Supercars
Lessons learned in his second season has Broc ready for more in 2024!
V8 Supercars upstart Broc Feeney talks about wrapping up his last two races, his second season in the Supercars, and the big change up to his teammates for 2024.
G’day, guys.
It’s very scary to think my second season in Supercars is done! But it’s been a fantastic year, and we got to end it on a bit of a high.
The last two races were interesting. I’d come off Bathurst, the biggest race of the year, where I was fighting for the win, and then we got to Gold Coast and for the first race I qualified 21st.
Unfortunately kerb strikes were my arch nemesis — along with a lot of people. We were looking well and truly in the top 10 on Saturday before the kerb strike, and then on Sunday I got a yellow flag and ended up 13th.
Unfortunately we just didn't roll out super strong. There were certainly glimpses of speed, but we weren't going to be fighting for the win. We didn't have that pace.
I just have to learn from that — learn from the mistakes that we made and learn what we could have done better — because I walked away pretty disappointed with myself for having such an average weekend.
Broc Feeney races during stop 12 of the Supercars Championship
© Red Bull Content Pool
So it wasn’t the home race I wanted, but then arriving it Adelaide for the last race felt like homing home. I really like that place. I took my first win there last year, and that just gave me confidence. I rolled up this year trying to go back to back.
Unfortunately in the only dry practice session before qualifying my motor had a problem, and we qualified 11th. I was just like, ‘When is something going to go my way?’. But from there it turned into a great weekend. The car speed was just awesome in the races.
We had a big chance to win on Sunday, but then the battle with Chaz (Mostert) put me behind. The Grove cars and Matt (Payne) were super quick, and they did a great job. It was like deja vu watching him win — he did the doughnuts in the exact same spot as me 12 months ago, it was crazy!
When I took my helmet off in Adelaide, I was pretty happy with my second season, and I feel like we ended on a bit of a high.
Broc Feeney performs during stop 12 of the Supercars Championship
© Red Bull Content Pool
But I’m also a little disappointed because we were in championship contention and we fell out of it. I’ve just got to use this as a learning experience and as fuel to make sure that that doesn't happen again and that we can go all the way to the end next year.
That's my goal — 100 per cent that's my goal. That's the mentality I have and that's the position that I want to be in. I’ll be disappointed if I get to the end of the next year and I fall short.
I’ve talked a lot about improving consistency, and that felt like my biggest jump this year, but that’s still the main focus. I got to the middle of the season and was only 20 points off the lead, but I’d been disqualified from the first race, I'd had some P20s and I'd had some wins. It was a roller-coaster, and that’s when Brodie (Kostecki) really went on his consistent run, getting on the podium for a lot of races in a row. That's where he won the championship.
The big one is qualifying — like in Perth I qualified 10th, 20th and first and then won the race by six seconds. if we can qualify up the front in most of the races, we can certainly race from there.
But I’m sitting here two years into my Supercars career and talking about fighting for the championship. It’s been a pretty good year. I’m feeling more established as a driver. I certainly feel comfortable being in the industry now.
Broc Feeney pits during stop 12 of the Supercars Championship
© Red Bull Content Pool
It was a bit of a weird one towards the end of the year realising that our time with Shane (van Gisbergen) was coming to an end. He's been my only teammate in Supercars. I don’t know if he knows it, but he’s been very, very good to me.
it’s just been amazing to be in the same garage as him and learning off him. He's been awesome, like a big brother figure, and I felt like at the back end of this year we’ve got closer and become good mates.
To see him win that (NASCAR Cup) race in Chicago and then come back and see how excited he was, I’m pretty pumped for him to get the opportunity to go over there. I’m stoked that he's going but sad that I’m losing a teammate.
But then getting Will (Brown) on board is exciting, and I think he's going to be fantastic for the team. I grew up around him in go karting — he was always a couple of classes above me — and he's just such a good dude.
He's obviously extremely talented in the car and always quick out the box. I’m looking forward to seeing what he brings to the table — new ideas and all that stuff — because I’ve been moulded into a Triple Eight driver, and now we've got someone coming from the outside. I’m sure we're going to have a lot of fun together.
Broc Feeney is seen during stop 11 of the Supercars Championship
© Red Bull Content Pool
So 2023 is done. It’s been a lot of fun for me, my team and my family, who come along for the journey with me.
I just want to thank everyone for their support this year. We’ve certainly had some ups and downs, but it’s been a lot of fun. It’s been great to stand on podiums and bring home some trophies.
I cannot wait for 2024, when we try and step it up a little bit more — that actually rhymes, that was pretty good! I can't wait to see everyone next year. I hope everyone has a fantastic Christmas. Stay safe, and I’ll see you in 2024.
Cheers,
Broc
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