Supercars leader calls for Darwin format reversal

The Advertiser

6 days ago

Broc Feeney pulled off an unprecedented clean sweep to claim the Darwin Triple Crown, but a contentious rule change could cheapen the feat.
With his dominant victory in race 19 of the Supercars season on Sunday, the Triple Eight prodigy became the first driver to win all three races at the Top End event since the three-race format was first introduced there in 2016.
The trophy had been previously won by Scott McLaughlin - who succeeded in 2019 by claiming both races and a pole when the event was switched to a two-race format - and by Jamie Whincup, who won in 2020 when Supercars awarded the victory on round points during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But this season, event organisers changed the format so the Triple Crown would be awarded to the driver who won the most points across the weekend, even if they did not sweep all three races.
That change was made redundant by Feeney's hat-trick.
But he called for the format to be reverted back to its previous structure to preserve the difficulty which makes it such a sought-after prize.
"I just remember so clearly watching Scotty win it back in 2019 and just how hard it was to, I suppose, win it in its natural way," Feeney said.
"I think it should probably go back to the old way. I don't think it should be the round winner, I think it should be either all three races or two races and the shootout.
"Obviously Bathurst and the championship are the main ones, but I think just how difficult this one is to win, it was right up the top of my list.
"So I've obviously had a good run here the last couple of years, and just really wanted to tick that box. So to do it this year is pretty awesome."
Feeney's red hot weekend extended his lead in the standings to 183 points.
But because of the new finals series - also introduced to the category this year - he can't rely on his points buffer to cement his claim for the Supercars title, despite sitting on eight race wins and nine poles from just 19 starts.
The top 10 drivers will have their points reset at round 11 on the Gold Coast, with just 126 points separating 10 drivers between eighth and 18th in a tense race to make the cut-off.
Grove Racing rookie Kai Allen has suddenly put his name right in the mix, after the breakout weekend of his young Supercars career.
After securing a maiden podium with a third-place finish in Saturday's second race, the 19-year-old went one better by coming second to Feeney on Sunday.
His confidence boosted, Allen is setting his sights on hauling in Feeney and his Red Bull teammate Will Brown to score his first race win.
"To get some podiums this early is pretty cool. But yeah, it's not time to back off now. It's full steam ahead because we've got some Bulls to catch and they're still pretty quick," he said.
Broc Feeney pulled off an unprecedented clean sweep to claim the Darwin Triple Crown, but a contentious rule change could cheapen the feat.
With his dominant victory in race 19 of the Supercars season on Sunday, the Triple Eight prodigy became the first driver to win all three races at the Top End event since the three-race format was first introduced there in 2016.
The trophy had been previously won by Scott McLaughlin - who succeeded in 2019 by claiming both races and a pole when the event was switched to a two-race format - and by Jamie Whincup, who won in 2020 when Supercars awarded the victory on round points during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But this season, event organisers changed the format so the Triple Crown would be awarded to the driver who won the most points across the weekend, even if they did not sweep all three races.
That change was made redundant by Feeney's hat-trick.
But he called for the format to be reverted back to its previous structure to preserve the difficulty which makes it such a sought-after prize.
"I just remember so clearly watching Scotty win it back in 2019 and just how hard it was to, I suppose, win it in its natural way," Feeney said.
"I think it should probably go back to the old way. I don't think it should be the round winner, I think it should be either all three races or two races and the shootout.
"Obviously Bathurst and the championship are the main ones, but I think just how difficult this one is to win, it was right up the top of my list.
"So I've obviously had a good run here the last couple of years, and just really wanted to tick that box. So to do it this year is pretty awesome."
Feeney's red hot weekend extended his lead in the standings to 183 points.
But because of the new finals series - also introduced to the category this year - he can't rely on his points buffer to cement his claim for the Supercars title, despite sitting on eight race wins and nine poles from just 19 starts.
The top 10 drivers will have their points reset at round 11 on the Gold Coast, with just 126 points separating 10 drivers between eighth and 18th in a tense race to make the cut-off.
Grove Racing rookie Kai Allen has suddenly put his name right in the mix, after the breakout weekend of his young Supercars career.
After securing a maiden podium with a third-place finish in Saturday's second race, the 19-year-old went one better by coming second to Feeney on Sunday.
His confidence boosted, Allen is setting his sights on hauling in Feeney and his Red Bull teammate Will Brown to score his first race win.
"To get some podiums this early is pretty cool. But yeah, it's not time to back off now. It's full steam ahead because we've got some Bulls to catch and they're still pretty quick," he said.
Broc Feeney pulled off an unprecedented clean sweep to claim the Darwin Triple Crown, but a contentious rule change could cheapen the feat.
With his dominant victory in race 19 of the Supercars season on Sunday, the Triple Eight prodigy became the first driver to win all three races at the Top End event since the three-race format was first introduced there in 2016.
The trophy had been previously won by Scott McLaughlin - who succeeded in 2019 by claiming both races and a pole when the event was switched to a two-race format - and by Jamie Whincup, who won in 2020 when Supercars awarded the victory on round points during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But this season, event organisers changed the format so the Triple Crown would be awarded to the driver who won the most points across the weekend, even if they did not sweep all three races.
That change was made redundant by Feeney's hat-trick.
But he called for the format to be reverted back to its previous structure to preserve the difficulty which makes it such a sought-after prize.
"I just remember so clearly watching Scotty win it back in 2019 and just how hard it was to, I suppose, win it in its natural way," Feeney said.
"I think it should probably go back to the old way. I don't think it should be the round winner, I think it should be either all three races or two races and the shootout.
"Obviously Bathurst and the championship are the main ones, but I think just how difficult this one is to win, it was right up the top of my list.
"So I've obviously had a good run here the last couple of years, and just really wanted to tick that box. So to do it this year is pretty awesome."
Feeney's red hot weekend extended his lead in the standings to 183 points.
But because of the new finals series - also introduced to the category this year - he can't rely on his points buffer to cement his claim for the Supercars title, despite sitting on eight race wins and nine poles from just 19 starts.
The top 10 drivers will have their points reset at round 11 on the Gold Coast, with just 126 points separating 10 drivers between eighth and 18th in a tense race to make the cut-off.
Grove Racing rookie Kai Allen has suddenly put his name right in the mix, after the breakout weekend of his young Supercars career.
After securing a maiden podium with a third-place finish in Saturday's second race, the 19-year-old went one better by coming second to Feeney on Sunday.
His confidence boosted, Allen is setting his sights on hauling in Feeney and his Red Bull teammate Will Brown to score his first race win.
"To get some podiums this early is pretty cool. But yeah, it's not time to back off now. It's full steam ahead because we've got some Bulls to catch and they're still pretty quick," he said.