Feeney details chance meeting with idol Marquez
A quick trip to Phillip Island ended facilitating a lifelong dream for Broc Feeney, who met idol Marc Marquez.
Feeney jetted off to Phillip Island last weekend in the days after the Repco Bathurst 1000.
The Red Bull Ampol Racing driver, who will turn 20 on Tuesday, is a noted MotoGP fan.
Feeney’s father Paul also has a decorated background in motorcycling.
A Red Bull guest appearance transpired into a chance meeting with Marquez himself.
Marquez, a six-time MotoGP champion, welcomed Feeney with open arms prior to Sunday’s Grand Prix.
The meeting was facilitated by MotoGP legend Mick Doohan and Red Bull Australian motorsport head Blake Evans.
“He was a ripper guy,” Feeney told Supercars.com.
'He’s someone I’ve watched and admired for so long'
“You hear all the ‘nice guy’ stuff, but he was genuinely mega, very inviting.
“Dad and I were on the phone with Mick, who knows Marc pretty well.
“Mick said he was in a few meetings but said he’d see what he could do.
“Within literally five minutes Blake and I were down there with Marc.
“It all happened so quickly, it was surreal.”
Shell V-Power Racing Team driver Will Davison and wife Riana Crehan, a Supercars pit lane reporter, also attended the Grand Prix.
There are several links between Feeney and Marquez, most notably with father Paul and five-time 500cc champion Mick.
A 10-year-old Feeney watched Stoner win his sixth straight Australian Grand Prix in 2012.
However, Marquez replaced Casey Stoner at Repsol Honda in 2013, the year after Stoner retired.
Father and son at the Island
Stoner then made his V8 Supercars debut for Triple Eight in a Red Bull-backed Super2 Commodore.
Feeney would then win the Super2 title, in a Red Bull-backed Commodore, in 2021.
Despite throwing his Holden Supercar into The Chase at 300km/h only days before, Feeney was "proper nervous” meeting Marquez.
"He’s someone I’ve looked up to for so many years, he’s my idol,” Feeney said.
“I was proper nervous meeting him, he’s someone I’ve watched and admired for so long.
“He didn’t think he was meeting anyone, he was just having lunch.
“I mentioned I raced Supercars, and he said he’s watched races and that’s what Casey raced.
“He went on to say, ‘You guys operate at such a high level’. I’m like, ‘Stop right there!’
“Those guys are out of control, but he’s so humble. He signed a hat and some knee sliders.
“That’s something I’ll cherish for a long time.”
Marquez topped off Feeney’s weekend with a sterling run to second in Sunday’s race behind Suzuki’s Alex Rins.
It was the 100th premier class of Marquez’s career, and the first of his injury-riddled 2022 season.
For Feeney, it was a full-circle moment given his father’s background, and with friends in motorcycling circles also on the ground at the Island.
“Dad was stoked,” Feeney said.
“But he knows how much it means to me to meet Marc.
“I went for Casey’s last one in 2012, I was young but it was huge.
“I’ve got a few mates in Moto3 and Superbikes too, it was awesome catching up with them.
“To to be able to get down and see what it’s all about was great."
Feeney is 106 points behind fifth-placed Davison heading to Surfers Paradise.
