Brown
Will Brown will begin his quest for a maiden Supercars title in the third row for the top-10 race. Image by Mark Horsburgh/AAP PHOTOS
  • motor racing

Feeney out to save title hopes after Tickford one-two

Jacob Shteyman November 16, 2024

Will Brown will race for a maiden Supercars championship from the third row after his teammate and only competitor for the title Broc Feeney outpaced him in the opening top-10 shootout of the Adelaide 500.

Shootout king Cam Waters claimed a competition-topping seventh pole of the season to secure a front-row start alongside Tickford teammate Thomas Randle.

Feeney
 Broc Feeney is not ready to give up on his Supercars title dream this season. Image by Matt Turner/AAP PHOTOS 

But all eyes will be further back in the grid, where Brown has a chance to wrap up the title from fifth, behind Triple Eight stablemate Feeney.

Feeney needs to claw back 30 points off Brown to keep the championship alive in the final race of the season on Sunday.

If Brown podiums, he will wrap up the title with a race spare, regardless of how Feeney fares.

Brown had an uncharacteristically sloppy hot lap, sliding into turn six and hitting a kerb.

Feeney reacted strongly after a slow first sector and secured a third-placed finish, alongside reigning Adelaide 500 winner Matt Payne.

“Got nothing to lose this weekend so I’m going for a win,” Feeney said.

waters
 Shootout king Cam Waters won a competition-equalling seventh pole of the season. Image by Mark Horsburgh/AAP PHOTOS 

Drivers battled temperatures soaring into the high 30s as well as blustery winds, which left piles of leaves strewn across the racetrack.

Waters said his Ford Mustang drove the best it had gone all weekend in the tricky conditions.

“Credit to my team,” he said.

“They gave me a really fast car just then and obviously great to convert it to a pole. 

“We just need to convert it again into a race win.”

Qualifying was cut short on Friday after a bizarre trio of crashes from Richie Stanaway, Cam Hill and David Reynolds drew the red flag, resulting in a jumbled line-up in the shootout.

Usual top-10 suspects including Chaz Mostert had to settle with a spot towards the back of the grid after failing to put down a consequential lap before officials called time on the session.

But Mostert’s misfortune was Jaxon Evans, Aaron Love and Macauley Jones’s gain, with the trio featuring in the top 10 for the first time this season.

Jones will start in 10th place after he locked up heading into turn four and overshot the corner onto Wakefield Street.

For Love and Evans it was their first time having the track to themselves in their careers, ending sixth and seventh respectively.

Veteran James Courtney started his shootout lap with good pace but overexerted at the final corner and missed the apex, leaving him in ninth.

The first race of the weekend gets underway at 3.20pm (ACDT).

ADELAIDE 500 TOP-10 SHOOTOUT RESULTS:

1. Cam Waters (Tickford Racing) 1:19.962

2. Thomas Randle (Tickford Racing) +0.118

3. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight Race Engineering) +0.184

4. Matt Payne (Grove Racing) +0.207

5. Will Brown (Triple Eight Race Engineering) +0.255

6. Aaron Love (Blanchard Racing Team) +0.764

7. Jaxon Evans (Brad Jones Racing) +0.801

8. Bryce Fullwood (Brad Jones Racing) +1.177

9. James Courtney (Blanchard Racing Team) +1.369

10. Macauley Jones (Brad Jones Racing) +11.012