Melbourne SuperSprint Talking points, results, Brodie Kostecki, Broc Feeney crash, video, highlights

Supercars racing at the Australian Grand Prix was once again at its best on the weekend, thrilling the massive crowds that make it the nation’s biggest sporting event.

These are the Talking Points from the weekend’s action.

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BRODIE MASTERCLASS

The history of Australian Touring Car racing means a lot to Brodie Kostecki.

He said as much when he hopped out of his Ford Mustang on Sunday to claim a second Larry Perkins Trophy.

He appreciates the past and the road the sport’s legends have raced before him to elevate Australia’s domestic touring car scene to where it is – where Brodie and his 23 mates can race before crowds of 480,000 this past weekend at Albert Park.

From Peter Brock to Dick Johnson, Larry Perkins to Glenn Seton, Mark Skaife to Russell Ingall, Marcos Ambrose, Jamie Whincup, Shane van Gisbergen and Scott McLaughlin.

Not since McLaughlin’s Supercar days ended when he travelled abroad to the USA for an IndyCar career have Dick Johnson Racing been relevant in the sport.

Which is why this weekend was so important for Kostecki – who is desperate to lift the legendary team out of the wilderness it’s been in for the past five seasons.

It means a lot to Kostecki to rebuild DJR – and in his second season in the Gold Coast based outfit – he knows he is on the right track.

That’s why the weekend was so pivotal for the 28-year-old.

On the sport’s biggest stage, he dominated Round 2 of the Supercars Championship – winning three of four races, he was second in the other, had a pole, regained the championship lead, and took Larry’s trophy.

And all this while being viciously ill on Thursday – which included vomiting in his helmet whilst qualifying. He claimed pole by the way – including spewing whilst topping 270 kilometres per hour down Lakeside drive.

It was that sort of weekend.

It was an ominous statement from one of the big superstars of this era of racers.

And was eerily similar to how he went about compiling his 2023 championship with Erebus.

It’s put the rest of the field on notice.

The racer’s racer is very much back in the ball game.

BROC POUNDING

Broc Feeney was the early pacesetter in season 2026.

In Sydney, he was bullet proof for the opening round.

On Saturday night in Melbourne he posted his third win of the season following Formula One qualifying.

He was back as the sole leader of the championship.

He was at the top of his game.

It was all looking so good for the young star.

Then it all went so wrong at turn one of Sunday morning’s final race at Albert Park.

Stuck mid pack after an uncharacteristic qualifying performance, Feeney was caught in others mess as the field ran to turn one.

He was spun by Kai Allen.

Facing backwards he opted to light up his tyres to make a run for the grass.

Only thing was, that was where a bunch of others opted to go to avoid the mess before them.

The subsequent hit was wicked – from Erebus racer Copper Murray – concerningly for Feeney right in the driver’s side of his Mustang.

His car was ripped into parts.

Gone in a moment was the title lead.

Also – his Mustang is likely done for an extended period.

It was a costly error for Feeney’s season hopes and his team’s repair bill. But thankfully he emerged unscathed.

So his team now has a giant job to make the ship that leaves early next week for the New Zealand doubleheader in April.

After trucking the damaged car back to their Brisbane base, it will be determined if Feeney likely moves to the team spare or a rapid rebuild can take place on the #88.

The sour point for Feeney is the question mark from his colleagues on why he moved during the spin.

Feeney said it was to avoid more damage.

But by moving he ensured his car would be much more heavily damaged and took others with him.

The key clip came from the series champion, Chaz Mostert, who controversially pinched the title from Feeney last year.

“Once you get turned around, just to keep the boot into it and swinging the rear around all unpredictable is a little bit silly,” Mostert said.

So Feeney has likely lost his race car, his championship lead, and taken a whack from others in pit lane.

How he responds in NZ will be fascinating.

THE GREATEST SHOW

The Grand Prix is now the biggest event in Australian sport.

The Australian Open is massive and stretches now for three weeks, but for a four-day carnival – nothing rivals the sheer enormity of GP weekend at Albert Park.

Over 120,000 packed the park from Friday through Sunday.

Raceday had close to 140,000.

The most staggering number of all, was 86,000 turning up on the Thursday when Formula One wasn’t even on the schedule – that was reserved almost exclusively for Supercars.

And didn’t they put on a show.

The racing across the weekend was sublime.

It was quintessential Supercars at Albert Park – with the outrageously wide surface providing large two or three wide pack racing.

It was like high banked NASCAR racing on a street circuit.

There was rubbing and beating and banging and monster carnage across multiple races.

And whenever there is contact – there is friction that follows in the garage.

The angst was palpable by lunchtime Sunday when most were packing up before the F1 race began.

As former Bathurst 1000 champion David Reynolds commented: “That’s racing at the Grand Prix – everyone just forgets about racing and the rules and they just drive like f***ing morons.”

Even Mark Dutton, the team manager of Triple Eight – who was nursing the most damaged car of the event after Feeney’s Race four crash lamented the driving standards.

“Unfortunately Melbourne is one of those ones that because there’s no pit stops, I think a few of the drivers out there forget that we are racing for sheep stations, not on PlayStations.”

The best racing across the entire schedule was saved exclusively for the Aussie touring cars – which are so beloved by GPs pitlane.

It’s part of the reason why the Australian Grand Prix Corporation extended the deal last Thursday to keep Supercars part of the show for the foreseeable future.

It’s the perfect recipe to ramp up the tension with the sport’s drivers – put them before monster crowds, with big TV numbers, and the world’s biggest motorsport figures watching on – and the action gets spicy.

Long may it continue.

WILL’S WOES CONTINUE

Will Brown continues to be a watch after two rounds of the championship.

The 2024 champion of the sport is just struggling – in all forms.

His qualifying has been such a battle – that he almost was in tears on Saturday morning when he finally broke through for a pole. His first in nearly a year.

His Sydney results from the opening round of seventh, 15th and 18th rolled on to Melbourne.

He finished eighth, 21st and 21st, before Sunday’s second placed finish was the sole highlight of a brutal opening.

Again there were more penalties coming his way.

Again he was outpaced by his teammate, Broc Feeney.

And now with Feeney’s Ford rebuild, the normally dominant Triple Eight team has its share of serious problems before heading abroad to New Zealand.

Brown finds himself a lowly 13th in the championship standings.

And after seven races of the season is already a whopping 245 points behind the series leader, Kostecki.

It’s not a nice nor normal place to be for someone who expects to be running for trophies at every event.

TOYOTA’S TIME TO SHINE

Perhaps the most significant result from Albert Park weekend was delivered on Friday evening in the second 19-lapper.

It’s no surprise to see Ford’s taking the top two steps on the podium (with Kostecki and reigning Bathurst champion, Matt Payne).

But it was a third placed finish for Ryan Wood that sent shockwaves through the sport with Toyota posting their first podium in Supercars.

The fact it came in just their second event surprised so many.

But for it to take just five races running down under shows just how serious Toyota are about making this a success.

And with some of the biggest figures in world motorsport watching on from Formula One pitlane, the result was all the more sweeter.

It was a huge tick for just how far the Japanese powerhouse has come with their two teams, Walkinshaw Racing and Brad Jones Racing.

In such a short period Toyota has now vaulted into the second best manufacturer in the sport which would be galling for Chevrolet to have slipped as swiftly as they have.

It’s a rapid rise.

From the opening round in Sydney where they just wanted one car in the top ten and ended with all five in the top ten by Sunday.

And now to their first podium in event two.

The search begins for their first win.

Can a Supra achieve that by New Zealand’s April doubleheader?