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A new-look Triple Eight Race Engineering burst out of the blocks at the Bathurst 500 and has continued to dominate, now boasting six of the eight race wins so far in the 2024 Repco Supercars Championship and a one-two in the drivers’ standings.
However, three different Ford outfits – Tickford Racing, Grove Racing, and Walkinshaw Andretti United – have collectively bagged the last five pole positions, and seven out of the last 10 front row berths.
A combination of weather, on-track incidents, and the nature of the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit in particular – not to mention race pace – have given Chevrolet squad Triple Eight the opportunity to fight back when championship points go on the line.
However, history says that is a more difficult proposition at this weekend’s Bosch Power Tools Perth SuperSprint given 67 of 95 Australian Touring Car Championship races at Wanneroo Raceway have been won from the front row.
“Qualifying is going to be super-tight,” said Feeney.
“I think we saw that at Taupo, but we’re also going to see in the next couple of rounds, a tenth of a second’s probably seven, eight spots.
“So, a good qualifying lap really sets you up. Fortunately, I got on pole [at Wanneroo in 2023] and was able to win.
“So, I think if we’re able to qualify on the front row again, we can have great success.”
One only need look back to the most recent day of Supercars action at Wanneroo to see proof of Feeney’s point, given he and then-Erebus Motorsport driver Brown each won a race from pole position in virtual lights-to-flag fashion.
However, qualifying is an even trickier tightrope in Perth, where pole position in each of last year’s sessions was a low-54 seconds around the 2.42km lap.
The pace could be even higher this time around, given teams have a year more of Gen3 experience under their belts, slightly more downforce than in 2023, and a lower minimum pressure for what will be soft compound tyres.
“I think with the short track, it’s about not making a mistake in qualifying,” said Brown, who won the previous race of the season and leads the championship by 71 points.
“You want to qualify up the front to race up the front but, being a short lap, if you make a mistake, you can drop back further in the field quite easily.
“So, just need to work on our qualifying, work on our car pace, and make sure we don’t make any mistakes.”
The three-part knockout qualifying is in play for the first time this year, on both Saturday and Sunday, while the opening, hour-long practice session takes place on Friday from 14:20 local time/16:20 AEST.
