On the worldwide stage for the Method One circus to see, the Supercars championship took up its conventional place of undercard to the Australian Grand Prix with its Melbourne SuperSprint spherical at Albert Park.
One other weekend of chaotic dash racing, a primary one-two end for an outfit and many extra fallout from Triple Eight’s Ford defection – right here is the spherical up.
Will Brown wins the Larry Perkins Trophy as Sunday race is deserted
The reigning Supercars champion claimed the spherical win on Sunday, having led the factors tally coming into Race 7. The ultimate dash was deserted resulting from heavy rain at Albert Park.
Brown’s teammate Feeney led the sector away below the Security Automotive in Race 7, with the intensifying rain triggering a suspension solely two-laps in.
Will Brown driver of the #1 Pink Bull Ampol Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Albert Park on March 16, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photograph by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Photos)
That includes on the rostrum in all three of the races that they run, Brown additionally took the lead of the standings as Cameron Waters solely recorded a pair of top-six finishes in what was a tough weekend for the Tickford group.
“I positively lucked into it this 12 months to be sincere,” Brown stated after the race.
“We had a really poor qualifying for this race, and I’m sorry to all of the followers which have come out and watching on TV, we wished to placed on a present, however there have been so many puddles on the market.”
Feeney completed second total for the weekend, forward of first time race winner Cameron Hill, who moved into the highest ten of the championship standings as effectively.
First ever one-two for MSR
Impressing in Thursday’s Race 4 along with his maiden Supercars podium behind the Pink Bull Ampol duo, Hill is now a race winner – main a primary ever one-two end for Matt Stone Racing forward of Nick Percat in Race 5.
A pair of Security Automobiles shortened the 19-lap dash to only 12, although Hill from the front-row had the measure of polesitter Feeney from the outset.
“I simply had an excellent feeling about right this moment, I used to be so nervous earlier than the race as a result of I recognised the truth that if we might get off the road we might get the win right this moment,” stated Hill after arriving in victory lane.
“Unbelievable, one-two, a one-two for MSR! It’s so cool, credit score to them, they’ve simply put a lot work in, they usually deserve this.”
Chaos ensued on the opening lap, as Jack Le Brocq tangled with Ryan Wooden at Flip 5, with the Erebus Camaro ending up a casualty and triggering the primary Security Automotive. Wooden was penalised with a drive-through.
A lap after the restart, David Reynold was thrown into the gravel after contact from Thomas Randle at Flip 1. This introduced out the second Security Automotive – whereas the race was already restricted to a time sure end, resulting from an incident in F3 qualifying earlier.
Feeney was dispatched by Percat after which by teammate Brown after the second Security Automotive restart – dropping his spot on the rostrum in the long run. Reigning champ Brown did additional cut back the hole to championship chief Waters on Friday – because the Tickford racer began and completed sixth.
Driving requirements & the dash format
There was a way that after the Sydney opener and the strong battle between Waters and Feeney that led to the well-known photograph end, that ‘arduous racing’ could be what to anticipate all through the season to come back.
Nevertheless, all through the Melbourne SuperSprint, driving requirements was below the highlight as the anomaly between incidents penalised and never penalised raged. Reigniting the outdated query of ‘penalising the offense, not the end result.’
Albert Park – given its distinctive format, which blends avenue circuit traits with high-speed sections – does lend itself to outcomes of incidents being exacerbated. Significantly when the races are so brief given the sans pit-stop dash format.
Race 4 noticed no penalties handed out, amongst a swathe of incidents which triggered Security Automobiles too. Jack Le Brocq misplaced out in a late conflict with Brodie Kostecki battling for fourth, whereas the luckless Richie Stanaway obtained spun in a four-way tussle with Mostert, Cooper Murray and Nick Percat.
Reynolds was one other luckless contender all through the weekend, getting drilled by Waters on Thursday.
Le Brocq’s Race 5 incident with Wooden drew most ire, because the Kiwi was slapped with a drive-through penalty – however it didn’t cease the Erebus racer from expressing his displeasure on the driving requirements post-race.
“It’s irritating, I don’t know what’s occurring at a second, I really feel like we’re DVS [Super2]. I believe we have to have an excellent arduous take a look at ourselves and clear up our act.”
“I’m all for a little bit of arduous racing, however after we’re writing off automobiles like that it will get fairly foolish. The reins have been let unfastened a bit of bit the final couple of rounds.
Conceding too final “I don’t know the reply to it, all of us need to see everybody on the market having a go and creating some good leisure, however I don’t know the reply.”
Love out, Cameron in at BRT
One Aaron was changed for one more Aaron, because the 22-year outdated Love introduced on the eve of the Melbourne occasion that he and Blanchard Racing Crew had determined to separate. His 2024 co-driver Cameron being introduced because the successor.
Love endured a tough rookie season with BRT in 2024, ending final within the full-time driver standings and failing safe a top-ten race end. Regardless of a promising junior pathway, of which the spotlight was his 2022 spell in Porsche Carrera Cup – ending runner up.
sixteenth was the spotlight for the Perth born driver in Sydney, nonetheless the run-in with teammate James Courtney throughout qualifying for Race 2 upon exiting the pits, would’ve left little to be desired by group administration.
A four-place grid penalty and $2000 high quality ($1000 suspended) was additionally handed to the embattled Love forward of what could be his last two races for the outfit.
25-year outdated Cameron slotted in for Melbourne, boasting a formidable Super2 marketing campaign final 12 months – ending second within the ultra-competitive discipline behind Zach Bates and forward of the a lot hyped Kai Allen.
nineteenth was the very best consequence that Cameron achieved throughout the weekend, which was crammed with incidents all through.
Lowndes to depart Triple Eight, commits to GM
The fallout of Triple Eight’s defection to Ford in 2026 has continued in between the primary and second rounds, as legend-of-the-sport Craig Lowndes introduced that he’d be departing the organisation on the finish of this season.
Having been with Triple Eight since 2005 and successful six of his seven Bathurst 1000s with them, Lowndes is selecting to remain loyal to GM – as their subsequent homologation group stays a query.
“To be sincere, I’ve been in each camps over my profession however actually my alliance has been with GM,” stated the 50-year outdated in a social media clip launched by the American marque.
“I began with GM after I first began in ’96 and for me it’s simply actually a type of producers that I’ve actually been in a position to develop with and actually simply embrace.”
It has additionally been introduced that Triple Eight’s longtime engine provider in KRE won’t be constructing motors for his or her 2026 Ford Mustang, whereas Technical Director Jeromy Moore has additionally introduced that he’s leaving the Pink Bull Ampol squad to take a task with GM of their Corvette GT3 programme.
Whereas Triple Eight’s founder and former boss in Roland Dane has taken on an advisory function with rival Supercars group PremiAir – who’s a potential contender for GM’s subsequent homologation group.
