Broc Feeney – Car #88
Practice 1 – Ninth (1:50.4175)
Practice 2 – Fourth (1:48.0406)
Qualifying Race 3 – Eighth (1:49.6600)
Qualifying Race 4 – Third (1:47.3326)
Race 3 – Fourth

Shane van Gisbergen – Car #97
Practice 1 – Third (1:50.1749)
Practice 2 – DNS
Qualifying Race 3 – Third (1:49.3883)
Qualifying Race 4 – Pole (1:47.2537)
Race 3 – First

 

Broc Feeney – Car #88

“We realised early today that the cars were going to be pretty wild on the track. We obviously had a mixed tyre compound this weekend, but we’ve had two 30-minute sessions which have been super short, not to mention a couple of red flags in there as well. To see experienced guys like Sladey (Tim Slade) and Shane (van Gisbergen) have some errors makes you realise how tricky this place is. I think we got through both practice sessions really well, we leant quite a bit and we were competitive in both sessions but we certainly realised how challenging the track is. The first qualifying session wasn’t as good because we were struggling for outright pace on the hard tyre, but we were really competitive on the super soft tyres. The hard tyres are a bit more challenging. I had an issue in that session and had a run off, but we were both in the top ten so it was a good result. I managed to get P3 in the second qualifying session which was really good – it was a super close session and it kind of sucks to be on the back end of seven-hundredths, but it’s great to have both cars one-and-three. It was crazy to race on a Thursday on what’s been such a hectic day. At various points tiny showers would pass through and it would get a bit hectic out there, but track position is key. It wasn’t out best qualifying, so we had to try and make our way though and had some decent battles. The team did a great job to jump some spots at the end of the race with our pit stop, so a huge credit to them. We got the fastest lap as well, so an extra five points that’s really handy when you look at the overall result.”

 

Shane van Gisbergen – Car #97

My day was anything but straight forward. I made a mistake in the first practice session, and I didn’t know how significant the damage would be until it came back into our garage, but the guys did an amazing job to fix the car. I was helping pull the car apart and I learnt just how different this car is – there were so many little parts of the car that were just wrecked. We had a couple of good qualifying sessions, and then in the race we were really starting in the unknown. After last year’s debacle with the soft tyres, it was surprising that the super soft was such a good tyre – I didn’t think it would be. It was quite interesting how that played out and it was actually a good race tyre. I hope we have some great racing over the next three days. Everyone played the safe option today with the super soft tyres, and tomorrow hopefully there will be people with various strategies. I’m on pole for tomorrow’s race, and obviously the softs are the preferred tyre, but if the safety car comes out then you’re stuffed, but if you start on a hard tyre, the guy in 20^th position could pass you within two laps. We have a hard decision to make tomorrow.”

The glitz and glam of the Australian Grand Prix has landed at Albert Park, with Formula 1 making their annual visit down under. While supporting our fellow Bulls from across the pond, we will also be amping up for the Melbourne 400, which marks the second round of the 2023 Supercars Championship. 

After a stellar effort to start off the 2023 season, the team is ready to keep on a good roll (car pun intended …) with the upcoming four race event. That’s right, four races! There will also, for the first time in the history of the Supercars Championship, be a race held on a Thursday, shocking, we know. 

A few thoughts from our drivers on the event . 

Car #97 SVG 

“It’s always great to get to share the track with the F1 cars. For our cars, it will be an interesting weekend. The high grip surface of the track combined with the tyre compounds that the teams are running will make for a challenging combination.”

Car #88 Broc Feeney:

“It’s a great event and even better that I’ll get to watch mates race in the F2 & F3 categories, but of course when it’s time, it’ll be full focus on the job that we’re there to do. Hopefully, it will be a successful weekend for the team.”

If you’re joining us for the race weekend, make sure you pack up your winter woolies; it looks like there could be some cold mornings. 

Triple Eight are disappointed in the decision to uphold the team’s disqualification of both cars from Race 1 of the Newcastle 500 for a technical breach. The team maintains our position that we were given an instruction allowing us to install the cooling boxes in a place that conferred no performance advantage at all, but respects the outcome delivered by the Supercars National Court of Appeal. Our sole focus now shifts to the upcoming Melbourne 400, and the remainder of the 2023 Supercars Championship season.

Broc Feeney – Car #88
Qualifying Race 2 – 10th (1:11.9056)
Top Ten Shootout – Seventh (1:12.7401)
Race 2 – Fifth

Shane van Gisbergen – Car #97
Qualifying Race 2 – Fourth (1:11.6314)
Top Ten Shootout – Fifth (1:12.3485)
Race 2 – First

Broc Feeney – Car #88
“I think both cars struggled a little bit more than yesterday in qualifying. Quite a few drivers improved overnight and we probably didn’t adapt to the track conditions this morning as it was a little bit different to yesterday, and there was certainly some fast guys out there. We managed to scrape into the top ten in qualifying and then qualified seventh in the shootout. There was quite a bit of oil on the track for the shootout and I just didn’t quite get my lap right. I would have liked to have been a bit further up the grid to have had a better chance in the race, but I just wasn’t fast enough. I didn’t get a great start in the race and dropped back to ninth. The team had a great strategy, so we pitted early and went very aggressive and managed the rest of the race from there. We ended up in fifth position and only a second or two off a podium. Overall, it’s been a solid weekend – a second and a fifth. Hopefully, we’ll get the points from Saturday’s race to keep that second place because J think we’d be third in the championship. It’s been a good start to the year, we certainly have the pace so it’s been a solid first weekend.”

Shane van Gisbergen – Car #97
“I want to say a huge thank you to the Red Bull Ampol Racing team for their efforts in a faultless weekend. Both of our cars were awesome all weekend, and I like to think all of our talking was done on the track today. To get another race win to start the season is awesome and I’m so proud of everyone at the team for what they’ve achieved. I also want to thank all of the fans in Newcastle – it was great to be back here.”

Triple Eight is disappointed in the decision handed down by Motorsport Australia resulting in the disqualification of both Red Bull Ampol Racing cars from Race 1 of the Newcastle 500, and we have lodged notices of our intention to appeal for both cars.

The team sought permission from the Supercars Head of Motorsport prior to Race 1 of the Supercars Championship, which was granted, and we acted upon this permission. This was not a performance enhancement method, but a driver safety tool.

Our team ethos is to race hard and fair every time we hit the track, and our full focus is on today’s race in Newcastle.

Broc Feeney – Car #88
Qualifying – Seventh (1:11.6374)
Top Ten Shootout– Third (1:12.0008)                                                                                                                                      Race 1– First

Shane van Gisbergen – Car #97
Qualifying – Third (1:11.4358)                                                                                                                                                  Top Ten Shootout– Sixth (1:12.0421)
Practice 3 – First

 

Broc Feeney – Car #88                                                                                                                                                            “It was so cool to get this result for the team who have put in so much work over the last two-to-three years, and to have Jeromy (Moore, Technical Director) up on the podium with us, I’m sure it also means a lot to him. The amount of hours that not only him, our team, but every team in pit lane has put in over the last few years and specifically over the last few months has been absolutely crazy. To have a one-two finish today is great, but by the looks of it every car ran quite well out there today so that’s a testament to the category. The first race of the year is always going to be very tough. I’ve been working hard in the off season to try and prepare for this season, and these cars are certainly a handful. Heat has been a factor in these cars, but luckily it cooled down quite a bit towards the end of the race. There’s a couple of sore spots on the body but we’ll rehydrate overnight and come back tomorrow. I’m definitely in a different mindset coming into the year than I was last year just because I’ve had 12-months of experience. I obviously ended last year well, but we’re all starting from zero this year and we’re all working very hard to fight for wins and podiums.”

 

Shane van Gisbergen – Car #97                                                                                                                                                “Today was a huge day for the team. The amount of effort that not only our team has put into building these cars but the whole category has been amazing. For us to get a team one-two is amazing, and it’s so special for the team because they’ve all worked so hard and the cars have run really well. We had a few issues that we’re struggling with, but I guess most teams are in the same position. It was just an awesome way to start the season in these new cars. Tomorrow will be really hard to back up – I’m a bit sore but there looked like there were a few other guys who were quite cooked – it was a really tough race. I had a shocking top ten shootout lap which was disappointing today, but we’ll work on improving that tomorrow.”

Broc Feeney – Car #88
Practice 1 – 20th (1:13.5803)
Practice 2 – Third (1:12.8722)                                                                                                                                          Practice 3 – 16th (1:12.0274)

Shane van Gisbergen – Car #97
Practice 1  – 10th (1:13.0103)
Practice 2 – First (1:12.7555)
Practice 3 – Second (1:11.4625) 

Broc Feeney – Car #88
“We had a mixed day today. It’s great to be back on the streets of Newcastle, and to finally see the cars on track after the mammoth effort the crews have put into building them is pretty cool. I felt like we built up throughout the day and we finished the second session well – in the top three. We then did a longer run in the third practice session, but we didn’t really get it right towards the end of the session, so we have a few things to work on overnight. Shane (van Gisbergen) is quick so we can obviously look at his data and see where we can improve for tomorrow. I think Marty (Short, #88 Race Engineer) and I are always working hard to make the car better, but we also have to work closely with Shane and Andrew (Edwards) and the rest of the team throughout the year to make sure we get these cars competitive. We’ve got no previous data on these cars, so we’re just trying to learn and make changes and figure out what works. I think we’ve all had to step up in ourselves a bit this year to make sure we get on top of everything nice and quick.”

Shane van Gisbergen – Car #97
“Firstly, it’s so good to be back here in Newcastle – what a place! The track was quite difficult when we first got out there and I felt like a bit of a wobbler for the first few laps and having a few dramas which was really tough. Over the course of the day, I started to get a handle of everything. I had a longer run in the final practice session today and felt like we were getting better and better. I noticed that there were a few drivers struggling out there – there were some instances where drivers couldn’t see me and almost turned into me which was pretty difficult, but everyone has the same problems. It’s been awesome working with Andrew (Edwards, #97 Race Engineer) and coming up with plans for how we’ll approach each session. Last year he was sort of tuning a pretty finely-tuned race car at tracks when we got there, so this year is a real fresh challenge for both of us but it’s quite exciting. We’ll see how good the car really is and how good I am working with him, but it’s really cool so far.”