Supercars news: Hat snub sparks Supercars sponsor tension

Broc Feeney wearing a Red Bull Ampol Racing hat while accepting the pole award in Bathurst. Image: Supercars

The telco, led by the outspoken motorsport personality Peter Adderton, has taken over the naming rights of the pole award this season from Armor All.

As part of the deal the prize money for pole position has been beefed up, the total pool now $100,000, while the two pole winners for the Bathurst 500 pocketed $5000 each.

Those pole winners were Triple Eight drivers Will Brown (Saturday) and Broc Feeney (Sunday).

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There was a key difference between the post-session media commitments day-to-day, though, with Brown wearing a Boost Mobile hat on Saturday, while Feeney wore a Red Bull Ampol Racing team hat on Sunday.

Speedcafe understands that Triple Eight, which is backed by rival telco Vodafone, flagged concerns over the Boost hat before Sunday’s session.

Those concerns were apparently based around it being a plain Boost Mobile hat with no specific branding regarding its relevance to the pole award.

That was seemingly accepted by Supercars – however went down poorly with Boost.

“We have looked at the history of Armor All and while in some cases drivers and teams had personal sponsors that conflicted, they understood the segment cap is worn as it’s part of the sponsorship package,” Boost Mobile GM Jason Haynes told Speedcafe in a statement.

“We have elevated the dollars for the drivers so to have Broc Feeney, who we actually supported and provided opportunities to get him into the main game, to not wear the sponsor cap [for] the Boost Mobile pole award is a joke.

“It’s really up to Supercars to sort it out with the teams as we are the sponsor of the pole awards.”

Will Brown wore a Boost hat after taking pole on Saturday. Image: Supercars

Triple Eight was oddly protected by the Supercars operations manual, which still references Armor All and not Boost Mobile when it comes to the requirements of accepting the pole award.

Rule E8.5.2.2 reads: ‘Drivers are required to wear caps supplied by ARMOR ALL during the official
Pole Award presentation at the conclusion of qualifying or the shootout’.

Incorrect promotional material during TV segments has been an issue in the past.

Back in 2019, Scott McLaughlin was fined $10,000 for taking a poster that read ‘Mustang wins title’ on the podium at Queensland Raceway after Ford sealed the manufacturers’ crown.

Supercars then clamped down on branded material – such as energy drink cans – being held by drivers during TV interviews in 2021, limiting what is allowed to “official champagne or unbranded bottled water”.