Feeney fends off Kostecki in action-packed Albert Park thriller

Feeney had to withstand intense pressure from the winner of the opening two races throughout the contest, which was interrupted by two Safety Car periods.

That led to the race reaching its time certain cut-off after 15 of the 19 scheduled laps – a reduced distance that worked in Feeney’s favour considering Kostecki’s speed.

It was a top four sweep for Ford as Tickford Racing’s Cam Waters and Grove Racing’s Kai Allen followed the top two across the line, all within a second of the win.

“To be honest it’s been a pretty disappointing weekend from us. It’s been up and down,” said Feeney, who retook the championship lead from a luckless Matt Payne.

“To hold off for that one was tough; Brodie is doing a phenomenal job this weekend, him and his team. He was much quicker than me.

“Everyone has been letting him go this weekend, you’ve got to put up a fight. It was an awesome race, lots of fun.”

Kostecki paid tribute to Feeney’s drive following the contest.

“Broc drove a great race,” he said. “He was pretty wounded there and struggling a lot, but he put his car in the right spots and drove really well.

“I had to make some risky moves trying to get by him, and we had a little coming together at the back chicane there so I had to give that back to him. But credit to him, he drove awesome.”

Polesitter Feeney held the lead off the line by immediately moving to the inside to cover off a fast-starting Aaron Cameron.

The first in a series of early incidents occurred at Turn 1, where Cam Hill poked his nose down the inside and made contact with Zach Bates, who in turn tipped Jayden Ojeda into a spin.

There was a seperate incident moments later as James Golding squeezed Matt Payne into the concrete on driver’s right on the exit of Turn 2.

That wounded both Mustangs – erstwhile points leader Payne forced to park up at Turn 5, while a slowing Golding pitted at the end of the lap.

Feeney, Cameron and Kostecki began to check out at the front while Mostert harassed Brown for fourth, making a lunge at the high-speed Turn 9 on lap two.

Contact sent Brown across the grass, losing places to Mostert, Waters and Murray and subsequently heading down to Turn 11 side-by-side with Le Brocq.

That braking duel resulted in Le Brocq tagging the left-rear of Murray, spinning the Erebus Camaro into the gravel and triggering the first Safety Car period.

The race restarted on lap seven and so did the action as Kostecki nabbed second from Cameron with a clean move into Turn 11.

The Safety Car was out again a lap later after battle for 13th proved unlucky for Thomas Randle – tagged by Ryan Wood at Turn 5 and clouting the outside wall.

Wood, who had charged his way from last on the grid following a disastrous qualifying, was later handed a 30-second penalty.

The Randle incident required a second Safety Car and a lengthy clean-up, with the green flags flying again on lap 10 and with a time certain finish now inevitable.

All eyes were on Feeney and Kostecki on the restart as the Dick Johnson Racing driver put his Triple Eight rival under maximum pressure.

The next big move, though, came from Cam Waters, who took third from Cameron after some side-to-side contact through Turn 11 and 12.

Cameron was taken out of contention on the following lap as contact with Brown at Turn 4 spun both Mustangs. They both pitted and rejoined to finish 20th and 21st respectively.

Kostecki meanwhile continued to attack Feeney, tipping the Red Bull Ford off through the grass at Turn 9 on lap 12 with a minor touch on the left-rear corner.

Kostecki backed off to ensure he did not gain from the incident, which brought Waters and the rising Allen right into the fight.

Feeney hung on over the final two laps, defending hard into Turn 11 on both occasions and staving off the prospect of a Kostecki switch-back on the exit.

Allen pounced on Waters at Turn 11 on the penultimate lap but could not hold the place into Turn 12, falling narrowly short of a podium.

Walkinshaw TWG’s Chaz Mostert and Team 18’s Anton De Pasquale flew the flag for Toyota and Chevrolet in fifth and sixth respectively.

Rounding out the top 10 at the flag were David Reynolds, Hill, Andre Heimgartner and Wood, who was dumped to 18th in the result due to his penalty.

The Melbourne SuperSprint concludes with a 14-lap sprint on Sunday morning ahead of the afternoon’s Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix.

Result: Repco Supercars Championship Melbourne SuperSprint, Race 3