MOTORSPORT: Odd couple team up for Bathurst

The ultimate odd couple will take on the Bathurst 1000 in October as 50-something Russell Ingall and teenager Broc Feeney pair up for the biggest event – and challenge – on the Supercars calendar.

There might be 39 years between them, a difference reflected in their racing number, but they share a drive for success that is more like a drug than a sport.

Ingall is old enough to be Feeney’s grandfather, and the two-time Bathurst winner has not competed in The Great Race since 2015, but he was talking like a champion at the announcement of a Supercheap Auto entry for the race that the company has sponsored for 16 years.

“I’m taking this very, very seriously. I’m a very competitive person. This won’t be any different,” Ingall told carsales.

“It’s a dream come true,” said Feeney, who finished 10th at Bathurst last year in his first start in the Bathurst 1000 on his 18th birthday.

“It’s so cool. There is so much I’m already learning from Russell.”

The most important piece of the Bathurst puzzle, the car and crew, is top-notch as the Supercheap Commodore will be fielded by Triple Eight Race Engineering.

“The young bloke was a no-brainer… he’s a stand-out. [And] I felt sorry for Russell, an old fat boy living on the Gold Coast,” joked T8 boss, Roland Dane.

“But the reality is Russell is still as competitive as always. And he brings a lot of experience.”

Feeney will be well tuned for Bathurst as he is racing to win the Super2 championship this year in a T8 Commodore backed by Boost Mobile and Red Bull, while Ingall made his competitive comeback by racing Stadium Trucks last weekend in Tasmania and plans a full program of testing and racing in coming months.

“I’ll be doing a bit more. I’ll race anything with four wheels.”

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