Whincup: Triple Eight defiant in face of distraction

Triple Eight Race Engineering boss Jamie Whincup has hailed his crew for shrugging off off-track distraction to deliver a dominant weekend in Melbourne.

Broc Feeney led a Red Bull Ampol one-two in Thursday's Race 4, before Brown turned the tables to lead another one-two in Saturday's Race 6.

With Sunday's race abandoned, Brown beat Feeney by 10 points to win the Larry Perkins Trophy, marking the second consecutive year Triple Eight drivers led the Melbourne round points.

Ford-bound Triple Eight's on-track performance came in the face of big off-track news, headlined by General Motors signing current Triple Eight tech guru Jeromy Moore, and star driver Craig Lowndes opting not to renew his contract.

GM has also secured the exclusive engine services of KRE Race Engines, while former Triple Eight boss Roland Dane is also acting in an advisory role for GM.

Despite the noise, the reigning champions claimed all four pole positions and recorded a brace of one-two finishes, results that weren't lost on Whincup.

"I couldn't be prouder of how the crew went about business this weekend," Whincup said in a team post.

"There was so much distraction early in the week, and time again over the last 20 years I've seen this crew lift when required.

"That's exactly what happened this weekend."

Heading to the next round in New Zealand, Brown now leads Ford rival Cam Waters by seven points, with Feeney third. Triple Eight, meanwhile, has opened up a strong lead in the teams' championship.

“I think we’ve really picked up where we left off last year. Consistency. We’re trying to win races," Brown said.

"It’s not easy to win races, but we’re able to be consistent enough to get on the podium. We need to keep that going and get the wins when we can.

"But keeping the consistency and trying to win the Sprint Cup at the end of the day is our goal. That’s what Broc and I are both going for at the start of this season.

"Then that gets you hopefully gets you a lot further up the front with some extra points to try and make it through to the Finals.”

The 2025 Repco Supercars Championship will resume in New Zealand at the ITM Taupō Super 440 on April 11-13. Tickets for the event are on sale now.