Feeney surprised by number of Taupō mistakes

Will Brown admits he "struggled a little bit” on what was a challenging Friday for many drivers in Taupō, with Broc Feeney surprised by the number of mistakes.

The points lead is up for grabs at the ITM Taupō Super 440, with teammates Brown and Broc Feeney sandwiching Tickford Racing rival Cam Waters.

Heading into Saturday’s action, Brown leads Waters by seven points, with Feeney 49 points down in third.

Brown was 10th and ninth, and Feeney eighth and 11th, in Friday’s two practice sessions. Waters wasn't much better off, finishing 13th and 10th.

Chaz Mostert, who is fourth in points, was sixth in both sessions, twice behind Walkinshaw Andretti United teammate Ryan Wood. Mostert, though, had a big spin at Turn 7 before bowling a big wide at Turn 9.

While being mid table after practice isn’t the end of the world, Brown, Feeney and Mostert were among the many to fall foul of off-track excursions.

Notably, Brown was left shaking his head after he ran wide at the high-speed Turn 9, a corner that caught several drivers out including Feeney.

“Yeah, we probably struggled a little bit today. We ended up at the back of the top 10, in both practice sessions,” reigning champion Brown said.

"We’ve got a little bit of work to do overnight for myself and a little bit with the car as well. We had a good race here last year — a strong, competitive car — so I'm sure we'll work it out and be able to qualify up there tomorrow.

“I'm happy for it to be either wet or dry, to be honest. I prefer it to be dry. We'll be able to work that out and, and have a strong car in, in either condition regardless of the weather.”

Feeney added: “It reminds me how hectic this place is and how challenging it is. I don't think it's very often you see so many people making so many mistakes.

"It's such a challenging track, but that's what makes it fun, all these surface changes with the new tyre. It's been a challenging day, but it's exciting. It mixes it up. It makes it super hard to get it right.

“We made some great changes today; we made some not-so-great changes so we'll learn from that overnight. Everyone's most likely going to say that, but I think we know where we need to be for tomorrow.

“It's so hard to even complete a lap without running off here and anyone that can manage a lap without making really any mistakes will be up the front. The Kiwis are going fast here, but for us we know where the time is, so we're not too stressed.

"It's just going to be about putting the lap down and qualifying when it counts."

Supercars will return on Saturday for back-to-back Boost Mobile Qualifying sessions from 10:25am NZST/8:25am AEST, which will set the grids for the dual 120km sprints.