'More to come': Dutton bullish despite Penrite dominance
Triple Eight won JR Trophy, claimed both points leads
Ford powerhouse took leads despite going winless in NZ
Penrite Racing won three of four Ruapuna races
The performance of the Ford Mustang, albeit at the hands of a rival team, has Triple Eight Team Manager Mark Dutton confident of a Red Bull Ampol ambush.
Ford homologation team Triple Eight were soundly outperformed by rivals Penrite Racing across the ITM Christchurch Super 440.
Matt Payne and Kai Allen won three of the four races, with Shell V-Power Racing Team star Brodie Kostecki victorious in the other race.
However, Broc Feeney kept his nose clean across the two weekends in New Zealand to win the Jason Richards Trophy, but made no secret of being off the pace relative to the Penrite Fords, in particular.
For Dutton, though, seeing the Ford package working strongly has given his team hope that there's plenty more speed should former long-time General Motors squad Triple Eight be able to flick the switch.
“Even though we didn’t get any of the big Ws in the races, the consistency across all conditions speaks volumes for the depth of the team,” Dutton said.
"It’s been a big two weeks away, and we’ve had a lot of the crew sick between the two meetings, so everyone has had to push super, super hard.
“We’re happier with the car speed but definitely still not completely happy. Groves have shown the potential in the car, and we didn’t match them this weekend, so there is more to come.
“It’s good when a Mustang is that quick because we know there is more to come once we nail everything."
Feeney's Jason Richards Trophy victory was hard fought, despite the Queenslander failing to win any of the six New Zealand races. A DNF for Ryan Wood and clash for Brodie Kostecki and Chaz Mostert paved the way to Feeney's win, with Payne also missing out after losing a wheel in the first Saturday race.
It was the sixth JR Trophy win for Triple Eight, following wins for Jamie Whincup (2015, 2017) and Shane van Gisbergen (2016, 2019, 2022). Remarkably, Feeney did so despite having a malfunctioning radio all day.
“To get the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy is an unbelievable thing for us,” Dutton said.
"Every trophy is special, but this is a very sought-after one and we will definitely relish it because so many people knew Jason and the incredible person he was.”
Feeney and 2024 Supercars champion Will Brown are first and ninth, and Red Bull Ampol Racing first, in points heading to Tasmania on May 22-24.
