Craig's Corner: Driving standards, Feeney's spin call, brilliant Kostecki
This is the second exclusive Supercars.com column by Supercars Hall of Famer Craig Lowndes for the 2026 season. Seven-time Bathurst winner Lowndes will unpack each round of the 2026 Repco Supercars Championship from his own perspective, starting with last weekend's Melbourne SuperSprint.
Driving standards
There was a lot of good racing, but it seemed like there was a lot of contact this year. I was actually quite surprised how much contact there was.
We’ve always seen incidents in Melbourne, but there seemed to be more this year. Considering that teams have a short turnaround to get cars to New Zealand, I thought drivers would be more aware of the risks.
There’s no doubt that there’s tension out there. It’s old school. Everyone's trying to find their way in the opening rounds of a new season, and everyone's trying to establish themselves. That's good for the sport.
But drivers were also penalised for their wrongdoings, which was fair enough. But as I said, the crash damage was higher than I expected. The risk is higher than the reward because the races are essentially half points races.
Spin or stop?
Hindsight's a wonderful thing, but my first reaction would be to stop. The worrying part for oncoming drivers is knowing where the car is.
Unfortunately, Broc Feeney went from one side to the racetrack and then spun it back the other way, and Cooper and Zach were caught up. That impact then sling shotted Broc back the other way.
I was always about just coming to a stop and letting other drivers work their way around, instead of trying to guess their way through it.
Luckless Murray
Cooper Murray is the driver that's probably had the most bad luck this year. If he didn't have any bad luck, he wouldn't have any luck at all.
He obviously got caught up some incidents, but he had the power steering issue again. He then got caught up in Sunday's crash, which topped off his weekend in a negative way. Hopefully he can bounce back.
BRT’s luck will turn, but when?
How does BRT turn their speed into results? Well, I think you they’ve got to keep doing what they're doing. Yes, they've got great car speed. They showed it at Sydney, and they showed it again across the weekend.
They just need to keep doing what they're doing and stay positive. Aaron Cameron and James Golding unfortunately got caught up in some incidents when they sat in the top 10. Unfortunately, they’re not finishing there.
I believe their time will come. It's just a matter of just trying to minimise any incidents.
Brilliant Brodie
Brodie Kostecki was very impressive. By the end of Sydney, he started to show real speed in the car. That speed carried into Melbourne, and he was the benchmark all weekend, and he deserved to win the Larry Perkins Trophy.
But it’s a long year, and he needs to keep that momentum and he needs to keep focused. The team needs to keep pushing him along. He’s the form driver at the moment, and could he hard to stop.
Fast Fords
The Mustang seems to be the car to have at this stage of the championship. They carried the speed from Sydney into the Grand Prix really well. It wasn’t just Triple Eight, it was DJR, Penrite, Tickford and BRT.
The Toyota is building momentum, and all GM teams need to lift.
What does it mean for the next round?
The last two tracks in Sydney and Melbourne have been fast, flowing circuits. The next stop, Taupō, is more of a stop-start track.
So, can those who were fast in Sydney and Melbourne be as competitive at Taupō? Team 18 had a strong car in New Zealand last year, while Matt Payne and Penrite Racing were also very good.
I can’t wait!
