Feeney looked destined to finish second to team-mate Will Brown in what would have been a reversal of their Race 3 results until he ran well wide at Turn 13 on what would be the penultimate lap.

Both Mark Winterbottom and Matt Payne got through, leaving the #88 Camaro to take the chequered flag in fourth position just over 5.278km later.

“I got a good start today, which I was really happy with,” said Feeney, who was bested when the lights went out in Race 3.

“Will got Cam [Waters] and I tried to get through, but sort of settled in for a bit before I got him a bit later.

“I tried to look after my tyres for a bit throughout the race but then I realised I needed to pounce on Cam, which I did but then I dropped behind Frosty [Mark Winterbottom].

“There were a few laps there where I had to use a bit more of my tyres than I would’ve liked, but then I settled in for the long run.

“I was following Will around trying to save our tyres like he was, and as it got to the end of the race, I went to go for the fastest lap but a few corners before I started my lap, my foot fell off the brake pedal and I made an error.

“I’m spewing for the team because it would have been another solid result, but you’ll take the little loss here and reset for tomorrow.”

With five points for the fastest lap in each of this weekend’s four races, there was a chance that Feeney could have maintained the championship lead, which stood at two points at the start of the day, in the case that he did finish second.

Instead, Brown leads by 18 after earning 75 points for the race win and the fastest lap bonus, while Feeney accumulated another 60 instead of the 69 he would have banked if not for the mistake.

That error follows a similar one in Race 3 for Payne, although the Kiwi only lost third on the road and was still classified on the podium given a time penalty hanging over the head of Nick Percat.

The next two qualifying sessions at the MSS Security Melbourne SuperSprint take place tomorrow morning from 09:00 local time/AEDT.