That’s thanks to a pact between the two Triple Eight drivers that whoever won the start would be free to go on and win the race.
That was revealed by Will Brown in the post-race press conference after he finished second to teammate Broc Feeney in the Thursday evening sprint race.
It had looked to be a tense race between the two at times, particularly in the closing stages when Brown closed up on the leader.
However it was effectively already determined that Feeney wouldn’t come under direct fire.
“I was just trying to get the start and I didn’t get that, so from there I was going to finish second,” said Brown, who then went on to describe the pre-race deal.
“I guess it’s one of those things, in our team we always make sure that there is always some sort of team orders.
“At the end of the day, our plan is to try and finish one-two for the team. The team doesn’t care who finishes one-two, if it’s me if I got the start, if it’s Broc… it’s making sure we manage the race.”
Brown went on to explain that he didn’t feel he had the genuine speed to pass Feeney anyway.
“At the end of day, if he wasn’t my teammate I think Broc would have got going,” he said.
“I don’t think I was the faster car than him and could have passed him. He was extremely fast out there.
“Broc was the fastest car out there as he showed in both qualifying sessions and I think he could have pulled away if he wanted to.”
