Feeney tops crash-interrupted Sandown 500 qualifying
BROC Feeney heads the Supercars field for the Top 10 Shootout at the Sandown 500 following a thrilling wet qualifying session.
The championship contender lobbed a late lap to depose a host of Ford runners from the top spot in a session that took place amid changeable weather.
A brief hailstorm hit the circuit prior to the start of the 20-minute session, leaving the track very wet as the cars rolled out onto the track.
The rain stopped thereafter, leaving conditions – and lap times – to improve throughout, although the track remained too wet for anyone to gamble on a switch to slicks.
Aaron Love was caught out at the Esses on his fifth lap of the session, triggering the red flags at the eight-minute mark.
The rookie spun the #3 Blanchard Racing Team entry after running slightly wide, swiping the Mustang’s nose on the armco before coming to rest in the sand at Dandenong Road Corner.
On track for a lap that would have put him inside the top 10 at the time, the mistake cost Love his fastest lap of the session to that point, while front-end damage ruled him out from rejoining.
David Reynolds was on top during the red flag period on a 1m13.5800s with Andre Heimgartner, Chaz Mostert, Nick Percat and Matt Payne completing the top five.
The session resumed after an 11-minute stoppage, with blue skies above as the field returned to the still-wet circuit.
The leaderboard changed rapidly over the final 10 minutes, with Mostert, Cam Waters and Ryan Wood leading the charge for provisional pole.
Stanaway looked poised to join them, but he lost his first flyer when he ran wide at Dandenong Road Corner.
Feeney leapt to the top spot with three minutes remaining by just 0.04s, holding it to the chequered flag.
Mostert and Payne also secured passage to the Shootout, as did Wood, Waters, Will Brown and Brodie Kostecki.
The real action was among the next group of drivers, all fighting to secure the final Shootout berths.
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Late laps from Stanaway and Heimgartner allowed them to bump their way into the 10, which left Symmons Plains winner Percat on the bubble as the clock reached zero.
Anton De Pasquale then bumped the Matt Stone Racing pilot by 0.03s with his final lap of the session.
Other big names to miss out on a Shootout spot included James Courtney (12th), Mark Winterbottom (13th), Will Davison (15th), early leader Reynolds, who wound up 17th, and Thomas Randle (21st).
Cooper Murray won the battle of the wildcards in 18th, with Matt Chahda set to line up for his first Sandown 500 from 25th alongside the penalised Love.
The 10 fastest qualifiers will hit the track for the Top 10 Shootout at 5:25pm local time to determine the grid for Sunday’s race.
RESULTS: Supercars Qualifying, Sandown 500 (20 min)
PosNo.DriversTeamCarTime188Broc FeeneyTriple EightChevrolet1m12.8980s225Chaz MostertWAUFord+0.0404s319Matt PayneGroveFord+0.0879s42Ryan WoodWAUFord+0.1268s56Cam WatersTickfordFord+0.1290s687Will BrownTriple EightChevrolet+0.1886s71Brodie KosteckiErebusChevrolet+0.2003s826Richie StanawayGroveFord+0.2248s98Andre HeimgartnerBJRChevrolet+0.2865s1011Anton De PasqualeDJRFord+0.4807s1110Nick PercatMSRChevrolet+0.5145s127James CourtneyBRTFord+0.5281s1318Mark WinterbottomTeam 18Chevrolet+0.5334s1431James GoldingPremiAirChevrolet+0.5516s1517Will DavisonDJRFord+0.5906s1623Tim SladePremiAirChevrolet+0.6422s1720David ReynoldsTeam 18Chevrolet+0.6624s18888Cooper MurrayTriple EightChevrolet+0.7003s199Jack Le BrocqErebusChevrolet+0.7027s2050Jaxon EvansBJRChevrolet+0.7152s2155Thomas RandleTickfordFord+0.7210s224Cameron HillMSRChevrolet+0.7977s2314Bryce FullwoodBJRChevrolet+0.8178s2496Macauley JonesBJRChevrolet+1.0066s25118Matt ChahdaMCMChevrolet+2.4087s263Aaron LoveBRTFord+3.2582s
