Feeney scratching head over Taupō practice result
Broc Feeney only 21st in Taupō practice
Feeney 0.7s slower than than teammate Will Brown
Chaz Mostert led Ford top three in only practice
Broc Feeney isn’t sure how to read into his slow start in New Zealand, with the Triple Eight driver only 21st after 90 minutes of practice at Taupō.
The #88 Red Bull Ampol Chevrolet was 21st on the time sheets, and some 0.7s behind teammate and championship leader Will Brown.
Feeney has one night to turn around his performance or risk losing crucial ground to Brown, who is just 17 points up the road.
Chaz Mostert ended up quickest ahead of Ford rivals Matt Payne and Will Davison, with James Golding and Brown rounding out the top five.
Given it was the only practice session before Boost Mobile Qualifying on Saturday, Feeney knows he and his engineers have work to do.
“I’m not too sure what to read into today,” Feeney said.
"The hour-and-a-half session felt very quick, and when you look at our time sheets it doesn’t look too good unfortunately.
"We made some changes throughout the day and did a couple of race runs so I feel like we gathered a bit of information, but we have plenty we need to work on overnight.
"I think some of the other guys did a few more qualifying runs than I did, but my focus is to look at the data overnight and see where I can improve as I’m a little bit off the pace at the moment.”
Brown was happier, given the #87 Red Bull Ampol Camaro ran towards the front and led the times after the opening runs.
“It was a positive practice session overall. I think all the changes we made were a step forward and I felt pretty strong all session," Brown said.
"Obviously a couple of people who ran an extra set of green tyres pipped us at the end, but overall I think it’s definitely a top three car.
"I definitely think the rain is going to throw a bit of a curveball tomorrow, but we’ll see how we go.
"I felt pretty strong in our qualifying run mid-way through the session, but I think we have gains we can make after that, and with the deg being so high, the race pace is going to be the most important thing.
"I can’t wait until our first race tomorrow, the fans over here have been awesome this weekend and it’s great to be back here.”
