Feeney: No hidden data in Brown battle
Supercars
3d
Will Brown leads Broc Feeney by 108 points
Brown leads race head-to-head 7-5, Feeney 7-5 in qualifying
Triple Eight has won 22 of 38 Townsville races
Your teammate is the first rival you must beat, but Broc Feeney says there has been full transparency at Triple Eight in his ongoing battle with Will Brown.
Brown and Feeney have set the pace in 2024, winning eight of 12 races and sitting first and second in the championship heading to the NTI Townsville 500.
The two drivers were split by just 17 points after Round 2 in Melbourne, but Feeney dropped 119 points over the next two rounds and, critically, was overhauled by Brown in the Taupō finale in a straight fight.
Team boss Jamie Whincup said after Perth there was "homework" to do to find where Feeney was missing out relative to Brown, before Feeney bounced back with a Darwin sweep.
Speaking after the Darwin finale, Supercars champions and former teammates Mark Skaife and Garth Tander both weighed in on the fine margins between the duo, with Skaife suggesting there was a level of gamesmanship.
"There's a level of camaraderie in teams which is really important to keep the vibe and momentum of the team going," said Skaife, who raced with Triple Eight in 2010 and 2011.
"There's also a level of transparency within teams that you go to the debrief and you talk about what you did on the car that weekend, and everyone goes through the data, the engineers talk for endless hours about what the car was like versus the other car.
"The last part of it is, there's none of that. You've got to beat the person in the garage next to you, and if you've got a little tweak, half of the thing is the engineers don't tell each other.
"If you've got something that's working a bit better for you, whether you relay that in the debrief is another question."
Tander, who also raced with Triple Eight between 2019 and 2022, dispelled the suggestion, saying: "I've been in the Triple Eight bunker not that long ago, that's one team that's very good at sharing information.
"It's a fascinating battle between those two, and it'll go backwards and forwards and backwards and forwards until we get to Adelaide at the end of the year."
Speaking at a Townsville media call this week, Feeney said: “There's nothing hidden within the team. So it's great. When Will has a good day, or if I do, we can look into each other’s data and see what we're doing better.
“So, for the last couple of rounds, I haven't been super strong, and Will has been. So, I've been able to look at all his data, look at what they've been doing, and what I need to do better.
“I certainly haven't had easy teammates in my Supercars career with Shane as well, but I really like another guy in equal equipment that's super capable. We've had a great run so far.”
The margins between the two are fine, with Feeney leading the qualifying head-to-head 7-5, and Brown the race head-to-head 7-5. Critically, Brown has been a model of consistency with 11 podiums in 12 starts, while Feeney lost points in Melbourne, Taupō and Perth.
Regardless, Feeney is enjoying the rivalry with his old mate, saying: “We get along great, me and Will. I think everyone's thinking that we're going to have the big rivalry where we don't get along with each other, but we're teammates, we've been mates for quite a while.
“At the end of the day, we're both trying to win the same thing. So we're pushing each other a lot. Obviously I want to win, so if I get a second or a third, I probably won't be stoked, but certainly going for the win again.
“That's the thing that I've really liked about it this year is, I've got a guy that's taking away what I want to do and that's to win, and I'm doing the same to him.
“So we're both pushing each other so much. I think we're going to drive each other to new levels over the next couple of years and I certainly look forward to it."
Feeney flew to Townsville alongside Brad Jones Racing driver Bryce Fullwood to begin the countdown to what looms as arguably the most important round of 2024 so far.
Brown, holds a 108-point lead over Feeney, claimed the Saturday pole position and race win in North Queensland, while Feeney was second on the Saturday and fourth on the Sunday. Triple Eight has also won 22 out of 38 races held in Townsville since 2009.
Feeney was also keen to try and get a look at the weekend's entertainment, which will be headlined by a concert featuring Tones And I, G Flip and Cyril.
“I'm really excited. I met G Flip not too long ago, so, excited to see that they’re performing along with Tones and I and Cyril," he said.
“I think they're great artists. I'm really excited to try and check it out. I was hitting them up before to see if I can get backstage and hang out.”
All tickets that gain access to the circuit on Saturday will provide free access to the concert performances, that will also include a drone show midway through the evening.
Official proceedings begin in Townsville next Wednesday when the annual transporter parade rolls through the CBD.
On Thursday fans will line the streets for the first ever North Queensland Track to Town event, before practice begins on Friday ahead of two 250km races on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
All grandstand, general admission and corporate hospitality tickets for next week’s NTI Townsville 500 are available through Supercars.com.
