Supercars
‘It’s a good time of the year to start putting some results together’
Broc Feeney on Darwin, Townsville, and his hectic racing schedule
Hey, guys.
We’re getting to the halfway mark of the season and I’m up to third in the championship — or so I’ve read.
I don't think about championship position too much. It’s pretty simple: you beat the other guys and you move up. I tend not to even look at the points, otherwise all you do is worry about it the next day.
Of course I know the gap now because I’ve seen it everywhere! But I’m not focusing on whether I gain or lose five points here or there.
Broc Feeney (Red Bull Ampol Racing) wins race 2 during stop 5
© Mark Horsburgh
The real takeaway from Darwin is that we finally had the weekend we’ve been looking for.
To come away with my first ever round win is pretty awesome, and it’s a good time of the year to start putting some results together.
We’ve been getting some race wins over the last couple of rounds but we've been sixth or seventh for the round, and although it's always great to walk away with the win, we’ve been giving away championship points.
To have a really solid weekend is certainly what we’ve been wanting to do. I think we've had the pace to do it, just not the consistency, so it really good to put three results together.
Broc Feeney (Red Bull Ampol Racing) performs during stop 5
© Mark Horsburgh
I’ve been feeling a little bit better with the car. I’m feeling a bit more predictability. I suppose I'm just getting comfortable with it now, and that’s obviously good.
I’m stoked to close the gap to Brodie (Kostecki) and Will (Brown) too, but it comes down to us having had a solid weekend. They've been doing so well lately and they've been really consistent. They just had a rough weekend. We all have them.
It's going to be a battle to the end, I’ve got no doubt about it. Those guys are still quick.
Right now I’m preparing to head to Townsville, and I’ve just figured out I’ve got six races in the next seven weeks.
I’ll fly home Sunday night after Townsville and repack, and then first thing Tuesday morning I go to Japan. That weekend I race at Suzuka and the following weekend I race in Motegi — which is where MotoGP races, so I’m pretty keen for that! — in the GT World Challenge Asia championship.
Afterwards I’ll fly pretty much straight back to Sydney for the Supercars. Then I’ll finally have a weekend off — well, I've got some sponsor stuff happening — but then the following weekend I’ve got the GT World Challenge Australia round at Queensland Raceway, and then the weekend after is the Supercars at Tailem Bend.
It’s going to be busy!
Broc Feeney (Red Bull Ampol Racing) prepares to race during stop 5
© Mark Horsburgh
Why do I do it? Racing drivers don’t get to practice much. In the Supercars we get three testing days a year, and the only other time you get to drive the car is on race weekends — and we race just 12 times this season. That’s not much if that's all you’re focused on.
The only way to improve is the drive. Luckily for me, Triple Eight operates in GT championships in Australia and Asia, and they’ve given me the opportunity to do that.
Even just having that feeling of going out for a qualifying session or sitting on the racing grid — you can't train for that, you can’t prepare for that. Just going through the process more often helps.
And it’s at a very high level — an extremely high level. The GT guys we race against are the best in the world. Luca Stolz, who’s also in our team, has won the Bathurst 12 Hour the last couple of years in a row. He races 27 events a year in the exact same car. When I rock back up in Suzuka two months after last driving the GT car, he’ll have done probably 15 events in that time!
It’s cool. I enjoy racing these cars and I enjoy learning off other drivers. And the whole process helps lift me in the Supercars.
But the schedule is going to be tricky. Not only will I be racing in Suzuka, I’ll be debriefing for Townsville, and then I'll be racing in Motegi and pre-briefing for Sydney. It's going to be a balance, but I think it should be all right — or I hope it'll be all right!
Anyway, I’m not thinking about anything else other than Townsville at the moment. For now all my focus is there.
1st place Broc Feeney (Red Bull Ampol Racing) celebrates during stop 5
© Mark Horsburgh
I’m keen to see what these new cars are like over the kerbs and the train tracks and stuff. I'm enjoying driving the car at the moment and Townsville is one of my favourite tracks. Long fuel races, a test of the body — it's going to be good. I can’t wait.
I’ll see you there!
Cheers,
Broc