Townsville: Red Bull Ampol Racing’s gamble backfires for Brown, Feeney struggles
Qualifying struggles for Red Bull Ampol Racing
Red Bull Ampol Racing faced significant challenges during qualifying in Townsville, with a strategic gamble by Will Brown not yielding the desired outcome, and teammate Broc Feeney continuing to struggle. Brown, who had held provisional pole position for Race 21 qualifying, made the decision to exit his #888 Red Bull Ampol Ford Mustang before the final runs in Q2.
This strategic choice was aimed at preserving fresher tyres for Saturday’s 200km race. However, as other drivers completed their final laps, Brown’s provisional pole position slipped, ultimately placing him 12th, nearly 0.5 seconds off the ultimate pace. He watched from the sidelines as times improved around him.
Meanwhile, Broc Feeney, who had recently lost the championship lead to Matt Payne on Friday, also experienced a difficult qualifying session. Feeney slumped to 18th position, following a 16th place qualification for Race 20 the previous day. His frustrations were evident before Q2, where he was heard telling his engineer, Martin Short, that the car felt “just slow.”
Brown later explained his decision, stating that the team weighed the risk of not getting through to the Shootout against having new tyres for the race. He acknowledged that while the plan was to advance, the outcome did not align with their hopes. Brown noted that starting a few positions worse off was a trade-off for having fresh tyres for the main event, expressing confidence in their ability to improve their standing during the race, similar to their performance on Friday.
Kostecki secures pole position
In contrast to the struggles of Red Bull Ampol Racing, Brodie Kostecki secured pole position for Race 2 of the NTI Townsville 500. Kostecki, driving for Dick Johnson Racing, recorded a lap time of 1:12.6622s in the Top 10 Shootout. This impressive performance came after he was the second-fastest in the preceding qualifying session.
Matt Payne, who entered the Shootout with the fastest provisional time, was unable to replicate his earlier pace, finishing with a 1:12.7708s lap, placing him 0.1086s behind Kostecki. Kostecki admitted to making a mistake at Turn 3 during his flying lap, which he initially feared might have cost him pole position. Despite the error, he managed to recover and deliver a strong finish to his lap.
Other notable performances in the Shootout included Tickford Racing’s Thomas Randle, who climbed from sixth to third. Walkinshaw TWG Racing driver Ryan Wood dropped one place to fourth, while Randle’s teammate Cameron Waters also fell one spot to fifth. Kostecki praised the efforts of his team and race engineer, George Commings, for optimising the car’s setup, which contributed to their front-row start.
The top 10 was rounded out by Aaron Cameron of Blanchard Racing Team, Kai Allen from Grove Racing, James Golding also from Blanchard Racing Team, Chaz Mostert of Walkinshaw TWG Racing, and Rylan Gray representing Dick Johnson Racing. Race 2 of the Townsville 500 is scheduled to commence at 3:05pm AEST.
Friday’s challenges for Triple Eight
The difficulties for Red Bull Ampol Racing, also known as Triple Eight, extended back to Friday’s qualifying session for the NTI Townsville 500 opener. Following a less-than-ideal performance in Darwin, the team experienced a challenging start in north Queensland, with both Red Bull Ampol Mustangs failing to secure high starting positions.
This marked the first occasion in three years that the Banyo-based squad had no cars lining up within the top 15 on the grid. Broc Feeney qualified 16th, and Will Brown started 19th. Brown’s session on Friday also saw a red flag incident due to a loose wheel, which necessitated him going off-road to return to pitlane.
The last time Triple Eight had no car in the top 15 was 88 races ago, during the Saturday of the 2023 Sydney SuperNight, where Feeney qualified 16th and Shane van Gisbergen 20th. These results opened an opportunity for Matt Payne to potentially take the lead in the drivers’ championship, with his #19 Penrite Ford set to start third for the 35-lap race at 4:15pm on Friday.
Other notable performances on Friday included Thomas Randle, who secured fifth place despite earlier braking issues, and Jack Le Brocq, who recovered from a practice incident. Declan Fraser also achieved a career-best 11th starting position.
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Source: supercars.com
