Feeney grabs points lead with victory

Broc Feeney continued his winning ways in a shortened third Supercars race at Albert Park on Saturday evening.

The Triple Eight Ford Mustang driver qualified on pole for the second time this season – Feeney’s seventh at the lakeside circuit – and converted it into the lead from Blanchard Racing Team’s Aaron Cameron.

Feeney held onto the lead and, even when a safety car was summoned twice, stayed cool, and went on to his third race win of the season – despite a trip across the grass late on.

Cameron held second early, before Brodie Kostecki came through in the Dick Johnson Racing Mustang. Contact from Kostecki sent Feeney across a grass verge but sportingly he backed out of it and re-attacked over the final laps – but Feeney hung on by 0.1447s.

“It’s been up and down and inconsistent,” said Feeney. “Brodie was much quicker than me, but you got to put up a fight. Inside the car it was a lot of fun. He was so fast in that middle sector, and he has been passing everyone at [Turn] 11. Great racing him, obviously he hit me at some point, but he let me back through.”

Kostecki looked to have a quicker car but Feeney had track position and didn’t blink.

“What an awesome race,” he said. “It would have been great to come away with another win. Broc drove really well, he just put his car in the right spots. I had to give that back to him, credit to him.”

Cameron looked set for a top four placing until he clashed with Triple Eight’s Will Brown, dropping them both to the back of the field. That left a great battle for third between Cam Waters (Tickford) and Kai Allen (Grove Racing), the pair swapping places.

Chaz Mostert took fifth for Walkinshaw TWG in his Toyota Supra, ahead of the Team 18 Chevrolets of Anton De Pasquale and David Reynolds, who came through the field from 20th on the grid.

It was a bad day for Matt Payne. He carried the points lead into the race but was out on the opening lap, his Grove Racing Ford suffering three flat tyres after contact with James Golding and a wall, and he retired on the spot.

One of the most notable drives in the race came from Ryan Wood. His Walkinshaw TWG Toyota GR Supra stuck in first gear during the morning qualifying session and when it freed up, he came across half the field dawdling on the racing line. That left him without a representative time, and 24th on the grid.

After passing seven cars in the first corner, he sprinted through the field before making contact with the Tickford Mustang of Thomas Randle, prompting the second safety car. Wood carried on, before he was dealt a 30-second penalty, dropping him to the rear of the field.

The win lifts Feeney to the points lead from Kostecki, and Payne’s retirement drops him fourth, before the fourth and final race of the weekend takes to the track on Sunday morning.

Supercars Melbourne – Race 3 results

1	B. Feeney Triple Eight Race Engineering		Ford Mustang S650	15
2	B. Kostecki Dick Johnson Racing		Ford Mustang S650	15		0.145
3	C. Waters Tickford Racing		Ford Mustang S650	15		0.346
4	K. Allen Grove Racing		Ford Mustang S650	15		0.473
5	C. Mostert Walkinshaw TWG Racing		Toyota GR Supra	15		1.207
6	A. De Pasquale Team 18		Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6	15		3.374
7	D. Reynolds Team 18		Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6	15		3.213
8	C. Hill Brad Jones Racing		Toyota GR Supra	15		0.245
9	A. Heimgartner Brad Jones Racing		Toyota GR Supra	15		0.138
10	R. Wood Walkinshaw TWG Racing		Toyota GR Supra	15		0.644
11	J. Le Brocq Matt Stone Racing		Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6	15		0.242
12	M. Jones Brad Jones Racing		Toyota GR Supra	15		0.622
13	J. Walls Triple Eight Race Engineering		Ford Mustang S650	15		0.381
14	J. Ojeda PremiAir Racing		Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6	15		1.031
15	Z. Bates Matt Stone Racing		Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6	15		2.807
16	D. Fraser PremiAir Racing		Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6	15		0.184
17	J. Stewart Erebus Motorsport Penrite		Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6	15		0.528
18	R. Gray Dick Johnson Racing		Ford Mustang S650	15		1.758
19	J. Golding Blanchard Racing Team		Ford Mustang S650	14
20	A. Cameron Blanchard Racing Team		Ford Mustang S650	14
21	W. Brown Triple Eight Race Engineering		Ford Mustang S650	13
22	C. Murray Erebus Motorsport Penrite		Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6	12
	T. Randle Tickford Racing		Ford Mustang S650	6			Retirement
	M. Payne Grove Racing		Ford Mustang S650	0			Retirement

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