Broc Feeney has bounced back in Darwin, claiming his fourth race victory of the season to stay in the hunt for a Supercars title.
Starting second on the grid, the Triple Eight young gun got the better of first-time pole-sitter James Golding early on at Hidden Valley Raceway on Saturday as he went on to win.
Feeney began the season with three race wins and six podium finishes before his grip on a maiden series crown began to loosen after poor results in New Zealand and Perth.
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The 21-year-old sits second on the series ladder, 115 points behind teammate Will Brown (1210 points).
“Man, I feel better than ever this weekend. It feels like a relief,” Feeney said.
“It hasn’t been too long but the people around me know that the last couple of rounds certainly haven’t been to my expectations.
“I said to the crew, ‘I want to win tomorrow so I can do burnouts for these fans’.
“I haven’t done one for a while so I’m pretty keen to let it rip.”
PremiAir Nulon Racing’s Golding, chasing a maiden race win, dropped to third after Feeney forced him onto the outside in lap six of the 48-lap race.
Veteran campaigner Mark Winterbottom made the most of Feeney’s manoeuvre, passing Golding and claiming second place.
In the end, Golding finished fourth.
Feeney was investigated for making contact on Golding but escaped a penalty, much to the latter’s disappointment.
“I had a fair bit of speed on James at the start for the first few laps and he blocked a few laps into turn six,” Feeney said.
“As soon as he didn’t, I knew I was going to take that opportunity and go down the inside.
“I got the inside curb, we rubbed a little bit. It was hard racing but I think it was certainly fair.”
Brown’s third placing was his 10th podium out of 11 races, while Walkinshaw Andretti United’s Chaz Mostert placed fifth after qualifying in 22nd.
Reigning series champion Brodie Kostecki did not start the race after his car failed due to an engine misfire.
Drivers return to the track on Sunday for qualifying at 10:55am (AEST), followed by the top-ten shootout at 12.05pm (AEST) then race 12 at 3.40pm (AEST).
RACE 11 RESULTS:
1. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight Race Engineering)
2. Mark Winterbottom (Team 18)
3. Will Brown (Triple Eight Race Engineering)
4. James Golding (PremiAir Nulon Racing)
5. Chaz Mostert (Walkinshaw Andretti United)
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:
1. Will Brown – 1210 pts
2. Broc Feeney – 1095 pts
3. Chaz Mostert – 1017 pts
4. Cam Waters – 778 pts
5. Matt Payne – 750 pts
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