Feeney runs away with victory in Darwin Supercars opener

Feeney won by 8.6763s after 48 laps around Hidden Valley Raceway, from Team 18’s Mark Winterbottom and championship leader Will Brown in the other Triple Eight Race Engineering Camaro.

PremiAir Racing’s Golding ended up fourth, with Walkinshaw Andretti United’s Chaz Mostert first of the Ford drivers after hauling his way from 22nd on the grid to fifth at the chequered flag in the #25 Mobil 1 Optus Mustang.

Feeney has snipped Brown’s drivers’ championship lead to 115 points, with Triple Eight increasing its margin atop the teams’ standings to 717 over WAU.

The drama began before the lights went out when Brodie Kostecki’s #1 Erebus Motorsport Camaro would not start under its own power for the formation lap, and he had to revert to pit lane rather than take the start from 11th position.

On the front row, Golding (#31 Nulon Camaro) and Feeney (#88 Camaro) made an even start and were still sorting themselves out as they arrived at the Turn 3/Turn 4 flip-flop.

Feeney got loose over the kerbing and Golding finally made the lead his own, with Winterbottom (#18 DeWalt Camaro) behind them in third, from Nick Percat (#10 Bendix Camaro), Anton De Pasquale (#11 Shell V-Power Mustang), Brown (#87 Red Bull Ampol Camaro), Cam Waters (#6 Monster Energy Mustang), David Reynolds (#20 Tradie Beer Camaro), Andre Heimgartner (#8 R&J Batteries Camaro), and Tim Slade (#23 Nulon Camaro).

There was a change for the lead when Feeney went down Golding’s inside at the Turn 6 Hairpin on Lap 4, making contact which moved #31 wide enough such that Winterbottom could grab second place.

The incident was investigated but a call of No Further Action soon came.

Brown put a cleaner move on De Pasquale at the same corner on Lap 5, as Feeney stretched his lead to a full second on Lap 10.

De Pasquale ran off at Turn 1 on Lap 11 and rejoined in 11th position, between Penrite Racing team-mates Richie Stanaway (#26 Mustang) and Matt Payne (#19 Mustang).

Mostert was next in the queue once he passed Thomas Randle (#55 Castrol Mustang) on Lap 14 at Turn 5.

Stanaway was first of the top 10 to pit, on Lap 17, and Payne also pitted from 10th next time around, with both taking working side tyres.

Feeney was three seconds up on Winterbottom and 4.5s up on Golding when the latter pitted on Lap 22 and was followed into the lane by Percat from fourth, as well as De Pasquale.

The former two took rears and the latter received four fresh tyres.

Winterbottom and Brown were in for rears on Lap 23, and Mostert for four tyres, with Brown able to exit the lane ahead of Golding in an effective change of position.

Reynolds stopped on Lap 24 and was likewise able to rejoin ahead of Percat, who put #20 under pressure over the next few laps.

Brown and Waters finally pitted on Lap 29, for rears and all four corners respectively, and the cycle was complete.

Brown led Winterbottom by 1.6s once up to speed, with Brown third from Golding, Reynolds, Percat, Heimgartner, Slade, Stanaway, Payne in 10th, De Pasquale, Mostert, and Waters.

Mostert and De Pasquale tangled exiting the Hairpin on Lap 30 but the WAU pilot completed the pass for 11th.

Half a lap later at Turn 14, Waters made contact with De Pasquale which moved the #11 Mustang wide and he went by.

Mostert was into the top 10 with a move on Payne on Lap 31, then picked off Stanaway on Lap 33 and Slade on Lap 37.

Waters was making similar progress although his cause was not helped when Race Control announced a five-second penalty for the contact with De Pasquale, which the Tickford pilot did not agree with based on his radio transmission back to the bunker.

Mostert lunged past Heimgartner at Turn 1 on Lap 39 and took sixth when Percat chose not to fight him at the Hairpin on Lap 40.

Meanwhile, at the front, Feeney was disappearing to a five-second margin as Brown started to close in on second-placed Winterbottom.

Mostert outbraked Reynolds for fifth at Turn 1 on Lap 44 and Waters soon also made his way by the #20 Camaro.

Feeney took a 7.8s lead into the finally lap, by which time the threat of Brown to Winterbottom had diminished.

The battle for fourth, on the other hand, was still not resolved but Golding hung on as he finished less than half a second ahead of Mostert.

Waters was sixth to the finish line but the penalty demoted Car #6 to 10th, with Reynolds first of the beneficiaries.

Percat was classified seventh, from Heimgartner and De Pasquale.

Will Davison (#17 Shell V-Power Mustang) finished 11th and Slade ended up 12th after a late off at Turn 1, to which De Pasquale may have contributed.

Other notables were Stanaway in 14th, Payne in 15th, and Supercheap Auto wildcard Cooper Murray in 22nd.

The Triple Eight tyro set the fastest lap of the race in the #888 Camaro although the bonus points are only awarded if finishing in the top 15.

Kostecki was the only DNF after not reappearing from the Erebus garage.

With Feeney winning after Golding topped the Friday afternoon qualifying session, the Triple Crown will go unclaimed for another year.

The next session for the Repco Supercars Championship field is Qualifying for Race 12, tomorrow from 10:25 local time/10:55 AEST.

Results: Race 11, Betr Darwin Triple Crown Updated

Fastest lap (no bonus): Cooper Murray, 1:08.0992s, Lap 31

Drivers’ championship Updated

Teams’ championship Updated