The stats that back up Feeney's Perth mission
67 of 95 races held in Perth won from front row
Last five Perth races won from pole position
Perth poles in 2023 won by 0.02s, 0.04s and 0.08s
Starting from the front of the pack in Perth is a significant advantage for drivers, something not lost on Broc Feeney as he aims to reel in teammate Will Brown.
The 2024 Repco Supercars Championship will again shift to sprint mode at next weekend’s Bosch Power Tools Perth SuperSprint.
For the first time this season, drivers will have to contend with a knockout format, with both race grids set by three-part qualifying.
However, given both races in Perth offer 150 points for the winner, and five fastest lap bonus points, qualifying will carry even more weight.
Of 95 ATCC/Supercars races held in Perth, 67 been won a car starting on the front row of the grid. The last five Perth races have been won by the car starting on pole position.
Brown and Feeney split the Sunday wins in Perth 12 months ago, both drivers winning from pole position.
Remarkably, the three poles in 2023 were won by 0.02s, 0.04s and 0.08s. Just 0.19s covered the top nine and top seven in the two Sunday sessions.
"For me, I sort of put the first three rounds in their own little championship, and now I suppose we get into what a normal calendar looks like for us," Feeney told Supercars.com.
"A tenth of a second is probably seven, eight spots. So, a good qualifying lap really sets you up. Fortunately, I got on pole and was able to win [last year].
"So I think if we're able to qualify on the front row again, we can have great success.”
Brown leads Feeney by 71 points, but Feeney has had his teammate’s measure in qualifying, leading the head-to-head 5-3. Every race that Feeney has finished ahead of Brown this year, Feeney has won.
Pole position hasn't proven a winning advantage so far this season, with Feeney's Race 3 victory in Melbourne the only win from P1 on the grid.
However, despite holding the orange numbers, Brown is determined to play the long game.
"I'm looking forward to getting back to Perth. Got a win there last year,” Brown told Supercars.com.
“The team's been doing really strong this year, so we'll just try and build on that and have another couple of solid results.
“There's still a long season ahead, we're not getting ahead of ourselves. We've had a good strong run out the gates, but we need to keep that going."
The 2024 season will resume at the Bosch Power Tools Perth SuperSprint in May 17-19. Tickets for the Perth event are on sale now. International viewers can follow all the action on Superview.
