Whincup prepared to manage Triple Eight rivalry
Will Brown leads Broc Feeney by nine points
Feeney won Race 1, before Brown turned the tables in Race 2
Jamie Whincup ready to "manage" intra-team rivalry
Triple Eight boss Jamie Whincup is prepared to wrangle teammates Broc Feeney and Will Brown in what looms as a thrilling championship battle in 2024.
Brown and Feeney won a race apiece at the Thrifty Bathurst 500, and left Mount Panorama first and second in the championship standings.
While it was a weekend to remember for Triple Eight, it wasn’t without its moments — Brown was over-cut by Feeney in Race 1, before Feeney pushed Brown along in Race 2 following an early collision.
Later in Race 2, Brown was "completely on edge" as he fought off Chaz Mostert, with the Walkinshaw Andretti United Ford star shifting his expectations towards being a title contender after putting Triple Eight under pressure.
It was nothing new for Whincup, even as a team boss, having had to manage moments between Feeney and Shane van Gisbergen, as well as doing the same as a driver.
While there are plenty more opportunities for intra-team tension, Whincup was delighted to have two young stars plying their trade in the main game.
"It's early days to be talking about the championship,” Whincup said after Race 2.
"Both blokes get along really well at the moment — a few punch-ons with the engineers back in their bunker, but we'll sort that out, that's up to me to manage.
"It's fantastic to have two competitive cars, two of the best, young talents we've seen for a long, long time."
Prior to the season, Whincup said his mission was to foster a “healthy” rivalry between the two drivers, who combine to form the youngest line-up on the grid.
Feeney and Brown will turn 22 and 26 respectively later this year, yet are already proven winners, the latter flying out of the blocks at Triple Eight.
The team has added motivation in 2024, with Jess Dane telling the Schick Cool Down Lap podcast that Triple Eight is even more determined to win both titles after being beaten by Erebus Motorsport last season.
Whincup was excited to see that two young drivers have been tasked with leading Triple Eight’s fightback, with the team getting off to the perfect start.
With victory in Bathurst, Triple Eight won the first race of the season for the 16th time in the last 19 attempts, dating back to 2006.
"It's exciting for the sport that we've got a couple of kids under 25 that are right at the front of the main series here in Australia,” Whincup continued.
"I'm as excited, I'm a fan like anybody, to see how that all unravels as the year goes on."
Brown leads Feeney by nine points heading to the Melbourne SuperSprint in March 21-24.
