Triple Eight Slumps at NTI Townsville 500: Drawing Board UrgencyTriple Eight Slumps at NTI Townsville 500: Drawing Board Urgency Triple Eight Racing, usually known for its dominance in Supercars, delivered a surprisingly underwhelming performance at the NTI Townsville 500. The team’s lackluster outing has raised concerns and prompted a call for immediate action. Top drivers Broc Feeney and Will Brown both struggled throughout the weekend. Feeney lingered in the bottom half of the field, while Brown fared even worse. Qualifying in distant positions for both races, Brown managed a respectable third-place finish on Saturday. However, disaster struck on Sunday: an early crash consigned him to a last-place finish. Triple Eight’s dismal performance is particularly surprising given their impressive win percentage of over 50 percent at Townsville. The team attributes part of their dip in form to the introduction of a new batch of soft Dunlop tires. “We didn’t hit the sweet spot at all in qualifying,” lamented Triple Eight’s technical director, Jeromy Moore. “We just need to go home, do our homework, and figure out why we couldn’t deliver the qualifying performance we needed to.” Despite their struggles, Triple Eight maintains a significant lead in the Teams’ Championship. However, Walkinshaw Andretti United managed to gain 69 points over them at Townsville, emphasizing the need for improvement. The team faces a short turnaround before the Sydney SuperNight on July 19-21. Moore acknowledges the urgency, stating that they must “go into the next race with a bang.” Triple Eight will be working tirelessly to address their issues and regain their position as the dominant force in Supercars.
A SHOCKING performance by the usual high standards: Triple Eight must go back to the drawing board before the equally short turnaround of the Supercars season.
While Broc Feeney hovered around the bottom 10 places for most of the NTI Townsville 500, his championship leading teammate Will Brown had it worse.
The #87 Red Bull Ampol driver qualified 13th and 17th for the two races. He was third on Saturday, but in Sunday’s race he finished last after an early crash.
And all that on a circuit where Triple Eight has a win percentage of more than 50 percent.
One of the reasons the team had suffered the dip in form was that another batch of soft Dunlop tyres were in play.
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Will Brown runs ahead of Broc Feeney. Photo: Ross Gibb
Anyway, it’s all hands on deck as the Sydney SuperNight takes place in less than two weeks (19-21 July).
“It’s been very difficult. We didn’t hit the sweet spot at all in qualifying,” Triple Eight technical director Jeromy Moore said on the Fox Sports broadcast.
“I think our race pace was pretty good, Broc did pretty well there and fought back to P7, but qualifying is what it’s all about.
“You have to be at the front, otherwise you end up in chaos like we saw with car #87.
“We just need to go home, do our homework and figure out why we couldn’t deliver the qualifying performance we needed to, and make sure we go into the next race with a bang.”
Walkinshaw Andretti United secured 69 points over Triple Eight in the Teams’ Championship at Townsville… but the latter’s lead still stands at a staggering 851 points.
