Feeney heads home Brown for Red Bull one-two at Bathurst, Stanaway fourth

Broc Feeney has led home teammate Will Brown for a dominant Red Bull one-two in the Supercars season-opener at the Bathurst 500.

The race would finish under caution after Aaron Love came together with the Turn 2 wall on Lap 38 of 40. Feeney held a 1.7-second advantage over Brown at the interruption, and Chaz Mostert was a further two seconds behind in third.

The front three had built a significant advantage over the field, with Stanaway in fourth and some 16 seconds behind Mostert before the yellow flag.

Fourth place was a solid result on Grove Racing debut for Stanaway, who held off a late challenge from Cameron Hill to finish as the second Mustang home.

Andre Heimgartner and Matt Payne improved on their qualifying results for top ten finishes, with the Brad Jones Racing driver heading home the Grove Racing entry by one position in ninth.

Jaxon Evans also showed a great run of pace for 20th, his best lap being the eleventh quickest of the race.

Ryan Wood’s Supercars debut lasted as far as Turn 1, with the Kiwi involved in a collision off the start that left him stranded in the sand.

Thomas Randle, Heimgartner, Tim Slade and Wood were four-wide entering the turn, with Randle backing off and connecting with the rear of Heimgartner’s car as he did so.

Heimgartner, on the inside, was bumped into Wood, who ran wide from the contact and took Slade, on the outside, off with him. Slade was able to return to the track, while Wood required assistance from the sand and was forced to withdraw with front suspension damage to bring the first of two Safety Car interventions.

Brown had set the early pace from pole and managed a one-second advantage over Feeney until the first round of pit stops, which began in the field on Lap 5 as soon as the window opened.

An excellent launch from Mostert saw him go with the Red Bull duo off the line, but Hill would take third off him moments before the caution was called.

Brown came in for his first stop at the end of Lap 11, and Feeney followed a circuit later, leaving Hill to inherit the lead of the race.

A lighter fuel load for Feeney pushed him ahead of Brown once the first round of stops was complete, with only Percat remaining out and running long.

Red Bull ran a net one-two with a seven-second advantage over the field, with Mostert now third.

Hill took on a larger fuel load and dropped down the order to seventh, while Stanaway ran fifth and Payne ninth.

Percat finally came in for the first time at the end of Lap 20, elevating Feeney to the overall lead with a two-second advantage over Brown. At the same point, Stanaway found a way past Reynolds for fourth, having emerged behind the Team 18 driver from his stop.

Aaron Love found the wall at The Cutting on Lap 24, which triggered a flurry of activity in the pit lane, including for Brown and Reynolds.

Love did well to return the damaged Mustang to his garage, and no Safety Car intervention was required.

Stanaway returned to the track ahead of Hill to retain a net fourth.

Feeney built enough of a gap over his teammate through the middle stint to retain the lead on his second stop, a position he would hold until the chequered flag.

Percat returned to the lead again and was showing great pace at the front, threatening a result deep inside the top ten. He emerged from the lane in seventh place on Lap 32.

Water’s left front parted its way from his car at Turn 2 on Lap 33, and there were nervous moments as it rolled back down the Hill and onto the racing line as the lead pack approached.

A Full Course Yellow was utilised for the first time in the series this year to allow for the retrieval of the wheel at the top of Mountain Straight.

With Love’s car repaired, he returned to the track and completed the required 30 laps to receive points. However, he wouldn’t make the chequered flag, hitting the wall again at the same place as his earlier incident.

That left Feeney to take the win from Brown and Mostert, who had matched the pace and threatened the lead duo at times over the final stint

Stanaway was fourth, ahead of Hill and Percat, while Bryce Fullwood, Reynolds, Heimgartner and Payne completed the top ten.

Supercars return to the Mount Panorama track for another race on Sunday, qualifying at 11.30 am (NZ Time) before the Top 10 Shootout at 2.05 pm and the 40-lap Bathurst 500 finale at 5.05 pm.

Bathurst 500 Race 1 Provisional Results

Header Image: Penrite Racing (Facebook)