'Don't rough me up too much': Mostert fires warning shot at Feeney
Broc Feeney and Chaz Mostert got into it on the opening lap in Adelaide
Stars battled through Senna Chicane, Mostert had a crack into Turn 9
Feeney made mistake on lap 3, Mostert finished second behind Brodie Kostecki
Chaz Mostert has fired a warning shot at championship rival Broc Feeney after their wild skirmish in the opening corners of Friday's bp Adelaide Grand Final opener.
As they did in the Sunday race in Adelaide 12 months ago, Feeney and Mostert dragged down to the Senna Chicane. In scenes reminiscent of their 2024 battle, Feeney forced Mostert to run over the kerb, and Mostert stayed in it.
The gap closed through Turn 3, and after an attack into Turn 4, Mostert fired down the inside at Turn 9. However, the #25 Mobil 1 Optus Ford overran the corner, handing the lead back to Feeney. Post-race, Mark Skaife described the run-ins as "wild."
On lap 3, a Feeney error at Turn 4 opened the door to Mostert, who was quickly picked off by eventual winner Brodie Kostecki. Mostert came home second, while Walkinshaw Andretti United teammate Ryan Wood demoted Feeney to fourth.
Heading into Saturday, Mostert is just 13 points behind Feeney, with Will Brown and Kai Allen 48 and 53 points behind.
It was the latest in a line of run-ins between Mostert and Feeney, who went to war for victory in the Gold Coast finale on the penultimate lap. On that occasion, Mostert also got one over his rival.
When asked about the start in PIRTEK Victory Lane after the race, Mostert said: "He didn't want to give me an inch, so I just kept it wide open into his side of his door.
"He sent me across the kerb and I was lucky enough to hold onto it. Don't rough me up too much, because once I get the eyes on, he'll be in a bit of trouble."
The result was a big win for the Mostert garage, despite the two-time Bathurst winner finishing where he started. Feeney went backwards, while Brown recovered to ninth after being tipped into a spin by Thomas Randle.
"Pretty stoked. That was going to be pretty tough, glad to stay on the black stuff," Mostert said.
"Brodie was super quick there, especially at the start. Then I found my rhythm a little bit, but already lost track position... even after the pit stop, we both nearly stoved it in the fence at [Turn] 4. It was really quite slippery.
"Gutted not to get 50 grand, it would've been nice. But hey, I'm really happy with second, especially after day one here."
In a team release, Feeney lamented his lack of pace in the rain, saying: "Had a decent start, ran up the front for a few laps and then made a bit of a mistake which let some past, but just didn't have the pace of the front three.
"So we dropped back a fair bit, need to do some work in understanding what we need to do to be better in these conditions. Obviously we were fast in the wet at Sandown but not quick enough today in the wet."
Supercars action resumes on Saturday with Boost Mobile Qualifying at 10:05am local/10:35am AEDT, followed by the Boost Mobile Top Ten Shootout at 12:35pm/1:05pm. The 78-lap Race 33 follows at 3:20pm/3:50pm.
