Broc Feeney halts hiatus, Jamie Whincup welcomes criticism
Triple Eight star Feeney finished Perth practice Friday in second
Feeney sat in a press conference for the first time in 68 days
Sitting in a press conference for the first time in 68 days was solid proof to Broc Feeney that the tides could be turning.
Top three in the championship filled the top three spots in Friday’s press conference, which was Feeney’s first since his Sunday win in Tasmania in May.
With Triple Eight currently on a run of six races without a podium, Friday’s appearance to media indicated that the Red Bull Ampol Fords could be back in the fight.
“It's great to be back at a press conference. Feels like it's been a while,” Feeney smiled.
Feeney said he felt more competitive right as cars rolled out, which in itself was a solid result given his struggles in practice, which were prevalent even before the slump began.
“A bit better today. A lot more competitive I'd say from out the gate, the first run,” said Feeney, who shed light into Triple Eight's development war with its Ford rivals.
"These sessions are pretty hectic. I mean, just feels like one big practice session, to be honest. But you actually don't really get that many changes in as a whole.
"We tried a few things, which was good. It's obviously feeling a bit more competitive at the end.”
Feeney somewhat delivered on Triple Eight Managing Director Jamie Whincup’s demand of maximising Friday’s running to “make sure we get the cars more competitive.”
Earlier, Feeney and Brown were 12th and 18th in Practice 1, with Brown not content with Practice 2 despite being a solid seventh.
Whincup, who is back trackside after a UK trip, admitted during the first session that his team “deserved” the criticism over its barren run.
“We’ve been smashed pretty heavily from the media, but we’ve deserved it,” Whincup said.
“We set ourselves a really high standard and we haven’t been able to deliver to that standard.
"It’s been great that some people have put that into perspective of course — we’re still second in the teams’ championship and second in the drivers’ championship standings, it’s not dire straits, but it’s not at our level."
Supercars return to Motormall Wanneroo Raceway on Saturday for back-to-back Boost Mobile Qualifying sessions, beginning at 9:45am local time/11:45am AEST.
