The gloves are off for defending Series champion Broc Feeney about the rivalry with young Kiwi Supercars driver Ryan Wood, at the media call before the season opener in Sydney.
Footage of the 2025 BP Adelaide Grand Final, when Wood and Feeney collided, which cost the Australians the overall championship, was still too much to digest for Feeney, who is determined to make his mark when the new season gets underway.
The Triple Eight Race Engineering driver is the hot favourite for the 2026 championship, after claiming 14 wins and 19 pole positions last season. Feeney missed out on the crown in heartbreaking fashion in Adelaide, spluttering home with engine issues after being turned around by champion Chaz Mostert’s teammate Wood.
The pre-season has welcomed a sharper-edged Feeney, who admitted he was “angrier than ever” and claimed there was “bad blood” over the clash with Wood.
However, Adelaide’s wounds remain, with Feeney notably turning away during a trailer for the new Supercars: Road to Glory documentary during today’s media call in Sydney ahead of the season launch.
Feeney, Mostert and Wood were joined by Will Brown, Anton De Pasquale and David Reynolds at NEP Studios before the official season launch.
When asked what he took away from his defeat, Feeney told Fox Sports News: “At the end of the day, the big thing for me is I always thought that the end result would matter [in] how I felt about my season.
“But to be honest, looking back on it, we were deserving of being the champion last year. I’m extremely proud of what we did. I mean, we won 14 races and got 19 pole positions. I don’t think anyone can take that away from us from last year.
“So, although I don’t have the trophy with me, I feel like we did everything to deserve a trophy. There’s no reason why we can’t fight back and go again this year.”
However, the young Kiwi star claimed he is “the best prepared I’ve ever been” following a string of strong performances in the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Trophy in New Zealand
Feeney took an extended leave over the summer, but it seems the emotions from a championship loss may linger for some time, if not forever.
Feeney insists he must move on and make 2026 count.
“I mean, it is still extremely hard and raw, and there’s still plenty of emotions coming back to the paddock for the first time, but you’ve got to move on,” Feeney said.
“We go racing, gloves are off and looking forward to it.”
Wood more than held his own against some of the brightest prospects on the road to Formula One, including former McLaren junior Ugo Ugochukwu and recently signed Audi junior Freddie Slater.
He claimed an emotional win in the Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy at Taupō, and claimed a further two podium finishes to finish fifth in the standings.
The 22-year-old claimed Rookie of the Year honours, topping a rookie class that beat the likes of dual-World Rally Champion and fellow Toyota factory pilot Kalle Rovanpera, and Red Bull junior Fionn McLaughlin.
He has come off a weekend at Bathurst, driving a Ferrari 296 GT3 for the Ziggo Sport Temesta team, who finished 10th outright and third in their class, racing with Chris Friggatt, Jonathan Hui and Lorenzo Patrese.
The Repco Supercars season gets underway this weekend with the Sydney 500, followed by the sprint round at the Australian Grand Prix before crossing the Tasman for a historic double-header with the ITM Taupo Super 440 on 10-12 April ahead of the first ITM Christchurch Super 440 at Ruapuna Raceway on 17-19 April.
Tickets available from https://www.supercars.com/ or https://premier.ticketek.co.nz/
Header Image: Mark Horsburgh
