'I wouldn't want to race him': Winterbottom's sympathy for Feeney
Mark Winterbottom expects "once in a generation talent" Broc Feeney to bounce back
Feeney was left in tears after suffering championship defeat in the Adelaide finale
Triple Eight star claimed 14 race wins and 19 pole positions in standout campaign
Supercars legend Mark Winterbottom expects "once in a generation talent" Broc Feeney to bounce back strongly from his devastating championship defeat.
Despite claiming 14 race wins and 19 pole positions, Red Bull Ampol Racing star Feeney fell short to Walkinshaw Andretti United rival Chaz Mostert in a final day showdown in Adelaide.
A collision with Mostert's teammate Ryan Wood and engine misfire prevented Feeney for charging back into contention, with the Triple Eight driver powerless to deny Mostert the title.
Winterbottom, the 2015 Supercars champion and 2013 Bathurst winner, was impressed the character shown by the 23-year-old.
"I feel for Broc, I think he did everything right all year and he's a worthy champion," Winterbottom said on Supercars' The Run Home podcast.
"He's a once in a generation talent, he has set the standard this year and other teams have been looking at him as the benchmark. To come away with no Bathurst, no championship, the pole position award, it's bittersweet.
"I think he's one of the best sportsmen in the category. To see his emotion... we all think we're tough, but far out, it hurts, and he showed it and that was really good of him.
"To have Larko go up and chat to him after the race... a lot of guys we've seen, champions in the past, they close the door, they don't wanna talk about the devastation. He owned it. He's a good kid, and he'll win many more.
"But this one can make or break you. When you go into Christmas, you'll either go and get motivation or you sit and sulk. H's a worker, he's a good kid and, he'll bounce back.
"But I feel sorry for him. I wanted to give him a hug."
Mostert and Will Brown believe Feeney could be a handful in 2026, with Feeney himself joking at the Gala Awards that he hopes to "make it harder" for his rivals next season.
With his car letting him down, Feeney was still the fastest driver on the track in certain micro sectors, in a show of fight that impressed Winterbottom.
"I think without a car failure, he still wins the championship, because he still was driving through. He's a fighter," Winterbottom said.
"I liked watching the fact that the car was misfiring, like you could hear it was terrible. And still in some of those micro sectors, he was going purple [fastest].
"I'm interested to see how strong he comes back... come Round 1, I wouldn't want to race him. He's going to come back strong and he's going to get that number one at some stage, whether it's next year in the future."
Winterbottom himself had to wait 10 years for a maiden Bathurst win, six years after he threw away a win in the closing laps. He also claimed his first championship in 2015 after finishing in the top three six times.
"2007 Bathurst, I ran off at [The Chase]. You think it's going be easy, you think the next year it's going to come. 2008, it doesn't. 2009, it's on fire. 2010, co-driver's in the fence. It hurts," Winterbottom added.
"I can relate to him, because 2007 broke me. It does hurt. But when you win it, the tough moments make the good moments special, because there's nothing guaranteed in this sport.
"And even when you dominate all year, you get to the end; you see it in footy, we see it in other codes. Sometimes it doesn't happen. But what we do, we turn over Christmas and when we roll out that next year to win the next one, it's more special."
