How Feeney and Ingall are learning from each other

Tuesday marked a key day for Broc Feeney and Russell Ingall ahead of their historic Repco Bathurst 1000 campaign.

November’s Great Race will see 18-year-old Feeney and 57-year-old Ingall line up as the youngest and oldest pairing in Bathurst history.

They will form one of two highly-anticipated wildcard combinations, along with the Erebus Motorsport-prepared, Boost Mobile-backed entry of Greg Murphy and Richie Stanaway.

The two drivers took to their Triple Eight Race Engineering-prepared #39 Supercheap Auto wildcard entry for a test day at Queensland Raceway.

The pairing was announced in April, bringing together current Super2 points leader Feeney and two-time Bathurst winner Ingall.

Their official test day had twice been delayed due to unfolding COVID-19 situations, and the pair tackled Queensland Raceway under stringent conditions.

Feeney behind the wheel on Tuesday

Feeney, who made his Great Race debut alongside James Courtney last year, said Ingall has helped sharpen his off-track preparation.

“The stuff and preparation they do off the track carries so much into the car,” Feeney said.

“With media, and what he does to prepare himself when we get to the race track.

“I’m probably teaching him a few things with the Triple Eight car that he’s not aware with at the moment.

“Just little things, how he feels in the car, how it handles. We’re jumping in back-to-back.”

Ingall, the 2005 series champion, has done limited racing since his last Bathurst start in 2016.

'It’s been a while since I’ve been in the saddle of a Supercar'

A veteran of 587 race starts and 25 Bathurst starts, Ingall claimed his first Bathurst win in 1995, seven years before Feeney was born.

Despite boasting one of the most experienced resumes in Australian motorsport, Ingall admitted Tuesday’s test was a test of his own nerves.

“It is a big day, because I haven’t felt nervous driving into a circuit since probably my go kart days,” Ingall said.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been in the saddle of a Supercar.

“The expectations… am I going to be alright, am I going to be quick enough, am I going to make a goose of myself.

“All of these things are going through my head and they shouldn’t, because I’ve done this rodeo a lot of times.”

The two have been working closely together

Ingall’s time were close to those of Feeney’s on the day, with Feeney winning races at all three Super2 events in 2021.

For Ingall, it was a day to reassure himself he still has it, but is looking forward to two further test days at Queensland Raceway next month.

“It’s good to shake the cobwebs out,” he said.

“It’s learning the team as well… I know most of the guys here, but still, you’ve got new mechanics, engineers, the rest of it.

“There’s a learning process of keeping the marriage together. But so far, everything’s run so smoothly.”

The Repco Bathurst 1000 will be held across November 4-7.