Feeney reacts to 'shock' Whincup call, reveals Bathurst regret
Broc Feeney opens up on "shock" Jamie Whincup co-driving decision
Whincup will step back from co-driving, Nick Percat signs on alongside Feeney
Feeney/Whincup won 2023 Sandown 500, finished second in 2024 enduros
Broc Feeney understands Jamie Whincup’s decision to step back from Supercars co-driving, despite admitting his disappointment in being unable to win Bathurst together.
For the first time since 2004 — when Feeney was just two years old — Triple Eight Race Engineering won’t have Whincup or Craig Lowndes behind the wheel in Supercars.
While Whincup stopped short of announcing his retirement, he conceded he won’t be on the grid in 2026 or 2027, leaving the door open to a return.
Speaking at Sandown, Feeney revealed that talks were held just after Bathurst last month — just as Whincup told media midway through the year. Secondary discussions saw Whincup confirm his decision, with Feeney initially in disbelief.
“It sort of got brought up before Bathurst, but not the fact that he'd be stepping back,” Feeney told Supercars.com.
"And then, yeah, pretty much the following week after Bathurst, he came to us and said, 'Hey, that's gonna be my last one'. So it was a bit of a shock.
"I thought we might be able to get another year out of him. We tried to sort of persuade him for one more year. But, I totally get his decision.
“He's such a busy guy now and he's trying to focus on the business, and he doesn't want one to affect the other or vice versa.
“We had the chat, me saying, ‘you sure you happy with your decision?' He said, 'yeah, I'm happy'. And then we said, 'who's the next guy?’
“He'd already been speaking to Nick a little bit and sort of got that ball rolling. The option was up to us on who we thought was best, but it came together pretty quickly.”
After stepping out of the full-time seat at the end of 2021, Whincup raced with Feeney for four seasons. After a rollercoaster run to fifth in the 2022 Bathurst 1000, they suffered heartbreaking moments in 2023 (gearbox failure while leading), 2024 (runner-up) and 2025 (Feeney crashed).
“It is pretty disappointing, when I look back on it, that we weren't able to achieve that,” Feeney said of a Bathurst win with Whincup.
“Obviously me trying to get my first and him getting back up on the top step podium would've been awesome.
"I look back and I'm happy, but probably not overly satisfied with what we achieved. We had the potential to achieve a lot more in those short few years.
“But at the same time, we were always in the fight. Our first Bathurst together, we finished fifth, and then we nearly won last year.
“It was a shame that this year probably didn't go to plan, but overall it's been a good few years.”
Feeney is now armed with a golden chance to mark Whincup’s announcement with a championship victory, with his campaign continuing his campaign at this weekend’s Semi Final at Sandown. While he has a title to win, Feeney admitted the enormity of the news will hit home in due course.
“He's obviously still well and truly part of the team and we're not losing him by any means,” Feeney said.
"He's still going to be huge help to us. He's been huge for me. It will be hard. It probably hasn't really sunk in yet, and it probably won't until next year when I rock up to the track and he's not with me driving.
“But it's been awesome. There's so much to reflect on. It’s probably not something I'll think about too much at the moment, but certainly in the future."
