of your mind at Bathurst to what it is at any other rounds, but it is still in your mind and still something we are focused on.

“We want to be the most consistent over the year. It’s like a round of golf, not about how many birdies you make, it’s your score over the 18 holes.

“For us it’s our score over 12 events. Whoever scores the most points in the 12 events deserves to have the No. 1 on the car and the biggest trophy in the cabinet.”