Feeney cruises to Race 9 victory at Perth SuperSprint

Triple Eight Race Engineering’s Broc Feeney has scored an all-the-way win in Race 9 of the Repco Supercars Championship at the Bosch Power Tools Perth SuperSprint.

Having qualified on pole position and been last to pit, Feeney literally led all 42 laps around Wanneroo Raceway in the #88 Red Bull Camaro, and prevailed by 6.8806s in the end.

In the battle for the final podium positions, Will Brown’s early pass on Erebus Motorsport team-mate Brodie Kostecki proved decisive, with the Coca-Cola Camaros finishing second and third.

David Reynolds (#26 Penrite Mustang) was first of the Ford contingent home in fourth, ahead of Chaz Mostert (#25 Mobil 1 Optus Mustang), Cameron Waters (#6 Monster Energy Mustang), Will Davison (#17 Shell V-Power Mustang), Tim Slade (#23 Nulon Camaro), James Courtney (#5 Snowy Rivers Caravans Mustang), and Scott Pye (#20 Toyota Forklifts Camaro).

James Golding (#31 Nulon Camaro) finished 11th and Shane van Gisbergen (#97 Red Bull Ampol Camaro) climbed from 21st on the starting grid to 12th after Triple Eight rolled the dice on a rare four-tyre pit stop.

In the drivers’ championship, Kostecki is now exactly 100 points up on Mostert at the top of the table, while Erebus has pulled further clear in the teams’ title race.

It was a near enough to equal start on the front row, with Kostecki (#99 Camaro) glancing the left-rear corner of Feeney’s #88 Camaro when he got back into file at Turn 1, ahead of Erebus team-mate Brown (#9 Camaro).

Reynolds slotted into fourth, from Slade, Davison, Thomas Randle (#55 Castrol Mustang), Mostert, Waters, and Nick Percat (#2 Mobil 1 NTI Mustang).

Van Gisbergen had only qualified 21st and lost two positions in the opening moments, but was up to 20th when Jack Le Brocq (#34 Truck Assist Camaro) turned Declan Fraser (#56 Tradie Mustang) around at Turn 7 at the end of the opening lap.

Brown went down the inside of Kostecki at the same corner on Lap 3, at which time Feeney was 0.9s up the road.

Aside from Randle steadily slipping down the order due to a reported gear shift mechanism failure, the front-runners remained as you were until the compulsory pit stops began.

Slade was in on Lap 11 and that became an undercut when Kostecki rejoined behind the #23 Camaro having stopped on Lap 20, along with Davison.

Brown had drifted to 2.7s behind Feeney when he pitted on Lap 24, also emerging behind Slade but still ahead of Kostecki.

Van Gisbergen was called in a lap later again and Triple Eight Race Engineering rolled the dice on a four-tyre stop, whereas the vast majority during the weekend had been working side only.

Feeney pressed on until the end of Lap 29, when he was into the lane for working side tyres and the cycle was complete.

By then, Brown, Kostecki, and Reynolds had all got past Slade, but the former was still 2.7s away from the lead having had a slightly longer stop than Feeney.

Davison sat sixth, from Mostert, Waters, Courtney, and Cameron Hill (#35 Truck Assist Camaro), while van Gisbergen was running 16th.

Mostert got by Davison on Lap 33 at Turn 7 and Slade for fifth on lap 35 at Turn 6, by which time Feeney had stretched his margin over Brown beyond three seconds.

Davison was next to go by Slade, at the start of Lap 37, and Waters followed before then also overtaking the #17 Mustang for sixth at Turn 7.

Feeney was four seconds up on the field on Lap 38 and continued to pull away, before wrapping up a second victory in as many events.

The next event is the Ned Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint at Symmons Plains on May 19-21.

Results: Race 9, Bosch Power Tools Perth SuperSprint

Fastest lap (bonus): Broc Feeney, 0:55.5392, Lap 32

Drivers’ championship

Teams’ championship