Broc Feeney feels winning the 2023 Supercars title is now a “far-fetched” notion following a costly weekend at the Bathurst 1000.
The second-year driver went into the Great Race still in genuine contention for the drivers’ title after a season-long battle with Triple Eight team-mate Shane van Gisbergen, and Erebus pair Brodie Kostecki and Will Brown.
However Feeney’s hopes of sealing the drivers’ crown took a huge hit when a failed gear shift tower took him and Jamie Whincup out of contention for the Bathurst 1000 in the closing stages when they were running second.
He would go on to be classified 23rd while van Gisbergen finished first in a 300-point race and Kostecki second.
That has Feeney 408 points behind leader Kostecki with just 600 left up for grabs on the Gold Coast and in Adelaide, and he admits the title is all but out of reach.
“There’s a chance, no doubt about that,” he said in the lead-up to his home event in Surfers Paradise.
“It’s probably a bit far-fetched at the moment. But we’ll just got out and keep doing what we’re doing. I mean, if you try and win races, that puts you in the best spot and it gets you the most points.”
While the drivers’ title has become a tough assignment for Feeney, Triple Eight is still well and truly in the hunt to defend the teams’ title.
T8 is currently 180 points behind Erebus in what has been a tense, and at times explosive, arm wrestle between the two GM squads all season.
According to Feeney, helping T8 overcome Erebus in the next two rounds is a motivating factor.
“Obviously the teams’ championship is a big part of what we go racing for, and we’re just behind in that at the moment, so there’s a big push from both myself and Shane to clinch that,” he said.
“It was pretty cool last year, in my rookie season, to get the teams’ championship. And the biggest goal is to try and back it up.
“There’s been a big competition [with Erebus] this year and we’re behind, we’ve been behind all year. We want to be at the front of pit lane next year, that’s our biggest goal as a team.”
Winning the teams’ championship has traditionally yielded the pit exit garage for the entirety of the following season, however that is set to change next year when Supercars introduces its new ‘live’ pit lane.
The title-winning team will only be guaranteed the first garage for the opening round, with the teams then ordered in current teams’ championship points from then on.
