Supercars Championship: Dunlop Sydney 500 Race 3 Recap
- Tayla Purves
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
Credit: Broc Feeney | Instagram
Sunday marked the final day of the Dunlop Sydney 500 and the opening round of the championship.
First thing in the news cycle that morning was that driver of the No.1 Toyota Supra, reigning champion Chaz Mostert, had been disqualified from Race 2 after Walkinshaw TWG Racing failed to fit sensors to a set of rims in the first half of the race.
This threw a spanner in the works for Mostert, his nine grid spot climb and 52-point performance disregarded due to the regulations.
Rule D17.1.19 mandates that a control tyre must have an operational TPMS sensors fitted to the control wheel whenever it is fitted to the car.
The team have received a $5,000 AUD fine, half of which will be suspended until 31st of December 2026 on condition no similar errors are committed again before that date.
The team released a statement following the disqualification: "As a team, we made an error not fitting the sensors to a set of rims that were used in the first stint of the race on Car 1,
"While all four tyres were never below the minimum tyre pressure rule, it was an error,
"It has been immediately rectified, and we are now focussed on Race 3."
Top 10 Shoot Out
Matthew Payne landed himself on provisional pole, setting the stage for expectation of what was to come for the shoot out later that afternoon.
As each of the top ten flew out of the BP Ultimate pit lane, it was clear that Broc Feeney meant some serious business, setting the time to beat at 1:29.679.
This remained the standard for the full session.
Credit: Supercars Championship | Website
Race 3 Recap
The extreme heat was next level in Western Sydney over the weekend - humidity uncomfortable and the cockpit unbearable for some.
There was rain and multiple cool suit failures impacting some of the drivers across the grid; including pole sitter Broc Feeney.
On the opening lap of the final race in Sydney, Allen and Feeney pushed and shoved one another into Turn 1 - side by side into Turn 2 and 3.
Lap 2 saw David Reynolds, battling with Cooper Murray, tagged and spun along with Cam Hill, causing major rookie chaos as Rylan Gray received a 15-second penalty for contact with Hill.
Payne was the first to make a pitstop in the 52 lap scorcher.
It was all drama in the Sydney summer heat as drivers struggled with the cockpit temperatures. To add to the pressure, Feeney's No.88 Mustang picked up an empty plastic water bottle packet in the front grill.
On lap 20, Waters had a fitting error with his right front tyre in a pit stop - which set a theme of rogue tyres later in the race.
Jobe Stewart on lap 22 came into the lane, his right front wheel bending and causing havoc for the rookie.
Lap 28 showed James Golding having an issue with his left rear tyre; the wheel going rogue on the exist of Turn 11 - just avoiding the pack, but bringing out the Shannon's safety car.
A storm cell threatened to hit as the field was free to race on lap 34, rain making for tricky conditions on the restart. Allen went around Feeney on Turn 1 , showing some serious courage, their battle for the lead far from over.
Lap 34 saw Will Brown caught up in an unfortunate clash with Anton De Pasquale, but was able to get his No.888 Mustang moving.
As the race progressed, Feeney and Allen continued to push each other which didn't last long as Allen's No.26 Mustang made its way into the garage after a left front wheel failure on lap 46.
The last lap saw even more action as Aaron Cameron and Brodie Kostecki came together, Kostecki leaving Cameron stranded after an awkward clash.
Feeney finished in first, taking the top step for two out of three races of the weekend - his cool suit failure not phasing his performance as he pushed his limits.
Stewards imposed a 15-second time penalty for Kostecki in car No.17 for a driving infringement on the last lap, dropping him from 4th to 12th.
After the race, Feeney stumbled out of his Red Bull Ampol Racing Mustang he calls Aurora, and sat on the floor - his team acting quickly to cool his body temperature.
Reynolds and Brown were later hospitalised due to the severity of their cool suit failures on a sweltering 35° Celsius day.
The results
Broc Feeney
Matthew Payne
Cam Waters
Chaz Mostert
Ryan Wood
Jack Le Brocq
Cameron Hill
Thomas Randle
André Heimgartner
Macauley Jones
Rylan Gray
Brodie Kostecki
Zach Bates
Jackson Walls
Anton De Pasquale
David Reynolds
Aaron Cameron
Will Brown
Jayden Ojeda
Cooper Murray
Declan Fraser
Jobe Stewart (DNF)
Kai Allen (DNF)
James Golding (DNF)
The Supercars Championship go racing at Melbourne's Albert Park during the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix next week.
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