Brown overhauls Feeney in battle of the Bulls

Will Brown ran down Broc Feeney in a nail-biting battle of the Red Bulls as the consistent Anton De Pasquale claimed the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy at Taupo.

After the big wet of Saturday, the final race of the Taupo Super400 was a more tense war of attrition dominated by Triple Eight, which once again proved why it is the strategy master.

Brown led home Feeney in a Triple Eight 1-2 by 3.3s with De Pasquale a distant third, 14s back ahead of Matt Payne and James Golding.

All eyes were on the two Red Bulls with Feeney leading the way after the final stops were completed around 19 laps from the finish.

But it was Brown who had the pace and he caught his teammate in no time, setting up a tense 12-lap period where cars #88 and #87 ran nose to tail, scrapping for the lead.

Despite a valiant defensive effort from Feeney, holding off a number of challenges from his teammate, Brown’s speed and smarts eventually proved too good and he snatched the lead with an aggressive move at Turn 5 just eight laps from the finish.

Brown’s eighth career win and third of the year extended his championship lead to 71 points.

“I was trying not to use the front bar because I was told I couldn’t,” Brown revealed on the tense Triple Eight battle.

“That was awesome racing there and I tried everything to get past. I locked the rears and just got around. Had a lot of fun with Broc there.

“That is the best race of my life.”

Whilst Brown dominated the finale, De Pasquale joined the likes of Jason Bright, Mark Winterbottom, Jamie Whincup, Scott McLaughlin and Shane van Gisbergen to lift the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy.

Fast start

Matt Payne wrestles the lead on the inside from Broc Feeney off the start. Image: Peter Norton EPIC Sports Photography

In contrast to Saturday lights went out in dry and overcast conditions and the entire field made it through turn 1 without drama.

It was an even jump between Payne and Feeney but the Grove Racing driver won the battle utilising the inside lane of Turn 1 and opened a 1s margin.

De Pasquale jumped Kostecki to secure third, while Brown had the best jump, but was unable to pass his former teammate.

Le Brocq and Randle raced hard for sixth and Wood tried to join them, but went into Turn 5 too hot.

WAU teammate Mostert had a slow start and lost six positions on the opening lap to fall to 15th.

It did not take long for the field to settle down as they managed tyres and fuel for the long race ahead with Payne holding a 1.5s lead.

The Kiwi was in a league of his own being the only driver to record a 1m28s lap early on.

Determined to rise from the back of the grid, Percat was on the move early on and raced with Winterbottom side by side into the chicane.

The battle for 22nd was not resolved clearly with Percat giving Winterbottom a whack on the way through at the penultimate corner and the pair were lucky to escape.

By Lap 9 Mostert was fighting back from his slow start and resumed his rivalry with Heimgartner, working hard to pass the Kiwi to take 12th.

A mistake from Kostecki at the Turn 11 hairpin allowed Brown to pounce and snatch fourth.

Racing games

Andre Heimgartner and Chaz Mostert race under a rainbow. Image: Peter Norton EPIC Sports Photography

Although Payne raced out of the gates to build a near 2s advantage, the race came towards Feeney as the stint progressed.

Within three laps the Triple Eight driver trimmed the Kiwi’s lead to under half a second by Lap 11 when he made his move.

Feeney dive-bombed with an opportunistic move at Turn 5, but could not make it stuck with Payne responding two corners late to regain control.

A second attempt at Turn 5 proved to be enough for Feeney to make it stick and truly command the race with Payne unable to fire a response.

Their battle brought De Pasquale into the mix having been 2s adrift just two laps earlier.

With the #88 now well over a second up the road, Payne also could not stop De Pasquale eating him up at turn 1.

By Lap 16 Payne was knocked out of the top three due to a costly mistake at Turn 11, allowing Brown to pounce.

De Pasquale was the first of the leaders to pit on Lap 17, two laps before leader Feeney, who maintained a solid 3s advantage once rejoined.

The likes of Brown, Payne and Kostecki then all boxed together on Lap 21 and held position.

But joining the fray were the undercutting PremiAir Nulon Racing Camaros.

Slade and Golding were eighth and 15th early on before pitting as early as Lap 13, which helped them rise into the top five.

Slade was able to sneak into an effective fourth behind Brown, while 3s back was Golding, who emerged ahead of Davison, Payne and Kostecki.

Payne was able to rise ahead of his rivals and pick off both PremiAir Camaros to rise into the top four as Feeney held a 3s lead, while Slade eventually drifted out of the top 10.

Percat was another to make big progress, completing his rise from last to the top 10, but he did not stay there for long.

At midway Feeney was in cruise control with a commanding 4s lead, while the sister Triple Eight Camaro on Brown was also on the move.

On Lap 31 alone the #87 gained 1.2s on De Pasquale, which meant the DJR Mustang had little ammunition to stop Brown from snatching second when the #11 ran wide at Turn 11.

With Feeney and Brown looking strong in front, Triple Eight ominously looked set to another 1-2 with the rest of the field hoping the threatening rain could shake things up.

Battling Bulls

Broc Feeney and Will Brown racing hard for victory. Image: Peter Norton EPIC Sports Photography

Brown’s strong middle stint saw him cut Feeney’s advantage to under a second as the #88 pitted from the lead on Lap 41.

A lap later Brown boxed and rejoined 2s behind his teammate for the 19-lap run home.

The #87 carried on his momentum on fresh tyres and needed just five laps to slash Feeney’s lead to less than a second by being the first to lap in the 1m27s window.

A further 15s back the fight for third became interesting with De Pasquale keeping Mostert and Payne at bay.

Their journeys were interrupted by Fullwood, who was running out of sync with a long second sting.

Earlier Fullwood came into Turn 9 too hot and tried to use Winterbottom as a battering ram to lean on, but that could not stop the #14 from going off.

By Lap 48 the heat was on with Brown applying the blowtorch to teammate Feeney with the two bulls running nose to tail.

A lap later they ran side by side into Turn 11 but Feeney held firm on the inside to keep Brown at bay.

It was not until Lap 51 Brown had another look at Turn 5. The #87 poked the nose in but could not quite get enough overlap.

He got a great run out of turn 9 to launch another move around the outside of Turn 11, but Feeney again held firm.

Brown’s patience finally paid off on Lap 52 when he threw the Camaro over the Turn 4, which opened up a dive at the following right hander.

Anton De Pasquale was pleased to have the Jason Richards Trophy in his possession. Image: Peter Norton EPIC Sports Photography

Brown muscled his way past Feeney to snatch the lead at Turn 5 to end the battle and create an enormous sigh of relief in the Triple Eight garage.

There was also movement in the Mustangs as Payne snatched fourth from Mostert, who also lost fifth to Golding and Heimgartner.

The BJR Kiwi was on the charge being one of the fastest on track at the death, while Stanaway, Kostecki and Waters had a close call at Turn 7 where the Penrite Racing driver lost out and slipped from ninth to 11th.

Although Kostecki crossed the line 10th, a 5s penalty sent him back to 12th.

But once again Triple Eight was in a league of its own as Brown charged home to a commanding 3.3s win under the chequered flag and a rainbow.

After a memorable maiden trip to Taupo, Supercars returns to Australia for the annual battle at Wanneroo on May 17-19.

Taupo Super400 Race 8 results

Image: Peter Norton EPIC Sports Photography

Taupo Super400 schedule (all times AEST)

Friday, April 19

Practice: 1: C. Mostert 1:26.4937 2: M. Payne +0.0318 3: W. Davison +0.0508

Saturday, April 20

Qualifying Race 7: 1: M. Payne 1:27.9684 2: A. De Pasquale +0.0940 3: C. Mostert +0.1669

Top 10 Shootout: 1: C. Waters 1:34.7415 2: W. Brown +0.5011 3: A. Heimgartner +0.5374

Race 7 (60 laps): 1: A. Heimgartner 2: W. Davison +1.1012 3: A. De Pasquale +2.5641

Sunday, April 21

Qualifying Race 8: 1: A. De Pasquale 2: C. Mostert +0.0272 3: W. Brown +0.0292 

Top 10 Shootout: 1: M. Payne 1:26.8173 2: B. Feeney +0.0126 3: B. Kostecki +0.0306

Race 7 (60 laps): 13.05

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