Feeney beats Reynolds in Practice 1

Broc Feeney has fired the first shot of the betr Darwin Triple Crown, beating David Reynolds and Mark Winterbottom in Practice 1.

Feeney took his #88 Red Bull Ampol Camaro to a 1:06.5132s in the closing stages to pip Reynolds (#26 Penrite Mustang) by 0.0307s at Hidden Valley.

Winterbottom (#18 DEWALT Camaro) was third and 0.1549s adrift, having led the balance of the 30-minute session after the first runs.

Feeney's time was 1:05.9350s was nearly 0.6s slower than the fastest time from the corresponding time in 2022, set by Chaz Mostert.

“It was a pretty short session, we had to get straight into it,” said Feeney, who has won three races already in 2023.

“The car was pretty reasonable out the gate. We’re just looking for a few things… you drive drive it so many ways and change it.

“We’ve got a few things to work on, but a good start to the weekend."

Fords filled positions four through seven, with Will Davison leading Cam Waters, Todd Hazelwood and Anton De Pasquale.

Series leader Brodie Kostecki (#99 Coca-Cola Camaro) jumped to eighth late on, with Matt Payne (#19 Penrite Mustang) and Cameron Hill (#35 Truck Assist Camaro) rounding out the top 10.

Mostert and Shane van Gisbergen, who are third and fourth in the championship, were only 17th and 18th.

Both drivers had issues in the session, van Gisbergen (#97 Red Bull Ampol Camaro) delayed in pit lane due to an issue related to a Safety Car limiter system trial.

Mostert, meanwhile, suffered an off at Turn 11, but managed to keep his #25 Mobil 1 Optus Mustang away from the barriers.

Kostecki’s teammate Will Brown, who is second in the championship, was 11th on the time sheets, some 0.4s from Feeney’s benchmark.

The first Camaro vs Mustang running of the Gen3 era of Darwin began with ambient temperatures at 27 degrees, with Winterbottom setting the early pace.

Winterbottom, a four-time Darwin race winner, clocked a 1:06.6681s to lead Davison (#17 Shell V-Power Mustang) and Waters (#6 Monster Mustang).

Several drivers found trouble at the notorious Turn 1, which is located at the end of the 1.1km-long pit straight.

James Courtney (#5 Snowy River Caravans Mustang) was first to run long, pinching the front left on his Ford after just seven minutes.

Reynolds and Jack Smith (#4 SCT Logistics Camaro) also bowled wides in sympathy at the midway point of the session.

Smith had already run long as Reynolds arrived at speed, with both drivers rejoining the session without incident.

The balance of the field returned to the circuit with six minutes remaining, with Winterbottom leading the times.

Reynolds jumped to the top with a 1:06.5439s, before Feeney vaulted to the top with a 1:06.5132s to put a Camaro back on top.

Drivers from Feeney in first to Hill in 10th were covered by 0.4s, with the whole 26-car field covered by 1.1s.

The sole wildcard in the field, Zane Goddard, was 26th with a best of 1:07.6250s aboard his #888 Supercheap Auto Camaro.

Supercars will return to the track for Practice 2 at 2:05pm local time/2:35pm AEST.