{"id":696605,"date":"2026-05-26T22:50:51","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T22:50:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/696605\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T22:50:51","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T22:50:51","slug":"supercars-news-embarrassed-how-grove-delivered-triple-eight-reality-check","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/696605\/","title":{"rendered":"Supercars news: ‘Embarrassed’: How Grove delivered Triple Eight reality check"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\u2018Embarrassed\u2019:
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGrove Racing and Triple Eight are doing battle at the top of the Supercars standings. Image: InSyde Media<\/p>\n

The Red Bull Ampol squad ended a nine-race winless streak on Sunday when Broc Feeney delivered a measured drive from pole to triumph in the 200-kilometre affair.<\/p>\n

He did so ahead of Grove Racing pair Matt Payne and Kai Allen, turning the tables on the form shown at the previous event in Christchurch.<\/p>\n

While Feeney left New Zealand with both the Jason Richards Trophy and the championship lead, those spoils came through consistency rather than outright speed.<\/p>\n

Instead it was Grove Racing that was head and shoulders above the field, including T8, on pace, particularly at Ruapuna.<\/p>\n

At the time Feeney admitted Triple Eight was still grappling with its switch from General Motors hardware to the Ford and how to get the best out of the Mustang package<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Revisiting the topic after Feeney\u2019s Symmons Plains win, Dutton admitted the pace deficit to Grove Racing at Ruapuna left the team \u201cembarrassed\u201d and fuelled an all-hands-on-deck effort to improve heading to Tasmania.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe came out of NZ with the consistency, so we achieved the [JR Trophy],\u201d said Dutton.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re happy with that, but we were actually, if we are honest with ourselves, a little bit embarrassed with the difference in car speed to [Grove Racing].<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a really good hard look at ourselves, massive debriefs, massive work from every single mechanic, every engineer, the drivers\u2026 we worked super hard.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then still this weekend, we didn\u2019t roll out strong enough. But we kept chipping away, and [on Sunday] it was really good to win with the fastest car by getting pole and then having a really good race.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the same time, Dutton acknowledged that the learning process with the Mustang is not yet complete \u2013 and that the Grove Racing threat won\u2019t subside.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese guys are super quick,\u201d he said of the Groves.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey definitely have more of a handle on the Mustang than we do currently, so we still have a lot of work to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grove Racing had its own challenges in Tasmania, including Matt Payne coming into the weekend with an injured wrist after a mountain bike crash<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The team also started the weekend with patchy form, not helped by Kai Allen crashing in qualifying for Race 2.<\/p>\n

Even with the double podium to finish the weekend, Grove Racing dropped 58 points to Triple Eight in their fight at the top of the teams\u2019 championship.<\/p>\n

Grove Racing boss Brenton Grove still saw that as a sign of strength, given Symmons is traditionally a Triple Eight stronghold and a bogey track for Groves.<\/p>\n

He outlined that the team is relishing the battle with Triple Eight at the front of the field, something that is both supremely challenging, but also part of its ambition.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe designed our business to be at this point,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I don\u2019t think it\u2019s anything out of the ordinary for us.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, it\u2019s obviously taken some time to get here, but Triple Eight has always been the benchmark and it\u2019s nice to put some pressure on them.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd naturally they respond; it\u2019s going to be like that all season, right?<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I think we did well this weekend. It\u2019s been the worst track we\u2019ve had since we\u2019ve owned the team, so to think you can go from that to beating T8, who have been the benchmark here for 10 years, is probably unrealistic.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be in the fight today and beat one of their cars, I think was nice.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut ultimately we weren\u2019t the fastest car, and we didn\u2019t win the race. So we\u2019ve got some digging to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a nice step to take from from where we were last year, but [Triple Eight is] fast in Darwin, and it\u2019s fast at Townsville, and it\u2019s fast at a lot of other tracks.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo our job is to keep improving our package and keep putting them under pressure and see what happens, but it\u2019s not often they\u2019ve been put under pressure in the past.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur job is to take it to them for the entirety of the season and see where we land.\u201d<\/p>\n


\"\"\/
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