Feeney beats Erebus duo, van Gisbergen crashes out

An overcut has helped Broc Feeney defeat Erebus Motorsport in Race 11 at the NED Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint, with Shane van Gisbergen crashing out on lap 1.

As one Red Bull Ampol Racing Camaro won the race, the other was thrown into a race against time to be repaired for the finale.

It marked van Gisbergen's first DNF since Townsville 2020, and it leaves the reigning champion 166 points away from the series lead.

Feeney scored his third victory of the season thanks to good car pace and a fast pit stop, with the #88 Camaro jumping his rivals in the stops.

Series leader Brodie Kostecki came home third to extend his points lead, with Coca-Cola Camaro teammate Will Brown fending off Cam Waters (#6 Monster Mustang) for the final spot on the podium.

Will Davison equalled the Shell V-Power Racing Team’s best result of the season in fifth, with Chaz Mostert (#25 Mobil 1 Optus Mustang) racing from 13th to sixth.

"I got run pretty wide at Turn 1, so both [Erebus] teammates got through," Feeney said of the start.

"We came charging through, we had ripper pace. I'm getting a reputation for Mr Sunday at the moment.

"Dropped back a few places, made some passes... great strategy, but we had a fast car today."

On the start, he said: "I expected it, I knew if I couldn't get to the inside, it was going to be pretty tough.

Davison took fastest lap bonus points with the quickest lap of the race, set on lap 3 of 42.

It was at the end of lap 1 that the race saw its major flashpoint, with van Gisbergen, who started ninth, sliding into the barriers at the final corner.

Replays showed van Gisbergen colliding with Penrite Racing Ford driver David Reynolds, with the #97 Camaro careening into the tyre wall near pit entry.

At the start, Feeney had dropped from second to as low as sixth after being held out by pole-sitter Kostecki.

Brown and Matt Stone Racing teammates Jack Le Brocq and Cameron Hill also got past the #88 Red Bull Ampol Camaro.

Behind them, van Gisbergen and Reynolds made contact, and both ran off the road. However, while Reynolds managed to rejoin, van Gisbergen slid into the tyre wall.

Reynolds was forced to replace a damaged tyre and was classified 23rd, while van Gisbergen brought his damaged car to a halt at pit entry.

No further action was taken over the incident, but Declan Fraser (#56 TRADIE Mustang) was slapped with a 15-second penalty for spinning Andre Heimgartner (#8 R&J Batteries Camaro) at Turn 2.

Van Gisbergen slides into the barriers

“Yeah, it was a decent hit,” van Gisbergen said as he walked back to the garage.

“I just went around the outside, and someone just ran us off the track. It happens."

On the repair efforts, he said: “I don’t know, they’re not very good at being repaired, these cars.

“It was a pretty decent hit, but we have the best team here. Hopefully they can fix it."

Brown and Kostecki disputed the race lead, with the former taking the position on lap 4 after getting a run down the back straight.

Behind them, Feeney powered past Le Brocq into fourth, with Davison also following through into fifth.

On lap 16, Kostecki took the lead back after Brown bowled a wide at the Turn 4 hairpin, with Hill and Le Brocq first of the leaders to stop.

Brown and Davison stopped on lap 17, and emerged ahead of both Truck Assist Camaros.

Kostecki stopped on lap 21, and despite missing his marks in the lane, emerged ahead of teammate Brown and Davison.

The damaged #97 Camaro

Feeney stopped on the following lap and emerged in the effective lead, which became the race lead on lap 28 once all drivers had stopped.

With the pit cycle complete, Feeney led Kostecki by 0.6s, with Brown requesting to pass Kostecki – a request that was denied by his team.

A hard-charging Waters, who stopped on lap 25, overtook Le Brocq on lap 28, Hill on lap 30, and Davison on lap 34.

The Tickford Racing star caught Brown, but for the second day running, the #6 Monster Ford came home one position shy of the podium.

Feeney took the chequered flag 1.7244s to the good to record his fourth career win, with Kostecki and Brown rounding out the podium.

Nulon Racing teammates Tim Slade and James Golding sandwiched Le Brocq, with Nick Percat (#2 Mobil 1 NTI Mustang) scoring a second top 10 in as many days.

Hill dropped to 11th, with Heimgartner recovering from his spin to finish 12th.

Kostecki will carry an extended 101-point lead over Brown into Sunday’s finale, with Mostert 148 points down in third.

Van Gisbergen drops to fourth, 166 points behind Kostecki, and is only 31 points ahead of Feeney.

The NED Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint will conclude with Race 12 at 3:50pm local time.