Motoring
The last ever race in the Holden for the V8s took place in Adelaide in December, and our very own Broc Feeney took out top honours...
Hey guys,
First win, last win for Holden, last race for these cars, my first season done — I don’t think it’s all sunk in yet.
Adelaide was crazy. We’d won the teams championship the round before and we couldn’t drop or gain many spots in the drivers championship, so we just had a bit of a swing — and it paid off.
But it was tough, and Saturday was bad. Both me and Shane (van Gisbergen) missed out on the shootout because of poor qualifying. The track was breaking up quite a lot and it was really difficult not to make any mistakes. We certainly had pace — I ended up in the fence twice and we still ended up eighth — but I really wasn’t happy with myself.
I didn’t feel at one with the car on Saturday, but I knew if we could make it a tiny bit better for Sunday, we could certainly be really competitive. Getting into the shootout set us up, and from the start I thought we had decent pace.
I knew if I could survive the corner for the first couple of laps I could just build into a rhythm...
The biggest moment was when they dropped me in the pits and I got out just in front of Chaz (Mostert) and Anton (de Pasquale). I was like, ‘Holy crap, I’m leading this race!’. We thought it was going to be quite difficult after the first safety car because everyone had a lot more fuel than I did, but we got past Will (Davison) and put a good gap on the field, which meant we came out with the race lead.
From there it was just about focusing on the restart. Chaz was quite fast at turn 9, so I knew if I could survive the corner for the first couple of laps I could just build into a rhythm. I just did my thing and controlled the race. I didn’t feel like I had to push past my limits. I was nice and calm — it certainly felt good out front!
The first half of the last lap was just like any other until I got out of turn 10-11 and realised I had two corners to go — it started to hit me and I got a bit of goosebumps. Coming to the last corner I was just like, ‘I’ll brake real early here to stop it!’.
It was as I got to the last corner that I realised what we’d achieved. Seeing the videos through history of Jamie (Whincup), Craig (Lowndes), Shane, Scotty (McLaughlin) and all those guys coming out of the last corner with the whole stand on the right-hand side standing up and cheering — to experience that in my first year with my first win is epic.
To then get my first one as the last one for Holden — that’s the coolest race ever to win...
My first radio call coming out of the last corner was, ‘Are you serious?’. Then I was just screaming. It’s just the best feeling ever.
To get a win for my crew, 88, who have been working their arses off all year, was awesome, and to then get my first one as the last one for Holden — that’s the coolest race ever to win. People have supported the brand for longer than I’ve been alive, so to be the last guy ever to win in a Holden, there’s a big meaning to it.
Winning was the last tick that I needed at the end of what I think’s been a good first year. For sure there’s always room to improve, but I’ve come a long way from the first race in Sydney. It’s been a big learning curve, but I feel like at the end of the year we were starting to get a bit more competitive, and obviously we showed in Adelaide we have the speed to win races.
I’ve got to know the team a lot better too. To be honest, the guys there aren’t like work colleagues now; they’re mates. We hang out on the weekend and we catch up and we’re always talking. It feels like a big friendly environment that I’m a part of, so I’m fortunate. When I go away racing and I’m spending a lot of time away from home I still feel like I’m travelling away with mates and I get to go race cars.
I think a lot of people have a shot at winning the title because no-one knows what it’s going to be like...
You’ve got to enjoy what you’re doing, and I’m loving doing what I’m doing, and most of that is because I’m with a good group of people that I’m happy being around.
I’m pretty set on trying to have two or three weeks off over summer to not think about motorsport and just try to chill out. I might have a couple of hot chips and a chocolate thickshake — it’s been a while!
The end of January is when we’ve got to get back testing, and 2023 is a new challenge. I think a lot of people have a shot at winning the title because no-one knows what it’s going to be like. It’s going to come down to drivers and teams and how they work together.
In Adelaide I was able to win the race fair and square. Then I got out of the car and in the heat of the moment said that I’ll be a championship challenger! It’s a big challenge, and I’m going to train pretty hard for it. The goal is to try to win more races and be consistently in the top five and top three. Then we’ll see.
2023, here we come!
Cheers,
Broc