'Far out': Brown shocked by Feeney's championship hit

Reigning champion Will Brown was surprised by just how much of a dent Broc Feeney copped to his championship lead following the latter's issues at The Bend.

Feeney entered the Ryco Enduro Cup with a Finals berth and 25 bonus points for the Elimination Final sewn up, courtesy of a runaway Repco Sprint Cup victory.

The Triple Eight star had a chance to clinch top seed honours for the first round of The Finals, leading Matt Payne by 345 points, and teammate Brown by 355 points.

However, a refuelling issue dropped Feeney to 19th for the first enduro of the year, and with Payne and Brown third and fourth, the championship picture changed somewhat.

With 300 points on offer at The Bend, Payne and Brown scored 254 and 234 points respectively, versus Feeney's 67. Heading to Bathurst, Payne and Brown now trail Feeney by 158 and 188.

The Finals is a revolutionary look at the Supercars Championship fight, with 2025 the first season of the new rules. There are plenty of unknowns, yet every point matters, even before the playoffs begin.

For the first round of The Finals on the Gold Coast, the top 10 drivers' points are reset to 3000, and bonus points are then applied on drivers' championship position after Bathurst, from 150 for first down to 21 for 10th. Additional bonus points for the Sprint Cup and Enduro Cup winners are also applied.

As it stands, current leader Feeney would be top seed for the Gold Coast. He would have 150 bonus points for his championship position, and 25 more for his Sprint Cup win, taking him to 3175. Eighth place would start the weekend on 3048, giving Feeney a 136-point head start on potential first-round elimination.

However, if Feeney suffers another shocker at Bathurst, and should Payne or Brown climb over the #88 driver in the standings and one of them win the Ryco Enduro Cup, Feeney could be seeded as low as third for the Gold Coast. At worst, Feeney would have 3121 points for the Gold Coast round, and an 82-point margin over eighth.

The points hit for Feeney at The Bend caught Brown's attention, given Feeney has 12 wins and 14 poles to his name.

"Broc has another problem at Bathurst, Matt Payne comes top three, Matt Payne's leading the championship in the old standards," Brown said on his Lucky Dogs podcast.

"I look at Broc and how dominant he's been... 14 poles, 12 wins, and to only be that far ahead, I was like, 'far out'.

"It definitely emphasises how many points you could lose in the enduros... finishing 19th, you're never going to win the Enduro Cup, so he's not going to get the extra points.

"It was interesting to see how many points he lost compared to people around him in the championship."

Feeney made his feelings clear over the refuelling issue, suggesting a similar drama in The Finals could be season-ending: “The way the championship is this year, you have that happen at Round 1 of the Finals at the Gold Coast and you go home."

2023 champion Brodie Kostecki said there will be even more risk at Mount Panorama, given drivers will be getting up to speed with the new-for-2025 tyre at the season's most challenging circuit. There, Bathurst's concrete walls will take no prisoners, unlike the The Bend's run-off areas.

"Bathurst is a hard one too, it's going to be interesting going there with the new tyre, with how edgy it is," Kostecki said.

"Jamie [Whincup] made a few mistakes as well, he ran off the road twice after having the fuel issue, so you can't afford to do that with walls surrounding you."

The season resumes at Mount Panorama on October 9-12, before The Finals commences at Surfers Paradise on October 24-26. Tickets are on sale now.