Young gun sends Holden out a winner in Adelaide
Rising star Broc Feeney has pulled off a memorable maiden Supercars win to give Holden fans a joyous farewell to the red lion at the Adelaide 500.
Broc Feeney celebrates victory at the Adelaide 500. Photo: AAP/Matt Turner
Feeney, who stepped into Jamie Whincup’s Red Bull Ampol seat this season after the Supercar immortal’s retirement, saved his best drive of the year for last.
The 20-year-old backed up Chaz Mostert’s win in Saturday’s 78-lap race to make it a Holden double in the iconic manufacturer’s last motorsport event.
Mostert capped a huge weekend by finishing second behind Feeney, with pole-sitter Anton De Pasquale coming in third in hot conditions at Adelaide’s street circuit.
The revival of the Adelaide 500 turned out to be a roaring success, with 258,200 spectators entering the Parklands complex for the four-day event.
The crowd number was well up on the previous Adelaide event in February 2020 when 206,350 fans attended.
Feeney held his nerve despite relentless pressure on his tail from two-time Bathurst 1000 winner Chaz Mostert and was able to convert the slender lead he held for more than 50 laps.
He became the second-youngest driver to ever win a Supercars race, behind only three-time champion Scott McLaughlin.
“I can’t believe it,” an emotional Feeney said.
“I felt like the win was always so close and to get it at the last race, in front of all these fans for Holden, it means so much.
“In that race I was out to show that hopefully next year I can be a contender.
“I had a wicked car … it’s just probably the best moment of my life.”
Holden appeared to be on track for a trifecta when three-time Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen overtook Ford driver De Pasquale with 16 laps remaining.
However, van Gisbergen was slapped with a pit-lane penalty following an incident after a safety-car restart.
The Kiwi then slid to 11th, with De Pasquale reclaiming third position and denying Holden a perfect send-off.
General Motors retired the Holden brand in 2020, announcing it just weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic began, but the Commodore has lived on in motor racing.
However, with Gen3 cars ready to launch next year, Chevrolet Camaros will replace Holdens on the grid to battle the Ford Mustangs.
Holden bows out as the most successful manufacturer in Supercars history with 616 race wins.
It was a frustrating end to a dominant season for van Gisbergen, who won a record 21 out of 34 races, including his second Bathurst 1000 title with Garth Tander.
But van Gisbergen put his disappointment aside, immediately celebrating on track with an epic burnout session around his third Supercars championship trophy.
The three-time champion said the success of Gen3’s introduction will decide his long-term Supercars future.
“I want to wait and race the (Gen3) car,” vanGisbergen said.
“There’s so much talk about what’s going to happen and how it’s going to be, but I honestly don’t know.
“I haven’t driven the car since April, it wasn’t great then, but they’ve made a lot of changes, hopefully positive.
“For some reason most of the established guys haven’t been allowed to drive it or develop it, which is fine, but it’s a big thing to commit to in the future if it’s no good.
“I really want Gen3 to succeed, I want it to be awesome and I want the racing to be great.”
ADELAIDE 500 RACE TWO
1. Broc Feeney (Holden)
2. Chaz Mostert (Holden)
3. Anton De Pasquale (Ford)
4. Cam Waters (Ford)
5. Andre Heimgartner (Holden)
FINAL 2022 SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1. Shane van Gisbergen (Holden) 3523 pts
2. Cam Waters 2908
3. Chaz Mostert 2835
4. Anton De Pasquale 2599
5. Will Davison (Ford) 2573
-AAP