Larrakia Country was graced by the presence of the Supercars championship, as the premier Australian touring car category once again celebrated its Indigenous Round in the country’s top end.
From a maiden pole-sitter, to the champ returning to the podium and a weekend of domination for a championship hopeful, here are the talking points from the Darwin Triple Crown.
Feeney wins Race 11
The 21-year-old may have burst out of the blocks to win three of the first five races in the 2024 Supercars championship, though win number four took some time. At last, it arrived for Broc Feeney in Race 11.
A dominant display from the championship contender during Saturday’s 48-lap race saw an 8.6-second margin between Feeney and second-placed Mark Winterbottom – who starred for Team 18 again at the scene of their first win last year.
Feeney challenged maiden pole-sitter James Golding from the front row, with the Red Bull Ampol Camaro pressuring the Nulon Camaro in the opening laps. The race-defining move came from Feeney at Turn 6, with the door being left ajar enough by Golding for the eventual race winner to capitalise.
“I knew I could flow speed into Turn 5 on him, so I knew I had an opportunity, so I got it in there,” opined Feeney on the race-winning overtake which was questioned as contentious by some corners.
There was the slightest of contact, with Feeney taking the kerb as well during his move on Lap 4. Further pain was inflicted upon Golding, as 2015 Supercars champion Winterbottom took advantage of the misfortune and slotted into second.
Broc Feeney. (Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)
A shot at the podium was effectively off the table after the pit-stop cycle, as Golding lost time on Lap 22 when having to pause for Anton De Pasquale – or risk an unsafe release penalty. This benefitted Feeney’s teammate Will Brown, who salvaged third after starting sixth.
The champ’s podium return amid Feeney’s domination
While Feeney executed a perfect round with victory over teammate Brown in Race 12, the 48-lapper also saw the return of reigning Supercars champion Brodie Kostecki to the podium with a third-place finish.
It was a first podium for the 26-year-old since the Gold Coast 500 late last year, with the Erebus Motorsport driver having sat out of the championship for the first two rounds of the 2024 season.
Brodie Kostecki. (Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)
Sunday’s result of qualifying on the front row via Top-Ten Shootout and then claiming the podium in Race 12 came in contrast to Kostecki’s luck the day before. Kostecki didn’t even start the Saturday race due to persistent engine issues noted during Friday’s practice.
Another engine change for Sunday, saw the Perth native qualify at the pointy end of the grid – as well as raise the attention of the stewards, for allegedly ‘crowding’ former teammate Brown during the Red Bull Ampol racers out-lap during the Shootout.
No further action was incited by the stewards over Kostecki flashing his lights behind Brown; an investigation triggered by the Red Bull Ampol team who reported the matter to the judiciary citing Rule D6.3.7.6 (c).
Brown was outlasted anyway in Race 12 by Feeney, with the Saturday winner putting 1.225 seconds between himself and his championship-leading teammate before the chequered flag. The gap as well in the standings after this weekend, shrinking to 108 points between Brown and Feeney.
Golding’s maiden pole, Mostert’s comeback
It was the likes of Team 18 and Matt Stone Racing that starred during the Darwin Triple Crown last year, but in 2024 it was the Premi-Air Racing outfit that created headlines with their qualifying performance ahead of Race 11.
28-year-old Golding stunned in Friday’s qualifying to take provisional pole ahead of the established order, before backing up during the Top-Ten Shootout to earn his and the team’s first pole position in Supercars.
A margin of 0.0789 seconds was what separated the GRM protegee and Feeney on the front row, with Golding’s impressive time backed up in contrasting track conditions to that of the Friday qualifying session.
Sadly, the race didn’t go the way of the maiden pole-sitter – with the jury out on whether Golding should’ve closed the door on Feeney or not at Turn 6. Nevertheless, a stellar result for a team in their second season, as well as for Golding’s lead engineer Romy Mayer – who becomes the first female engineering chief in Supercars to get a pole position.
Golding very nearly would’ve been relegated to fifth in Race 11, with a rampart Chaz Mostert only 0.447 seconds off the Nulon Camaro at the chequered flag. The Perth race winner suffered a disastrous qualifying to end up 22nd – in contrast to the front-row performances seen in the last round.
On a mission, Mostert scythed his way from 22nd to within reach of the top ten before the pit-stop phase. Once the compulsory stops were completed and the two-time Bathurst 1000 winner had the yield of four fresh tyres – it was like watching a video game with the AI set to minimal.
Perth street race?
Chatter was rife around the time of the Perth SuperSprint last month, over the WA government eyeing off a street race for the Supercars championship.
In Darwin, it was announced that with the support of Roger Cook’s state government that Perth will indeed target a street race for Supercars in 2026 – with Burswood Park earmarked as the location.
“We’ve seen the success of street circuits over east, and Burswood Park would be the perfect place for a uniquely WA V8 event,” said Cook during the announcement, citing the successes of street events such as in Gold Coast and Adelaide.
Perth has been home to Australian touring cars since 1973, with the iconic Wanneroo Raceway still a mainstay of the calendar. It would be fascinating to see, as speculated, whether the street race and Wanneroo could be twinned long-term for back-to-back events out west.
As there is a growing lethargy to street circuits from fans, particularly in Formula One – the hope is that for Supercars to include this new event without the expense of an existing or currently sidelined permanent facility.
Recent rumblings from Supercars’ ownership group RACE and its chief Barclay Nettlefold has indeed been about finally expanding the calendar – with 14 rounds expected for 2025, a welcome increase from 12.
Sure, the current broadcast deal and limitation on how teams would profit from more rounds is a detractor back of house. But we’re not still living in lockdown and other motorsports worldwide immediately thrived, while Supercars have been stuck with 12 rounds and an inability to ‘sell the fizz’ (Tony Quinn’s words from a previous Speedcafe podcast) of what is actually a great product.
The importance of Indigenous Round
Coming into the Darwin Triple Crown weekend, it was difficult not to feel a sense of disappointment as one loudly sighed again, trawling through reactions and the vitriol it spawned on social media to Supercars acknowledging the First Nations people of this land.
The term ‘woke’ is thrown around loosely by a cohort of the male audience who steadfastly believe after listening to a Joe Rogan Podcast that they know what’s what.
Recall the outrage in 2017 over Nick Percat’s BJR Commodore sporting a pride livery with support from Holden? How dare the mighty lion be desecrated by such progressive blaspheme – was a watered-down reaction. Get with the times people.
Why do I feel so aggrieved at comments that are made ad nauseum by John Smith and his many iterations? Because it is ad nauseum and sports have the platform and influence to provide education on these matters.
For those who feel offended by an Indigenous Round or a Pride livery, please do spare a thought to those who are regularly vilified for being who they are.
Seeing how both the NRL and AFL embrace their Indigenous Rounds, and put on a pedestal their players of First Nations heritage, makes the point of why representation matters and how it can inspire future players or fan bases.
Supercars from the outside appears quite vanilla. While yes, motorsport in Australia has been a pioneer with female representation throughout the ranks, the question is why there isn’t more diversity?
The decision-makers, the broadcasters, even the media – predominantly middle-aged white males – are clueless to the fact systemic racism in this country is an epidemic that needs to be educated out.
Maybe occasionally those with a platform ought to challenge that to ensure that we viewers, of all cultures and orientation who are passionate about motorsport and Supercars, feel safe to engage with the sport we love.