Erebus driver Cooper Murray has opened up on his crash with Broc Feeney at the Supercars Sprint in Melbourne, revealing how it was mostly a cruel twist of fate that he was in that position at all. Murray careened into the side of Feeney’s car after the Triple Eight driver performed a dangerous flick-spin after being turned around on the opening corner of Sunday’s final race.
Murray, Feeney and Zach Bates all suffered major damage to their cars, containing a nightmare start to the 2026 season for Murray. The Erebus driver is now last in the championship after two rounds, after he was involved in three separate incidents in Melbourne.
Cooper Murray (R) was an unfortunate victim of the Broc Feeney (L) incident. Image: AAP/Supercars
And speaking to Supercars.com on Wednesday, the young star admitted a mistake he made in qualifying for Sunday’s race put him in the position to be caught up in the Feeney incident. Had he been higher on the starting grid he likely would have remained unscathed.
“We’ve seen how the driving standards were at the Grand Prix last year, so we knew it was going to be crazy going into it,” Murray said. “Unfortunately we were caught on the wrong end of the stick three times, but for the last race we shouldn’t have been in that position anyway.
“I made a mistake in second qualifying which put us down the back, and ultimately I ended up in a crash, so you create your own luck as well. But it was unfortunate to be taken out in the other two races as well when we were running sixth and seventh.”
Murray tangled with Feeney’s teammate Will Brown on Friday and Saturday, but insists there’s no ill-will between the drivers. Despite being 168 points adrift of a finals spot already, the 24-year-old is confident he can get back on track.
Cooper Murray suffered massive damage in the collision with Broc Feeney.
(PR IMAGE)Matt Payne also confident of bouncing back
It’s a similar situation for Matt Payne, who went into the Melbourne weekend as the championship leader. But the Bathurst champion also endured a brutal Grand Prix after a bright start.
“The car had great pace all weekend, we just couldn’t quite convert it when it mattered,” he said. “I got squeezed into an incident in Saturday’s race which took us out of contention, and then on Sunday I picked up a random puncture while running third, which was really disappointing.
“Absolutely gutted with how it finished, but there are plenty of positives to take away and some good points on the board. Now the focus shifts to the New Zealand rounds.”
Payne’s team Penrite Racing believe the puncture might have been caused by debris that was left on the track from the Feeney and Murray crash. The third round kicks off in Taupo from April 10, before moving to Christchurch from April 17.