Triple Eight confirms Whincup as Feeney co-driver

Red Bull Ampol Racing has confirmed Jamie Whincup as Broc Feeney’s co-driver for this year’s Supercars enduros.

In a widely expected move, Team Principal Whincup will continue to steer the #88 Triple Eight Race Engineering entry which was once his own in the long-distance races of 2023.

They finished fifth in last year’s Repco Bathurst 1000 despite the four-time Great Race winner having two major scares in the opening five laps, which was one of Feeney’s better results in the Supercars Championship at the time.

The 20-year-old went on to close out his rookie season with a win in Adelaide and racked up his second of the current campaign last time out at Wanneroo Raceway in the #88 Chevrolet Camaro.

“It’s great to have Jamie back as my co-driver for a second season,” said Feeney.

“It still doesn’t feel real that I’m in this environment at Triple Eight with him, and to be able to co-drive together for another year is awesome.

“He was fantastic last year, and I learnt so much from him. I feel like we’re building a better relationship all the time, and I feel like we can have a really positive enduro campaign this year.”

The enduro campaign is back to two races this year, with the Sandown 500 restored in its traditional position as the Bathurst 1000 curtain-raiser.

“Being two events this year makes it even more crucial to have a good co-driver, and I couldn’t have a better person by my side,” added Feeney.

“Having only Bathurst as a one-off last year was still great, but now I feel like for two solid months we’re going to be working super closely together to get the best results possible.

“I think it’s great for the co-drivers as well to have two events which means they’ll get more time in these new cars.

“It’s going to be key to have someone who’s still fresh out of the seat and still driving a lot, obviously racing in GTs [GT World Challenge] this year.

“He’s had a lot of success at both tracks, so I’m really looking forward to our campaign this year.

“Jamie has been super open to me for the past 16 months while I’ve been driver of the #88.

“He’s really been opening up to me and sharing his racing IP and gave me access to a lot of his work which has been invaluable.

“The way he goes about his racing has really stood out, and I think it stands out to a lot of people and is certainly a reason for his success.

“For me, to be the lucky guy to be on the receiving end of that information is awesome.”

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The #88 announcement means all three of Triple Eight’s enduro pairings are confirmed.

In Shane van Gisbergen’s #97 Red Bull Ampol Racing entry which has won the Bathurst 1000 for two of the last three years, Richie Stanaway replaces Garth Tander as co-driver.

The Supercheap Auto-backed wildcard also has 50 percent carryover in the driver line-up, with Craig Lowndes joined this time by Zane Goddard in the #888 Chevrolet Camaro.

The Sandown 500 takes place from September 15-17 and the Bathurst 1000 from October 5-8.