One of the worst-kept secrets in Supercars has finally been confirmed, with Triple Eight Race Engineering announcing Jamie Whincup as Broc Feeney’s co-driver for the 2023 enduro season.
It creates a second all-star lineup for the defending Teams Champions who will have Shane van Gisbergen partnering Richie Stanaway in their other confirmed entry.
“I’m stoked the team has decided that I am the best person to co-drive the #88 car alongside Broc for this year’s endurance races,” says Whincup, who has won ‘The Great Race’ four times, most recently in 2012.
“There’s no doubt that Broc is becoming a more confident and competitive driver in the series – you just have to look at his results after the first three rounds to prove that, and I couldn’t ask for a more compatible co-driver. He has good morals and a good attitude who knows the definition of hard work, and we’ve enjoyed watching him grow as a driver with the support of a formidable team around him.
“I’m thrilled that Sandown has returned to the enduro calendar this year, allowing us co-drivers to have more time in these Gen3 cars. Having a longer enduro campaign will allow Broc and I, along with Shane (van Gisbergen) and Richie (Stanaway) to work closely together to ensure we’re competitive at both events.”
The partnership will boost Feeney into race contention, with the young driver having most recently claimed his third career victory at the Perth SuperSprint
“It’s great to have Jamie back as my co-driver for a second season. It still doesn’t feel real that I’m in this environment at Triple Eight with him, and to be able to co-drive together for another year is awesome,” says Feeney.
“He was fantastic last year, and I learnt so much from him. I feel like we’re building a better relationship all the time, and I feel like we can have a really positive enduro campaign this year. Being two events this year makes it even more crucial to have a good co-driver, and I couldn’t have a better person by my side.
“Having only Bathurst as a one-off last year was still great, but now I feel like for two solid months we’re going to be working super closely together to get the best results possible. I think it’s great for the co-drivers as well to have two events which means they’ll get more time in these new cars. It’s going to be key to have someone who’s still fresh out of the seat and still driving a lot, obviously racing in GTs this year. He’s had a lot of success at both tracks, so I’m really looking forward to our campaign this year.
“Jamie has been super open to me for the past 16 months while I’ve been driver of the #88. He’s really been opening up to me and sharing his racing IP and gave me access to a lot of his work which has been invaluable. The way he goes about his racing has really stood out, and I think it stands out to a lot of people and is certainly a reason for his success. For me, to be the lucky guy to be on the receiving end of that information is awesome.”
The Supercars enduro season begins with the Sandown 500 on 15-17 September before the Bathurst 1000 on October 5-8.
Quotes & Images: Supplied
