Feeney hopeful Supercars benchmark van Gisbergen stays

Broc Feeney hopes Red Bull Ampol Racing team-mate Shane van Gisbergen “stays around” given he is the benchmark in Supercars.

Van Gisbergen recently signed a new, multi-year contract with Triple Eight Race Engineering although it subsequently emerged that he has an option to leave after the first year should he land a seat in a category other than Supercars.

Feeney is into his third year at Triple Eight, including his victorious Dunlop Super2 Series campaign in 2021, and now has multiple race wins this year alone after prevailing in the finale of the Bosch Power Tools Perth SuperSprint.

However, it is the three-time champion on the other side of the garage who remains a benchmark.

“It’s great,” said the 20-year-old of at least one more year as van Gisbergen’s team-mate, given he too is locked in for 2024.

“I mean, I love it. I suppose it’s such a weird one; it’s been so cool to see him do his thing and be so dominant last year, and he’s been great to work with me.

“So, to have him work alongside… I suppose the quote is, ‘To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best,’ and Shane’s certainly been that guy for the last few years, so it’s great to continue working with him.

“I hope he stays around, and we can continue working in the future.

“I mean, I think we all want to see him go and drive some different stuff because, whenever he does, he’s so good, and it’s been awesome to see.

“But, yeah, I want him to say and glad that he signed on and look forward to working with him and racing him in the future.”

Van Gisbergen and Feeney each won a race in the most recent event of the season at Wanneroo Raceway, but their biggest challenge came from Erebus Motorsport.

It extended its lead in the teams’ championship thanks in part to the Coca-Cola Camaros finishing one-two in Race 8, when Will Brown led drivers’ championship leader Brodie Kostecki to the chequered flag.

“We’ve got some work to do,” admitted Feeney.

“Those two guys have been really strong and they showed that [at Wanneroo].

“It’s been really good and they’ve probably achieved what they wanted this year – it’s been a big mix-up – and these guys have come from a fair way down pit lane to be the guys to chase at the moment, so we’ve certainly got some work to do.

“I mean, they’ve been really consistent; we’ve showed good pace, but we haven’t been there all the time, so yeah, we’ve got some work to do.”

Feeney is fifth in the drivers’ standings ahead of the Ned Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint at Symmons Plains on May 19-21.