Ryan Walkinshaw punches the air as the incident unfolds on the TV screens. Image: Fox Sports
That’s the takeaway from Bathurst 1000 winner turned driver coach Paul Morris, who says Triple Eight will have to change the way it goes racing if it wants to win back the title.
Morris, who has long mentored Feeney, believes the incident at Turn 6 on the opening lap “should be no surprise” to anyone
“Walkinshaw Andretti United said from day one how they were going to play the Finals, and they continually reminded us of it,” said Morris in a social video media.
“You saw Woody at Sandown, you saw him in action the first two days in Adelaide, he was prepared to get in there and do what he had to do to help Chaz [Mostert].
“Now, he took it to an extreme level on Sunday, but he did tell us he was going to do it. If you saw the press conference Saturday night, he basically called it.”
Triple Eight wants review into ‘cheap shots’ in Grand Final
Feeney took the lead of the Saturday race from Wood at the start of the final stint with a bold inside pass at the Turn 9 hairpin that elbowed the #2 WAU Mustang wide.
When asked of the overtake in the press conference, Wood expressed his respect for Feeney “racing hard” and added, “if I’ve got the opportunity to do the same, I will.”
Wood ultimately attacked Feeney through the opening corners of the Sunday race, diving for a gap on the inside of Turn 6 that the Camaro driver closed, resulting in contact.
Feeney spun to the back of the field while Wood was later dealt a 15-second penalty, having been deemed predominately to blame.
Wood defends first lap Adelaide move on Feeney
“I don’t think it was any surprise to the team, the way they cheered when their plan came off,” Morris continued.
“Broc’s pirouetting around the track, Woody’s driving off, Chaz is sailing through, and the team are cheering, the championship is coming to them. They’re executing a plan.
“Triple Eight, I don’t think they were ready for this. They just ran their normal play.
“They had two guys in the fight come Sunday. They just played it that way, thought their car speed and reliability and teamwork could get them through.”
Replays of WAU co-owner Ryan Walkinshaw’s reaction to the incident did not go unnoticed in the Triple Eight garage, either.
“That’s not how we would behave,” team manager Mark Dutton told Speedcafe post-race. “Everyone does things their own way. That’s not what we would do in the same situation.”
Walkinshaw’s take on Finals smash-and-grab
Morris, meanwhile, said rival teams will have to be prepared to “race to an extreme level” in the Finals next year, with teammates to play a big role in the championship outcome.
“In the end, a mechanical breakdown stopped Broc Feeney getting back into the fight with Chaz, and I still think he would have had his hands full with Woody,” Morris added.
“Walkinshaw were prepared to deploy him again.
“In fact, if you monitor the radio traffic, they were planning on putting him straight back on Broc, straight as close to him as they can to try and get the win for Chaz.
“In the end, it didn’t matter. Chaz had the car speed, the reliability to win it, but it does go to show next year in the Finals, you better change the way you want to go racing.
“Teammates are going to matter, and you’re going to have to race to an extreme level. You’d trade 15 seconds all day for a championship.”