Broc Feeney was the ultimate winner of a drama-charged start to the Supercars season, which saw the defending champion disqualified and a number of drivers taken to the hospital area. Feeney won from pole position at a chaotic Sydney 500 on Sunday to take the early lead in the championship.
The Triple Eight star, who was heartbroken at missing the title last year, endured a cool suit failure in sapping heat in Sydney that left him cooking. An “overheating” Feeney was attended to by medical staff after climbing out of his Mustang on Sunday afternoon.
Broc Feeney (R) won two of three races in Sydney, while Will Brown (L) was among the many drivers affected by the heat. Image: Will Brown/Getty
“When things aren’t cooling as well as they should be, then you drink a lot of water, and then I ran out of water,” Feeney said. “I was pushing super hard amongst all the stuff that we had going on. I mean, I was overheating. To walk away with another win, that was certainly the hardest race I’ve had inside a car.”
Feeney wasn’t the only driver affected by the heat. Will Brown and David Reynolds were both taken to the hospital area at Sydney Motorsport Park, after Brown’s cool suit also malfunctioned.
“I thought I was going to die in the car, I can’t explain the heat and how hard it made the race,” Brown said. “I finished the race but that’s the worst I’ve ever felt after a drive. Everything went wrong.”
Chaz Mostert disqualified over Supercars rule breach
Brown and Reynolds were in good spirits despite the scary development, with both posting photos on social media from the medical area. Feeney won two of the three races in Sydney, while defending champ Chaz Mostert was sensationally disqualified from Race 2 after stewards found tyre sensors weren’t fitted to his Toyota Supra.
Under Rule D17.1.19 in the Supercars guidelines: “A Control Tyre must have an operational TPMS sensors fitted to the control wheel whenever it is fitted to the Car.” Mostert had finished 15th, but was wiped from the results for the breach. Walkinshaw TWG Racing were also fined $5000, with $2500 suspended until December 31 so long as the team doesn’t commit the same breach again.
David Reynolds, Will Brown and Broc Feeney were all affected by the heat. Image: Will Brown/Getty
Mostert produced a masterclass drive on Sunday to salvage the weekend. He initially crossed the finish line in fifth, but was promoted to fourth after Brodie Kostecki received a 15-second penalty for spinning Aaron Cameron on the final lap.
There was chaos when the race was reset on lap 33 after heavy rain, with Race 2 winner Anton De Pasquale spinning off-track at turn 4 after contact with Kostecki. De Pasquale took Brown with him, and the pair finished 15th and 18th respectively.
Brown was slapped with his second 15-second penalty of the weekend for the incident, with race stewards finding the Triple Eight driver had forced Kostecki into De Pasquale.